Advocacy CCAT Report to Sample Organizationchange in your issue area. Your community is aware of...

Advocacy CCAT Report to

Sample Organization

March 15, 2017

Philadelphia New York San Francisco 1650 Market Street 31 West 27

th Street One Sansome Street

36th

Floor 4th

Floor 35th

Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103 New York, NY 10001 San Francisco, CA 94104

215-568-0399 212-949-0990 415-439-8368

www.tccgrp.com

Overview of the Advocacy Core Capacity Assessment Tool (ACCAT)

Advocacy organizations come in all shapes and sizes. They have unique program mixes, with some organizations doing only advocacy work, while others conduct advocacy and policy work as an additional activity, building on their primary business of providing direct services to the community. Notwithstanding their differences, there appear to be organizational capacities that span all of these organizations, though the relative mix of the capacities may vary. There are two fundamental premises upon which a framework of organizational capacities for advocacy organizations is based:

1. Advocacy organizations and those doing advocacy programs are nonprofits. As such, general capacities related to the nonprofit sector are applicable.

2. Advocacy organizations, writ large, are engaged in a process leading to outcomes around framing issues, providing visibility for those issues and affecting public policy decisions on those issues. As such, there are capacities unique to advocacy organizations to effectively engage in strategies that affect those outcomes.

For the first assumption, TCC Group has developed an organizational self-assessment based on the four core capacities model. For the second, through research and experience, TCC Group has identified a series of organizational capacities of high-performing policy and advocacy organizations, which are discussed within the context of the four core capacities (Leadership, Adaptive, Management, and Technical).

Summary of Core & Sub-capacities

The Advocacy CCAT tool is composed of four core capacity measures, each with a set of associated sub-capacities presented below. Each sub-capacity is measured on a scale of zero to 300. TCC Group uses a threshold of 210 to determine areas of strength and challenge in each sub-capacity. For more information on the 4 core capacity model, please see Appendix B.

Threshold Score

210 and above The organization identified this area as a strength

Below 210 The organization identified this area as an opportunity for improvement

Leadership Capacity Advocacy Board Leadership: How well the organization’s board performs its duties, including

oversight, understanding of the policy/advocacy agenda and has a clear vision for the organization.

Advocacy Decision Making Strategy: The use of a variety of concrete strategies that assess policy dynamics of a particular issue and sustain advocacy efforts.

Leadership Persuasiveness: How well organization leaders are able to effectively communicate information and persuade stakeholders on particular issues.

Community Credibility: The extent to which the organization is perceived as credible with the generic “community”, constituency or general public.

External Credibility: The extent to which the organization is perceived as a credible resource in pursuit of a policy/advocacy goal and is invited to participate in various initiatives.

Leadership Distribution: How well organizational leaders share leadership responsibilities and cultivate broad leadership on the policy/advocacy issue, both internally and externally.

Leadership Strategic Vision: How well organizational leaders have and are able to convey a clear mission/vision and make strategic decisions about the organizational approach to policy and advocacy issues.

Adaptive Capacity Strategic Partnerships: How well the organization engages in collaborations or partnerships with

other organizations in a way that is both efficient and augments the effectiveness of the organization’s strategies.

Measuring Policy/Advocacy Progress: How well the organization formally evaluates progress and uses measurement for decision-making.

Strategic Positioning: How well the organization understands its strategic niche and is able to assess its ability to be successful on any given issue within that niche.

Funding Flexibility: How well an organization is able to shift resources in order to capitalize on changes in the policy/advocacy environment.

Management Capacity Policy and Advocacy Staff Roles and Management: How well the organization is able to effectively

manage staff members’ skills and resources.

Policy and Advocacy Management Systems: How well the organization has in place plans and systems for effectively managing policy and advocacy activities.

Staff Coordination: How well the organization is able to coordinate staff efforts among the various activities going on within the organization at any given time and over a period of time.

Policy and Advocacy Resource Management: How well the organization manages resources, including knowledge and information.

Technical Capacity Database: The use of an effective current database that that allows management of relationships

with stakeholders and decision-makers.

General Staffing Level: Having sufficient staff overall in relationship to the policy and advocacy strategies of the organization.

Media Skills: The ability to work effectively with the media, including cultivating relationships and using the media to disseminate information.

Policy and Advocacy Program Skills: The ability to conduct public policy research and analysis, as well as communicate findings to effectively advance an agenda and mobilize support.

Policy Issue and Theory Knowledge: Understanding of the general policy field by staff in the organization.

Organizational Culture Risk Taking: Willingness to take risks and advocate even when success is not guaranteed.

Acknowledging Partners: Overt acknowledgement of value of partner organizations.

Acknowledging Staff Contributions: Overt acknowledgement of value of individual staff members.

Celebrating Wins: Celebration of success, both small and large scale.

Empowering Staff: Staff commitment to the issue.

Advocacy CCAT Report for Sample Organization

A. Summary Scores

197

243

196

142

234

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Adaptive Leadership Management Technical OrganizationalCulture

Advocacy Core Capacity: Summary Scores

B. Adaptive Capacity

Adaptive Subcapacity

Strengths of Your Organization

Measuring Policy/Advocacy Progress

Your organization does a good job of assessing the broader policy context and how your issue fits within it.

Strategic Partnerships

Continue to build and maintain your organization's ties to other groups and networks with similar advocacy goals.

Your organization does a good job of identifying existing networks that can enhance your current advocacy efforts.

Continue to build and maintain your organization's relationships with other groups or experts with the knowledge, skills and experience to implement strategies that your group does not pursue.

Continue strategic partnerships that enable your organization to acquire necessary skills.

Continue strategic partnerships that enable your organization to build and expand its base.

Your organization is well-positioned to reflect on strengths and weaknesses, and use these insights to develop appropriate strategic partnerships that complement your skills.

Your organization does a good job of identifying existing networks that can leverage for upcoming advocacy work, prior to creating new networks.

Continue to maintain relationships with organizations working on similar

183 165

253

188

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Funding Flexibility MeasuringPolicy/Advocacy

Progress

Strategic Partnerships Strategic Positioning

Advocacy Adaptive Capacity

issues in your subject area, even if they are not addressing specific issues you are addressing.

Strategic Positioning

Your staff have a clear understanding of the organization's unique role in contributing to the larger issues you seek to address.

Adaptive Subcapacity

Recommendations for Your Organization

Funding Flexibility

Ask your organization's financial staff to determine which funding can be flexibly reallocated on short notice if needed and cultivate more funding that allows for flexible use.

Explore with your funders the flexibility of funding that may be used to address pressing advocacy issues, and take steps to seek out new funding that would allow the same flexibility.

Measuring Policy/Advocacy Progress Measuring

Strengthen your evaluation processes so that staff have specific, measurable indicators of progress on advocacy strategies.

Increase the frequency of assessing and refining the strategies and priorities of your organization's advocacy agenda.

Take more time to reflect and plan in between advocacy campaigns.

Increase use of clearly defined short-term goals and measurable short-term indicators of success.

Strategic Partnerships

Better develop relationships with key decision-makers.

Strategic Positioning

Increase the assessment of the feasibility and chances for success before starting an advocacy campaign (or choosing to participate in one).

C. Leadership Capacity

Leadership Subcapacity


Advocacy Board Leadership

Your organization's board members understand how your advocacy efforts relate to your mission.

Your board is appropriately flexible and willing to make changes/compromises for your advocacy efforts.

Advocacy Decision-Making Strategy

Your organization successfully utilizes multiple methods/strategies in pursuit of your advocacy agenda.

Your organization has a good track record of sustaining advocacy efforts on particular issues over the long term.

Your organization's leadership develops a concrete strategy for each initiative, and articulates a theory of change for the initiative.

Your organization's leaders are able to strategically assess the policy dynamics surrounding your issue.

Community Credibility

Your organization is perceived by the community as a leader for policy change in your issue area. Your community is aware of your organization's advocacy work and its importance.

Your organization's leaders are seen by the community as credible agents for policy and community change.

Your organization is perceived by the community to be an effective advocate.

External Credibility Your organization's leaders are trusted and respected by public policy

210 225

270 261 250 248 240

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Advocacy BoardLeadership

AdvocacyDecision-Making

Strategy

CommunityCredibility

ExternalCredibility

LeadershipDistribution

LeadershipPersuasiveness

LeadershipVision

Advocacy Leadership Capacity

makers.

Your organization's leaders are trusted and respected by policy researchers and experts.

Your organization's leaders are trusted and respected by advocacy groups interested in your advocacy issue.

Your organization's leaders are trusted and respected by community groups interested in your advocacy issue.

Your organization has a good reputation as a resource and expert in the advocacy community.

Leadership Distribution

Your organization provides opportunities for your constituency to play an active role in your advocacy efforts.

Your organization's leaders are highly reflective on their own leadership style, practice and performance.

The structure of your advocacy efforts successfully spreads work and credit among several individuals, and is not seen as dependent on any single individual.

Leadership Persuasiveness

Your organizational leaders successfully keep staff and volunteers involved even when the issue is not "hot".

Your organization's leaders effectively communicate policy and advocacy goals to the business community.

Your organization's leaders effectively communicate policy and advocacy goals to other advocacy organizations.

Your organization's leaders effectively communicate policy and advocacy goals to policy makers.

Your organization's leaders effectively communicate policy and advocacy goals to the general public.

Leadership Vision Your organization successfully makes strategic decisions about what advocacy skills can be more efficiently acquired through strategic partnerships with other organizations that have the capacity.

Your organization's leaders articulate a clear long-term and short-term vision for your advocacy issue.

Leadership Subcapacity


Advocacy Board Leadership

Ensure that board has a long-term and short-term focus on what your advocacy initiatives can achieve.

Ensure that board holds staff accountable using measured progress on goals.

Advocacy Decision-Making Strategy

Lay out clear criteria so that organizational leaders can accurately judge whether an issue is worth your organization's time and resources to attempt to address. ("Pick your battles" criterion).

Improve strategizing for who should lead or be the public face of any given effort, including your constituency or other organizations (e.g., try to highlight the efforts of others, including those from other organizations, in your coalitions in order to present the most appropriate "story").

Encourage organizational leaders to take steps that can enhance their standing as thought leaders on specific issues by others in the field (such as developing new proposals, conducting research, contributing writing and scholarship, building coalitions, etc.)

Leadership Persuasiveness

Have organizational leaders develop skills that allow them to constructively engage and persuade skeptical community stakeholders.

D. Management Capacity

Management Subcapacity


Policy and Advocacy Management Systems

Your organization has an excellent knowledge management system in place for your policy/advocacy work.

Policy and Advocacy Resource Management

Your organization demonstrates good communication between staff members working on similar tasks to avoid redundancies and create synergy.

Your organization's managers effectively manage the use of organizational resources for advocacy efforts (i.e., resources existing within your organization).

Policy and Advocacy Staff Roles and Management

Leaders and managers within your organization clearly communicate expectations when delegating tasks.

Staff Coordination

Your staff have the ability to get the information needed from other staff members when it is available.

Your managers ensure that all staff have the information and data they need to manage policy research, agenda setting and/or implementation processes.

Your organization demonstrates a commitment to clearly communicating across languages and without relying on technical jargon.

153

210 195

228

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Policy and AdvocacyManagement Systems

Policy and AdvocacyResource Management

Policy and AdvocacyStaff Roles andManagement

Staff Coordination

Advocacy Management Capacity

Management Subcapacity


Policy and Advocacy Management Systems

Create a written media plan with defined objectives and media targets.

Increase strategic use of an effective database to manage your relationships with stakeholders and other decision-makers.

Enhance flexibility of the organization so that you can effectively shift resources.

Create a staffing plan so your organization can effectively respond to advocacy windows of opportunity.

Policy and Advocacy Resource Management

Create a formal information sharing system.

Improve management oversight of external resources (e.g., volunteers, outside support, etc.).

Policy and Advocacy Staff Roles and Management

Improve delegation of meaningful tasks to staff.

Ensure staff have sufficient decision-making autonomy to accomplish tasks they are given.

Decide who would be best to manage details of advocacy activities and give responsibility and flexibility to manage those details.

Staff Coordination Cross-train staff in multiple advocacy strategies in order to fill gaps/respond to windows of opportunity.

E. Technical Capacity

Technical Subcapacity


Policy Issue and Theory Knowledge

Your staff are skilled at having constructive dialogue with those who have a different point of a view.

Policy and Advocacy Program Skills

(see following page)

Technical Subcapacity


Database Create/Improve database for managing your relationships with stakeholders and decision-makers.

General Staffing Level

Increase the number of staff with the technical advocacy skills you need for success (e.g., legislation/policy-making, organizing, legal, communications, evaluation, etc.).

Media Skills Recruit/train staff to better craft effective messages for the media.

Build capacity and focus on maintaining working relationships with journalists.

Improve skills in broadcasting media messages.

Improve skills in broadcasting media messages.

Improve skills to monitor media coverage.

Build capacity and focus to create/cultivate relationships with journalists.

Expand the types of media your organization uses in advocacy media campaigns.

100

150 127

159 173

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Database General StaffingLevel

Media Skills Policy andAdvocacy Program

Skills

Policy Issue andTheory Knowledge

Advocacy Technical Capacity

Take steps to learn the specific language and issues that will allow you to effectively craft media messages for specific audiences.

Policy Issue and Theory Knowledge

Recruit/train staff members to better understand the public policy change process.

Educate staff about various stakeholder needs and concerns related to your advocacy issue.

Help staff understand and be able to articulate the position of a person/group that has different priorities on your advocacy issue (i.e., see things from the other side of the issue.)


(see following page)

F. Policy and Advocacy Program Skills

135 150

165 165

75 75 105 105

225

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

InformationGeneration

Skills

Messaging forDiverse

Stakeholders

AccessingDecisionMakers

BaseMobilization

Public PolicyResearchCapacity

Public PolicyAnalysisCapacity

Drafting PolicyBriefs

Drafting IssueBriefs

LegislativeAgenda Setting

Focus on Technical Capacity: Policy and Advocacy Program Skills (Chart 1 of 2)

240

120 120

180

240 240 225

135

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

CounteractingHarmful Counter

Proposals

PrimaryResearch

Production

InformationSynthesis

InformationCollection

InformationDissemination

AudienceTargeting

CoalitionBuilding

Power Analysis

Focus on Technical Capacity: Policy and Advocacy Program Skills (Chart 2 of 2)

Sample Organization March 15, 2017



Legislative Agenda Setting

Your organization proactively pushes its agenda with policymakers.

Counteracting Harmful Counter Proposals

Your organization effectively counteracts policy proposals that would be harmful to your agenda.

Information Dissemination

Your organization effectively disseminates relevant information on your issue.

Audience Targeting Your organization is skilled at adjusting information to meet the needs of different audiences.

Coalition Building Your organization effectively builds strong coalitions to advance a piece of legislation.



Information Generation Skills

Increase capacity for generating new and/or innovative information on your advocacy issue.

Messaging for Diverse Stakeholders

Build skills for presenting information in an innovative and understandable manner to different audiences.

Accessing Decision Makers Help staff develop the knowledge, experience, and skills necessary to connect with key decision makers.

Base Mobilization Build ability to mobilize core constituency/base of support.

Public Policy Research Capacity

Build skills to conduct public policy research.

Public Policy Analysis Capacity

Build skills to conduct public policy analysis.

Drafting Policy Briefs Build capacity for drafting policy briefs.

Drafting Issue Briefs Build capacity for drafting issue briefs.

Primary Research Production

Build capacity to produce primary research to advance your agenda.

Information Synthesis Enhance the ability to condense research into effective briefs on your organization's issue.

Information Collection Improve skills and mechanisms to collect relevant information on your organization's issue.

Power Analysis Increase capacity to identify and analyze the power of different stakeholders, and their relationships with each other.


G. Organizational Culture

Subcapacity Strengths of Your Organization

Risk Taking Your organization has a willingness to take risks and learn from all advocacy experiences.

Acknowledging Partners Continue to publicly acknowledge how your partners contribute to your achievements.

Acknowledging Staff Contributions

Your staff feel motivated and committed to advocacy efforts due to your organization taking the time to publicly acknowledge their contributions.

Empowering Staff Your staff feel motivated and committed to advocacy efforts due to your organization communicating on how their efforts help contribute to meaningful public policy change.

Subcapacity Recommendations for Your Organization

Celebrating Wins Your staff feel motivated and committed to advocacy efforts due to your organization taking the time to celebrate both small and large advocacy successes.

240

300

180

225 225

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Risk Taking AcknowledgingPartners

Celebrating Wins AcknowledgingStaff Contributions

Empowering Staff

Advocacy Organizational Culture


Appendix A: Suggestion for Use of the Report

For maximizing the use of the report, we provide the following suggestions:

Look at areas where you scored high with respect to other areas. These are strengths for your organization—consider whether they resonate with your sense of the organization. Then look at areas where you scored less high relative to other areas and see if you agree, and, if you don’t, consider why your organization might have scored low in the area such as things going on at the time of the assessment, differences in perception by other organization members, etc.

Select one or two areas where you scored less well and consider how you might improve in those areas and how such improvement would benefit the organization. You might be aided in this task by the recommendation section.

Consider how to share the report with others in your organization. Some organizations have found it useful to go through the above suggested process as a group.

Appendix B: Overview of the Core Capacity Assessment Model

TCC designed the organizational assessment survey based on both research from the field of organizational effectiveness and on TCC’s experience with organizational development and success. The survey assesses an organization based on four organizational capacities and organizational culture. See the diagram below.


Appendix C: Further Resources on Capacity-Building

Some additional capacity-building resources available from TCC Group (www.tccgrp.com) include:

Success by Design: How R&D Activates Program Innovation and Improvement in the Nonprofit Sector

Building the Capacity of Capacity Builders

Strengthening Nonprofit Performance: A Funder's Guide to Capacity Building

Navigating the Organizational Lifecycle: A Capacity building Guide for Nonprofit Leaders

Building Nonprofit Capacity: A Guide to Managing Change Through Organizational Lifecycles

What Makes an Effective Coalition: Evidence Based Indicators of Success

Appendix D: About TCC Group

TCC provides strategy, program and grants management, capacity building, and evaluation services to philan-thropies and nonprofits/NGOs of all types and sizes. Our unique strength lies in the ability to leverage knowledge from our complementary practices, which build on and inform one another. This holistic view influences every project, as we help clients devise strategies, implement plans and programs (especially those related to capacity building), evaluate progress and outcomes, and make ongoing improvements. We do so while fostering strong, collaborative relationships with our clients as well as facilitating, where possible, stronger relationships between funders and their nonprofit partners.

http://www.tccgrp.com/

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