Links and Documents

Practical Advocacy Toolkit

Designed for Non-Governmental Organizations and Community-Based Agencies dealing with AIDS, this toolkit provides a great introduction to the subject of why agencies should get involved in advocacy to further their mission, and how to go about doing so. Very little of the material is specifically directed towards advocacy related to AIDS, and is generally applicable to all voluntary sector organizations.

How can this toolkit be used?

This toolkit is designed to be flexible so that facilitators can tailor the work schedule to meet the needs of different NGOs/CBOs. For example, some groups may want to do most of the activities during one training workshop, while others may want to use a selection of activities over a period of time, or to focus on one or two activities to meet a specific, urgent need. To provide this choice, Sections 1, 3 and 4 of the kit are designed for ‘pick and mix’ – meaning that the activities can be used in any order or combination. However, it should be noted that Section 2 – which takes participants through a planning framework for advocacy work – is a series of linked activities that needs to be followed in order and as a whole.

Take a special interest in section four if you're looking for practical tools. This section aims to provide activities and information in the form of ‘Advocacy in Action’ Cards for developing practical advocacy skills.

The cards include:

• Analysing and influencing legislation or policies
• Preparing a briefing note or position paper
• Working from inside the system
• Lobbying or face-to-face meetings
• Writing and delivering a presentation
• Persuading through drama
• Writing and using a press release
• Carrying out a media interview
• Preparing a press conference