You don’t need a campaign to change things that you have some degree of control over already.
Campaigning is about changing something which is outside of your power. You campaign to persuade those with the power to make the desired changes.
You may think your campaign issue is something everyone should agree with. But if that were true and everyone thought the same way then you wouldn’t need a campaign. To influence effectively and focus your efforts on the people who can make the changes needed, you’ll need to spend time thinking about them – and thinking like them– if you want to convince them to back you.
At its most basic, campaigning is about:
- your problem – understanding and framing it clearly;
- your solution – built on your evidence and credibility, expressed in clear language using key messages;
- knowing the person or people who have the power to make the desired change – who, how and when is best to influence them? Do you know whether they have arguments against your campaign goals and how you can address these?; and
- seeking to influence them to get the best result – use a clear strategy and change it if it’s not working.
This section provides guidance about influencing for change, taking you through the process of developing an influencing plan that will support your overall campaign strategy. It includes simple but effective tools to help you along the way, such as the elevator pitch and the Opposition Matrix.
External Resource:
Ian Chandler of the Pressure Group has produced a useful mini-guide: ‘Identifying the best influencing strategy’.
