If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to sleep with a mosquito

African proverb

GERASIMOS KOUVARAS

What is advocacy?

Advocacy is a process aiming at bringing change in the policies, practices and attitudes of individuals, influential people, institutions and groups.

Through advocacy we put a problem on the political agenda, providing a solution to that problem, and building support for applying the solution in order to change the situation. It is about achieving specific outcomes - a measurable change in policies and practices.

GERASIMOS KOUVARAS

 

ADVOCATES 

&

ALLIES

 

TARGETS

LOBBYING

PUBLIC MOBILISATION

MASS MEDIA

Advocacy methods

GERASIMOS KOUVARAS

Unpacking power

GERASIMOS KOUVARAS

Power over

Power to

Power with

Power within

Expressions of power

GERASIMOS KOUVARAS

LEVELS

Global

National

Local

SPACES

ClosedInvited

Claimed/ created

FACES

InvisibleHidden

Visible

Dimensions of powerTHE POWERCUBE FRAMEWORK

www.powercube.netGERASIMOS KOUVARAS

www.powercube.netGERASIMOS KOUVARAS

www.powercube.netGERASIMOS KOUVARAS

www.powercube.netGERASIMOS KOUVARAS

www.powercube.netGERASIMOS KOUVARAS

www.powercube.netGERASIMOS KOUVARAS

GERASIMOS KOUVARASwww.powercube.net

Why thinking power in advocacy?

GERASIMOS KOUVARAS

NATIONAL LEVEL

Closed Invited Claimed

Visible

Hidden

Invisible

Minister of Education 

Public consultation process 

Coalition of NGOs

MoE’s educational advisors & experts

Drafting team or person

Highly influential member or individual within the NGO coalition

Philosophy and values of the national educational system

Level of commitment ortrust to participatory decision-making 

Level of conceptual clarity and consensus on what DE is

Example: Advocacy strategy to develop a national DE strategy 

NATIONAL LEVEL

Closed Invited Claimed

Visible Minister of Education

Public consultation process

Coalition of NGOs

Hidden MoE’s educational advisors & experts

Drafting team or person

Highly influential member or individual within the coalition

Invisible Philosophy and values of the national educational system

Level of commitment/trust to participatory decision-making

Level of conceptual clarity and consensus

ISSUE: National Development Education Strategy

GLOBAL LEVEL

Closed Invited Claimed

Visible Hidden Invisible

Global thematic consultations 

Beyond 2015 campaign

Corporate sector pushing for market-led solutions

Leading agencies or highly influential individuals imposing their positions  Dominant ideology 

(i.e. neoliberalism)

Illiteracy and limited access to internet-based participatory processes of poor and excluded United Nations General Assembly 

Powerful Member States

Tokenistic approach to consultation from decision-makers 

Example: Influencing post-2015 agenda

ISSUE: Influencing post-2015 agenda

GLOBAL LEVEL Closed Invited Claimed Visible United Nations

General Assembly Global thematic consultations

Beyond 2015 campaign

Hidden Powerful Member States

Corporate sector pushing for market-led solutions

Leading agencies or highly influential individuals imposing their positions

Invisible Dominant ideology (i.e. neoliberalism)

Tokenistic approach to consultation from decision-makers

Illiteracy and limited access to internet-based participatory processes of poor and excluded

Developing an advocacy strategy

GERASIMOS KOUVARAS

Research

LegitimacyNetworking

Capacity building

Assess r

isks

Research

NetworkingCapacity building

Monitoring & Evaluation

Define the issue

Set an advocacy 

goal

Design a policy map

Set advocacy objectivesDevelop 

key messages

Choose tactics

Develop and implement action plan

What is your problem?

People living in slums do not have access to affordable and safe water supplies

No water supply infrastructure in the slums

Water is being sold in jerry cans through an unregulated informal private sector

Municipalities do not have enough budget to provide

water services

Citizens are not empowered and

organised to claim their right

Government does not give priority

to the issue

Government does not regulate the

private sector

Political corruption

People suffer from serious diseases

Increase of child mortality

Serious social and economic cost

PROBLEM TREE

Consequences

PROBLEM

Immediate causes

Underlying causes

Root causes

Absence of GE in the school practice

Teachers do not follow it 

although in curriculum

Teachers not familiar with it 

(lack of knowledge)

Poor pedagogical background

Pedagogical & Other schools do not promote respective content and 

methodology

Lack of tradition/culture

De-politicized school system (neutral values)

Teachers are not high performing

Lack of motivation

No incentives, no direction on how to make use of 

GE

Low social status

Low public image

Poor M&E system for teachers

Educational system put restrictions

No interdisciplinary approach/ No clear direction 

on GE from MoE actors

Informal education weak 

n GE –not connected with 

curriculum

Marginalisation of CSOs

No long tradition – Low public 

image

The outcome of problem tree analysis during an Advocacy workshop on Global Education (SLOGA platform, Slovenia 2013/ Gerasimos Kouvaras)

Set your advocacy goal

Achieve access to affordable and safe water supplies for all people in slums

Provide the slums with the appropriate infrastructure

Stop informal selling of water by private sector

Municipalities include the investment

needed in their budget request

Citizens are empowered and organised to claim their right

through enabling environment for citizens participation

Government includes provision

of water and sanitation

services in slums in policy priorities

Government adopts a

regulatory framework for private sector

Strong political will, policy measures against poiltical

corruption

SOLUTION TREE