Government Engagement Strategies

Paolo Domondon 2020

Contributors

Joyce Barafon, Tanmatra Bhanti, Atanasio Brito, Dennis Calvan, Simone Madalosso, Gabriela Polo, Arwandrija Rukma and Rocky Sanchez Tirona

Rare

Rare is the leading behavior change organization in conservation. Rare specializes in identifying proven locally-led solutions and work with

partners and communities worldwide to bring these solutions to a regional and national scale.

FishForever

Fish Forever is Rare’s community-led solution to revitalize coastal marine habitats, such as coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses, protect

biodiversity, and secure the livelihoods of fisher households and their communities. It uses an innovative approach to address coastal

overfishing—by empowering communities through clear rights, strong governance, local leadership, and participatory management—that

protects essential fish habitat and regulates fishing activities.

Cover photograph: Jason Houston

Recommended Citation:

FishForever (2020) Government Engagement Strategies. Domondon, P. (Ed). Rare, Inc. Arlington, Virginia, 10 pp.

CONTENTS

Background 2

Objectives 2

Principles 2

Process 2

Goal and Purpose Statement 2

Understanding the Landscape against the Purpose 2

Government Engagement Strategy 4

Example of Government Engagement Strategy (draft Template- excel) 7

Implementation 8

ANNEX 9

BackgroundLocal, sub- national and national governments are essential partners that Rare engages and partners with. Working with governments allows andenables implementation on the ground, helps increase profile and support for small- scale fisheries, channel financing and other necessarysupport for the approach and the sector in general. This guidance document provides support to countries on developing their own governmentengagement strategies and helps prioritize and pursue opportunities. The document will consider the various political and governancelandscapes and current political climate through identification of policy windows and policy barriers.

Objectives● Help equip country teams engage different levels of government for various objectives● Classify engagements into entry points and primary purpose● Provide options of activities and ways to leverage on each other● Provide sample templates and process to create country Government Engagement Strategy

PrinciplesPolicy Guidance documents will follow Rare basic policy principles outlined and explained in the Policy Operations Guidance Documents,specifically Guidance Documents on Lobbying and Political Advocacy. If there are identified risks, either legal, political or programmatic, theserisks should be elevated and discussed with Rare’s Policy and Partnerships Team who periodically tackle these in either or both the Fish ForeverLeadership Team or the Public Fundraising and Partnerships Operating Team. Given that governments are considered as primary partners, thisGuidance Document will also follow Partnership Guidance Documents that spell out the criteria for partner engagements including alignmentwith Rare’s values and risk considerations.

Process

1. Goal and Purpose StatementCountries will define the overall purpose of engaging governments and its alignment with short- term and long- term country objectives,helping articulate the vision of the role of governments for widespread adoption and sustainability of the work.

2. Understanding the Landscape against the PurposeCountries would then plot out the specifics of the engagement (either to Establish, Enable, or Sustain MA+R- in reference to theGuidance Document on Establishing, Enabling Sustaining MA+R) with the existing government and stakeholder landscape, taking intoconsideration the profile of each audience and the relationships amongst them. The following should be considered for each of theprimary audience

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● Outputs (single/ multiple outputs)● Audience (level, branch of government, specific Ministry/ Department, )● Stakeholder Mapping (influence and relationships between departments; current relationships we have)● Profile (motivation, intention, past engagements)● Timing of Requests

Table 1 Presents a Sample Assessment against Purpose

PathwaysPrimary Audience and Profile

Timing of RequestsLevel Body Individual

Establish Local District Mayor and SB ImmediateSub National Province Governor and SP

Enable National Environment Ministry Director and Deputy MinisterNational Fisheries and Agriculture Minister

Sustain Sub National Province Governor and SPNational Fisheries and Agriculture DirectorNational Interior/ Local Government Deputy MinisterNational Finance Deputy MinisterNational Planning Deputy Minister

Table 2 Example of Profiling of Each Primary Audience

PrimaryTargetAudiences(Profile)

Name of Government Agency Background on the government agency● Started when?● Vision● Legalized by?● Average annual budget● Major recent reorganizational changes● Organizational chart

Full Name of Primary TargetIndividual

Designation Email Phone

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Background of PrimaryContact

● Past roles● If technocrat/ bureaucrat- who appointed● Issues/ words that could resonate● Positions on current issues● Most recent events attended● Issues that the agency is recently tackling● Budget trajectory● Major policies proposed● Public Statements made● Who are her/ his advisers● From which academic institution did she/ he graduated from● Dealings with NGOs; with environment organizations;● Province/ District she/ he came from?● Ran for politics?● Major sectors engaged with?

Identification of Entry Points ● Stakeholder and influencer mappingIdentification of PolicyWindows

● Review of policy landscape assessment

Figure 1 Sample Stakeholder Mapping (attached)

3. Government Engagement StrategyThis section provides countries options on the right mix of government engagement activities, depending on the category, the supportrequired and the factors (effort, time, resources) to consider in prioritizing

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Category Steps Examples of Strategic Activities FactorsEffort Time Resources

GeneralSupport

Securinginitialsupport fromgovernmentagencieswithout animmediaterequest.

Preparation Initial Assessment (template) , includingCommitments of country (national and international)

Identify Communication protocol

Discussion Initial Meeting

General Engagement Site Learning Visit (check samples ones from GIZ)

Invitation to Rare hosted workshop/ training/ Events(national)

Dialogue with Rare local implementing partner

Dialogue with other Rare partners

Meeting with Country VP

Invitation to Rare hosted event (international)

Facilitation of Focus Group Discussions on specific topics

Attendance to Stakeholder’s events and activities

Resource- specificEngagement

Tapping on capacity resource and expertise in- country, ego Sharing data on partner communitieso How Rare contributes to country’s national and

international commitmentso Facilitating government workshops

5

Tapping on global policy resources from Policy andPartnerships Team (Latest resources on fisheries, oceans, andclimate policy discussions)

SpecificSupportneeded

with actionneeded fromgovernmentcounterpart

Preparation Initial Assessment (Template)

Identification of Entry Points

Identification of Policy Windows

General Engagement Facilitation of High Level Meeting

Facilitation of Donor discussion

Submission of Briefer in advance of the meeting

Focused/ SpecializedEngagement

Major, cross- cuttingactivities that willrequire major effort,but can hit multiplepolicy objectives andwith strategic timingconsiderations

(with discussionbelow)

Tapping Network of Local Leaders

National Campaign

Publishing the State of the Nations Small- Scale Fisheries

Ministerial Dialogues

Multi country learning Exchange

Regional Coastal Fisheries Events/ Meetings

Host National Coastal Fisheries Summit

FFLT visit

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Engagement

Legalizing MA+R

Reference:

Guidance document on legalizing and enabling ManagedAccess and Reserves

Engagement

Enabling MA+ R

Maintenance Communication tools Enroll in database for External Communication

Preparation of brochures and flyer

Periodic Updating of Program

Key Communications during identified national and globalevents (eg Oceans Month, Fisherfolk day, etc)

Example of Government Engagement Strategy (draft Template- excel)

GovernmentEngagementStrategies

General Support Chosen Strategic Activities(related to menu above)

Brief rationale (consideration of factors)

Specific Support Chosen Strategic Activities(related to menu above)

Brief rationale (consideration of factors)

Process Flow

Meeting with Policyand Partnerships Team

Details

Presentation toCountry VP/ Mancom

Details

Approval of CountryVP

Details

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4. Implementation

a. Risks and Mitigation Countries would need to conduct a risk assessment to identify risks to the program and reputation of Rare, highrisk areas and ways to mitigate. The following are the initial proposed categories that countries need to fill up

Risk and Mitigation Likelihood Impact

Political Cycle – involves risks due to political turnover because of elections, change inministers or high level government official, change in administration, etc

Engagement of Government Officials – involves risks due to unlawful practices of engagedgovernment officials, including incidents of graft, corruption, abuse of power

Legal Entity – involves risks due to practices that aren’t allowed based on the by- laws, in-country registration, and Rare practices

Risks by Association- risks being associated with partners and local governments that haveproven unlawful practices.

Donor requirements – risks due to non- compliance with donor government engagementpolicies

b. Review and Assessment Together with the Policy and Partnerships team, in- country policy staff will do a mid- year and year- endreview and assessment to discuss success, gaps, challenges and support needed to achieve the implementation of these.

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Recap of Process

ANNEX

● Sample Stakeholder and Influencer Mapping● Sample Country Experience (insert short narrative on example)● Description of Specialized Engagements

o Tapping Network of Local Leaderso Developing National Campaignso Publishing State of the Nations Small Scale Fisherieso Conducting Ministerial Dialogueso Conducting Multi- country Learning Exchangeo Implementing Regional Coastal Fisheries Events / Meetingso Hosting National Coastal Fisheries Summito FFLT Visit

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