Advocacy Campaign Planning
Proven frameworks for designing, executing, and evaluating advocacy campaigns that create lasting policy change.
Advocacy campaign planning is the systematic process of designing activities to influence government policies, corporate practices, or social norms. Unlike direct service delivery, advocacy seeks to change the rules, systems, and power structures that create problems in the first place.
Research from the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest found that policy advocacy delivers an average return of $115 in community benefit for every $1 invested.
Explore the Frameworks
Nine Questions Framework
A systematic approach to developing advocacy strategy through nine essential questions.
Advocacy Campaign Cycle
Five phases: Identify, Research, Plan, Act, and Evaluate.
Problem Tree Analysis
Visual tool for analyzing root causes and consequences.
Stakeholder Mapping
Identify and prioritize stakeholders using the influence-support matrix.
Leadership Roles
The 11 essential leadership functions for advocacy movements.
Advocacy FAQ
28 frequently asked questions about nonprofit advocacy.
The Advocacy Campaign Cycle
Identify
Select your issue
Research
Gather evidence
Plan
Develop strategy
Act
Implement tactics
Evaluate
Learn & adapt
The Nine Questions Framework
- 1.What do we want?
- 2.Who can give it to us?
- 3.What do they need to hear?
- 4.Who do they need to hear it from?
- 5.How can we get them to hear it?
- 6.What do we have?
- 7.What do we need to develop?
- 8.How do we begin?
- 9.How will we know if it's working?
Writing SMART Objectives
Example: "By December 2025, pass legislation requiring all public schools to provide free breakfast to students."
Information is power. Research provides useful data, information, and evidence. Many campaigns fail because they skip the research phase and move directly to action without fully understanding the problem or the people with power to solve it.