Advocacy in Action - International AIDS Society

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Handout 2 Effective representation (legitimacy) Involving people directly affected by the advocacy issue or problem Advocacy can be carried out by the people affected by an issue or problem, by other people representing them, or by both groups together. Advocacy is often more powerful if those affected by the problem or issue are involved with or lead the process. If we advocate by representing others, we need to ensure that we represent their opinions and interests fairly. This means having a very close relationship with these affected by the problem or issue, a deep understanding of the issue, and permission from those affected by the problem or issue to advocate on their behalf. Having permission or the ‘right’ to advocate for other people is known as ‘legitimacy’. It is also important to ensure that advocacy work is supported by the mission or aims of our organisation, by senior managers, and by any external funders. Handout 2 Effective representation Why it is important to involve those directly affected by the advocacy issue, from early in the planning process • They will have expert knowledge of the issue or problem • They can suggest workable solutions based on direct experience of the problem • They can view a problem from a different perspective • They are often highly motivated, because they are directly affected by the issue • People living with or affected by HIV/AIDS have been centrally involved in most major improvements in the field of HIV/AIDS • Affected individuals and groups will gain more skills and confidence • It is a good opportunity to reduce stigma against people affected by HIV/AIDS. Problems caused by lack of legitimacy Involving those affected by the problem or issue late, superficially (‘tokenism’) or not at all can result in: • identifying irrelevant issues • suggesting solutions which do not solve the problem, or make the problem worse • public disagreement • loss of credibility for the organisations and individuals involved in advocacy • increased stigma and legitimised exclusion and non-involvement of those affected by the problem or issue • disempowerment of those affected, so they are less in control of their own situations. Methods of involving those directly affected by the advocacy issue Finding a way of genuinely involving those directly affected by the advocacy issue will greatly strengthen the advocacy work in the long term. But it may take more time in the short term, especially if they are very busy, frequently ill, do not trust you, are hard to identify and reach, or challenge your ways of working. People affected by the problem or issue can be involved at all stages of advocacy: defining the problem or issue, planning, implementation and evaluation – as advisers, implementers or managers. "It is important for any organisation working in the field of HIV/AIDS to include people living with the virus because it is we who have first hand experiences of the problems that we face." Emily Chigidwe, Chairperson, Zimbabwe National Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (ZNP+). 61
Handout 3 Documentation and information-gathering skills Handout 3 Documentation and information-gathering skills Documentation and information-gathering (research) are vital for nearly all kinds of advocacy work. Documentation and information-gathering are needed to help us develop our ideas and as well as then support our opinions so that they will be taken seriously by those in influence. There are two basic kinds of information that can be used for advocacy work: primary and secondary information. Primary documentation and research includes information and data collected by yourself. It may include narrative documentation, data that has been collected (both numerical and narrative), interview notes and quotes, focus group discussions, notes, surveys, participatory research (rapid appraisal), photographs, etc. Secondary documentation and research includes information which has been sourced from elsewhere and which was gathered by others for reasons unrelated to your work. This includes surveys such as national demographic and health surveys, national censuses, HIV/AIDS facts and statistics, behaviour studies (for example, condom use), reproductive health reforms, sociological studies such as decision-making in the household, information from Internet research, websites, e-mail discussion lists, etc. Secondary research can also include academic research and action/operations research and conference abstracts. There are many advantages to using secondary information from a source you trust: ♦ inexpensive to obtain ♦ readily available ♦ valid and reliable ♦ current ♦ comprehensive ♦ credible to those you need to influence. However, primary research also has its advantages: ♦ more trustworthy because you know how the information was collected ♦ more directly relevant and tailored ♦ demonstrates your experience of any issue directly. Documenting primary information as you go along is vital and requires NGOs/CBOs to develop simple documentation systems within their organisations to collect and keep information. When the need and opportunity arises, this information can then be used to support ideas and arguments for advocacy work as well as a broad range of other uses within an organisation. (For more information on developing documentation systems for organisations see Documenting and Communicating HIV/AIDS Work – A Toolkit to Support NGOs/CBOs, International HIV/AIDS Alliance – see contact details on the back of this toolkit). 62
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ADVOCACY IN ACTION A TOOLKIT TO SUP
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Contents of the toolkit Contents Se
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Introduction to the toolkit Introdu
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5. What is in the sections of this
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Each ‘Advocacy in Action’ Card
Page 11 and 12: Your Notes Introduction to the tool
Page 13 and 14: 1.1 What is advocacy? Section 1.1 W
Page 15 and 16: ACTIVITY 1.1A Objective: By the end
Page 17 and 18: ACTIVITY 1.1B Objective: By the end
Page 19 and 20: ACTIVITY 1.2 Objective: By the end
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Page 25 and 26: Handout 1 Case Study 2: Persuading
Page 27 and 28: Handout 1 Case Study 3: Advocacy an
Page 29 and 30: Handout 1 Case Study 4: Introductio
Page 31 and 32: Handout 2 Levels of advocacy Handou
Page 33 and 34: Choosing how to facilitate Section
Page 35 and 36: ACTIVITY 2 Objective: By the end of
Page 47 and 48: Example of Activity 2.4: By NGOs/CB
Page 61: Handout 1 Advocacy framework Handou
Page 65 and 66: Handout 5 How HIV/AIDS can affect p
Page 67 and 68: Handout 7 Methods of monitoring and
Page 75 and 76: Your Notes Section 3 74
Page 77 and 78: Your Notes Section 4 76
Page 79 and 80: HIV/AIDS NGO/CBO Support Toolkit, I
Page 81 and 82: Advocacy in Action Card 1 Analysing
Page 83 and 84: Example: Analysing legislation and
Page 85 and 86: Advocacy in Action Card 2 Preparing
Page 87 and 88: Example: Preparing briefing note an
Page 89 and 90: Advocacy in Action Card 3 Working f
Page 91 and 92: Example: Working from inside the sy
Page 93 and 94: Advocacy in Action Card 4 Lobbying
Page 95 and 96: Example: Lobbying or face-to-face m
Page 97 and 98: Advocacy in Action Card 5 Writing a
Page 99 and 100: Skills-building activity - option 2
Page 101 and 102: Advocacy in Action Card 6 Persuadin
Page 103 and 104: Example: Persuading through drama P
Page 105 and 106: Advocacy in Action Card 7 Writing a
Page 107 and 108: Example: Writing and using a press
Page 109 and 110: Advocacy in Action Card 8 Carrying
Page 111 and 112: Example: Carrying out a media inter
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Advocacy in Action Card 9 Preparing
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Example: Preparing a press conferen
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To order copies of Alliance publica
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