How to build an effective advocacy strategy?

You have a cause to carry, or a client to defend. How to create a lobbying strategy worthy of your ambition? With these steps, you will be able to draft an effective roadmap for your campaign.

Every organisation that is in Brussels - or any center of power - to advertise, and campaign for a cause needs a sturdy strategy. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, goes the saying.

How can you get your advocacy strategy straight? In this piece, I will present to you the method I use to set mine in motion.

Connect people and ideas to get a pretty good start. Photo by Pixabay

Start by clarifying your vision

It all starts with a vision, an ambition, an end goal. Nothing important was ever accomplished without the drive to “do better”.

You should indeed define what the world will look like once the world adopts your vision and acts on it. Are you defending nature? How will the world improve once we understand the importance of biodiversity? Are you preaching for more funding for schools? How much would society improve once teachers receive proper salaries?

But the ideal outcome is not enough. You should propose an insight into a world that failed to realise your objective. Loss of biodiversity led to slowing medical progress. A society in shambles due to the inability of teachers to create good citizens, etc.

From then, your only endeavor will be to move away from the dystopia toward the utopia.

Identify laws and policies that affect your line of business

Although we try to think we must start from a blank state, it is seldom the case. A lot of policies are already in place. It is only that they do not deliver enough or forbid the actions you advocate for.

Have a look at the legislative environment that exists. What file works in your favor? Which one is inefficient? Which is clearly in the wrong?

List them. Your first priorities in your upcoming campaigns will be to reinforce the ones that go in your direction, scrap the ones that prevent you to do good, and improve on the ones that do not deliver enough.