Document details

SMART Advocacy: Achieving Policy and Funding Change. User's Guide

Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Advance Family Planning (2021), 91 pp.
"SMART Advocacy has enabled many individuals and groups, from grassroots organizations to global fora, create effective advocacy that fuels progress. It is based on years of experience in developing and carrying out successful advocacy strategies. It is both practical and transformational. The SMART Advocacy approach focuses on what you can achieve in a short time—setting a SMART, near-term objective and determining how best to achieve an “advocacy win.” The approach is designed for a group of like-minded advocates, whether in a small, informal group or in a larger, more formal coalition. The process consists of nine steps divided into three phases. This guide takes you through these steps and provides customizable tools to help you plan concrete, specific actions tailored to your issue and environment. Along the way, you will make essential strategic choices so that, by the end, you will have an evidence-driven strategy and a SMART objective that everyone involved can take forward confidently. Repeating the process to forge a chain of related advocacy wins can lead to policy decisions that achieve your ultimate goal." (Page 2)
PHASE I: BUILD CONSENSUS, 11
Step 1. Understand the landscape, 12
Step 2. Decide who to involve, 19
Step 3. Set a smart objective, 24
PHASE II: FOCUS EFFORTS, 32
Step 4. Know the decision maker, 32
Step 5. Determine the ask, 39
Step 6. Create a work plan, 49
PHASE III: ACHIEVE CHANGE, 56
Step 7. Present the case, 57
Step 8. Monitor the plan, 62
Step 9. Capture results, 80