--- title: "Nine Questions Framework | Common Ground Consulting" description: "A strategic planning framework from Jim Shultz of the Democracy Center. Systematic advocacy planning from goals to evaluation." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "HowTo", "name": "The Nine Questions Framework for Advocacy Strategy", "description": "A comprehensive strategic planning framework for nonprofit advocacy campaigns", "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Common Ground Consulting" }, "step": [ { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "What do we want?", "text": "Define your long-term goal and specific campaign objective using SMART criteria." }, { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "Who can give it to us?", "text": "Identify decision-makers with authority to grant what you're asking for." }, { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "What do they need to hear?", "text": "Develop messages tailored to each target audience." }, { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "Who do they need to hear it from?", "text": "Identify credible messengers for each target audience." }, { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "How can we get them to hear it?", "text": "Select tactics to deliver your message effectively." }, { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "What do we have?", "text": "Assess available resources including people, money, relationships, and expertise." }, { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "What do we need to develop?", "text": "Identify gaps in capacity, relationships, resources, and information." }, { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "How do we begin?", "text": "Identify concrete first steps for the next 30 days." }, { "@type": "HowToStep", "name": "How will we know if it's working?", "text": "Plan how to measure progress and evaluate success." } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://commongroundconsulting.ai/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Resources", "item": "https://commongroundconsulting.ai/#services" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Advocacy Planning", "item": "https://commongroundconsulting.ai/resources/advocacy-planning" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nine Questions Strategy Framework" } ] } ] --- [![Common Ground Consulting logo: stylized circular emblem with the firm's name, linking to the homepage](/assets/commonground-logo-white-RKdLhTAB.png)](/) [Home](/)[About](/about#company-metrics)[Partnership](/strategic-implementation-partnership)[Cases](/case-studies)[Clients](/clients)[Blog](/blog) - About - Services - Interventions - Resources Search Search 1. [Home ](/) 2. [Resources ](/#services) 3. [Advocacy Planning ](/resources/advocacy-planning) 4. Nine Questions Strategy Framework Strategic Framework # The Nine Questions Framework A systematic approach to advocacy campaign planning adapted from Jim Shultz of the Democracy Center. Craig A. Bowman, Common Ground Consulting Updated February 2026 The Nine Questions Framework provides a systematic approach to advocacy campaign planning. These questions should be answered in order, as each builds on the previous. Take time to research and discuss each question thoroughly before moving to the next. 1 ## What do we want? Goals Define your long-term goal and specific campaign objective. Write a SMART objective: **S**pecific, **M**easurable, **A**ppropriate, **R**ealistic, and **T**ime-bound. **Example:** "By December 2025, pass legislation requiring all public schools in our state to provide free breakfast to students." 2 ## Who can give it to us? Targets Identify the decision-makers with authority to grant what you're asking for: - Who has formal authority to make this decision? - Who influences those decision-makers? (secondary targets) - What do we know about their positions, interests, and pressures? 3 ## What do they need to hear? Messages Develop messages tailored to each target audience. Effective messages: - Are specific to the audience's concerns and interests - Include a clear ask - Provide reasons that resonate with that audience - Come from credible messengers 4 ## Who do they need to hear it from? Messengers The messenger often matters more than the message. Consider: - Who does your target trust and respect? - Who has direct access to decision-makers? - Whose voice carries moral authority on this issue? - Who has direct experience with the problem? 5 ## How can we get them to hear it? Tactics Select tactics that will effectively deliver your message: - Media and communications: press conferences, op-eds, social media - Direct engagement: meetings, testimony, petitions - Public mobilization: rallies, marches, public forums - Coalition activities: joint statements, coordinated actions 6 ## What do we have? Resources Assess your available resources: - People: staff, volunteers, members, allies - Money: budget, potential fundraising - Relationships: access to targets, media contacts, coalition partners - Expertise: research capacity, communications skills, legal knowledge - Infrastructure: office space, technology, databases 7 ## What do we need to develop? Gaps Compare what you have to what you need. Identify gaps in: - Capacity (skills, staffing, systems) - Relationships (allies, access to targets) - Resources (funding, materials) - Information (research, data) 8 ## How do we begin? First Steps Identify the concrete first steps to launch your campaign: - What needs to happen in the next 30 days? - Who is responsible for each task? - What resources are needed immediately? - What sequence makes strategic sense? 9 ## How will we know if it's working? Evaluation Plan how you'll measure progress and success: - What indicators will tell us we're making progress? - How will we track these indicators? - When will we assess and potentially adjust our strategy? - What does success look like at different stages? ## Using the Framework Work through these questions with your team or coalition. Document your answers. Revisit them as circumstances change. The framework is iterative—you may need to revise earlier answers as you develop later ones. **Attribution:** This framework is adapted from the work of Jim Shultz of the Democracy Center. Common Ground Consulting has refined and adapted it through two decades of use with civil society organizations worldwide. [Back to Advocacy Planning Guide](/resources/advocacy-planning) ## On This Page - Introduction - Q1: What do we want? - Q2: Who can give it to us? - Q3: What do they need to hear? - Q4: Who do they need to hear it from? - Q5: How can we get them to hear it? - Q6: What do we have? - Q7: What do we need to develop? - Q8: How do we begin? - Q9: How will we know if it's working? - Using the Framework ### Contact [+1 202 744 2567](https://wa.me/12027442567) [info@commongroundconsulting.org]() Global Reach. 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