What I Do
systems change analysis, advocacy capacity building, campaign strategy
Systems
Change
If the solution to a major societal problem seems simple, that’s a hint that we need to look both wider and deeper for what we aren’t seeing. Few injustices can be solved by changing a single law or policy. They’re much more often propped up by a tangled knot of laws, policies, institutions, narratives, and power structures that reinforce each other.
Best for organizations facing a complex issue and trying to identify where meaningful change is possible.
-
Systems Change Analysis can be useful for organizations that want a clearer picture of the landscape before deciding how, or whether, to act. It can be the main project we work on together, or it can be the first phase of a longer project that leads into building advocacy capacity or running a campaign. Depending on what's useful to you, this might look like:
Interviewing, researching, and investigating within your community to surface insights that don't show up in existing data or reports
Mapping the policies, institutions, and power structures that are sustaining a specific problem
Identifying decision-makers, impacted communities, and opportunities for intervention and power-building
Facilitating conversations with staff, board, or coalition partners to build toward a shared understanding of a system
Advising on an ongoing basis as your understanding of the landscape evolves
Capacity Building
Plenty of organizations and coalitions have a deep understanding of the conditions they are working to change but don’t have the systems, staffing, or tools to engage in advocacy effectively. If your organization lacks the infrastructure to pursue advocacy effectively or needs support getting a new advocacy program off the ground, I can help.
Best for organizations that know what they want to change but need the infrastructure to advocate effectively.
-
Advocacy Capacity Building is collaborative by necessity. My role is to ask questions, make recommendations, and help build something that will hold up long after I’ve stepped away from the table. With that in mind, here are some examples of advocacy capacity building work we might do together:
Conducting an assessment of advocacy capacity to identify gaps in resources and infrastructure
Designing the staffing structure and roles needed for an advocacy program and/or supporting the hiring process or interview design for key advocacy positions
Developing internal systems for tracking legislation, policy developments, or political opportunities
Creating decision-making protocols for when and how the organization takes public positions
Building board or leadership buy-in and education around advocacy's role in the organization's mission
Setting up communications infrastructure (media contact lists, rapid-response protocols, messaging guidelines) and training communications staff on advocacy communications
Developing a theory of change connecting the organization's programmatic work to its policy goals
Training staff or leadership in advocacy skills (supporter mobilization actions, lobbying, delivering testimony, media engagement, etc.)
Collaborating with development staff on advocacy-related grant language, strategy, and prospect research, and helping integrate advocacy into ongoing fundraising asks
Campaign
Strategy
Campaigns are how organizations actualize their advocacy strategy, whether they’re working toward passing a law or defending one. Your organization may already have advocacy capacity but needs a campaign strategist to help facilitate planning and advise through the length of a campaign. Or you don’t yet have the resources to grow an advocacy program but want to make a policy change.
Best for organizations pursuing a specific policy or systems-change goal.
-
For Campaign Strategy, I bring strategic judgment, campaign expertise, and experience navigating hostile political landscapes to our partnership. You bring something more important: your knowledge of your community, your relationships, and your understanding of what’s at stake.
Depending on what your campaign needs, partnering on advocacy campaigns could look like:
Designing a campaign strategy grounded in your specific political and coalition landscape
Identifying leverage points and the decision-makers who can move them
Building, expanding, or strengthening a coalition around the issue
Facilitating coalition decision-making and managing tension between partners with different priorities
Developing legislative or lobbying strategy, including drafting bill language or testimony
Directing media and communications strategy, including rapid response during high-pressure moments
Coordinating across coalition partners as conditions shift throughout the campaign
Advising on when and how to engage decision-makers, including elected officials and agency staff
Managing opposition research and response