Archive: Tue Jun 2015

1. Great question

   23rd June 2015 10:42 am Leave a Comment

   I was asked a great question the other day: who needs to know about the impact of your advocacy campaigns?

   It stopped me in my tracks, and did give me food for thought. When I started my campaigning work at Oxfam, I remember being keen for public recognition of the role that Oxfam was playing in any campaign. I was involved in the campaign to abolish supermarket vouchers for asylum seekers almost 15 years ago now, and while it was a successful campaign involving many organisations, I still wanted some public recognition along side others of the role that Oxfam was playing.

   I wasn’t that obsessed by the need for profile, but I did want some degree of external recognition for Oxfam. Although I remember some of my colleagues wanting more profile for the organisation. I will never forget the degree of concern there was when I arranged a press conference on the issue, which included the British Medical Association and the Transport and General Workers’ Union – but without Oxfam. I do think that there will be stages of a campaign where you will make judgments that your organisation is not needed. But not withstanding that point, I still wanted recognition for Oxfam.

   Now at the Red Cross, I am interested to observe how, with the benefit of age perhaps, I have changed my thinking. We are seeking to influence government policy on the section 4 azure payment card for asylum seekers – a sad carry-over from the former vouchers scheme.

   I now find myself less concerned about public recognition of the role played by my organisation. My increasing focus is on the humanitarian suffering caused by this payment card and pushing for a return to cash payments for this group of people.

   Yet I do realise that there are important audiences from whom I do still want some recognition for the role of the Red Cross. Chief amongst that audience are our staff and volunteers – and indeed our wider supporter base. I would also be keen for the key Parliamentarians to know about our work to help us build credibility for future engagement.

   The information that I would like to convey is less about our impact but more about our progress with our theory of change. By this piece of jargon I basically mean telling the story of the campaign. The more I do this work the more I see successful campaigning is about being able to tell the story of your campaign. Such a story will include both the past and the future.

   So I hope to convey to my key audience the journey that we have covered to date and then the future direction we plan for our campaign. And with any such story there will be breakthroughs and set-backs – the campaign story needs to include both but always with a focus on the new future direction.

   For me now in my campaigning, recognition is less important, but the significance of telling the campaign story is even more needed that ever. Do you involve story telling in your campaigning?

2. Sarah Williams

   10:42 am Leave a Comment

   

   Campaigns Manager, Living Streets

   Apart from your current organisation which other organisations that campaign do you admire?

   There are many but Shelter often stand out for me. Their approach is extremely focused and strategic. They’ve done a fantastic job at getting housing the political prominence it needs.

   Who is the campaigner you most admire?

   Mark Thomas. He has a great mix of humour, tenacity, fantastic ideas and a novel way of sharing news of his campaigns beyond a traditional audience.

   Generally are organisations getting better at campaigning since you began your career? If so, what’s changed?

   I don’t know if they’re better, but I think they’re adapting well to a changing landscape. If I think about the history of campaigning organisations I’ve been involved with, they have always successfully fought for things that matter.
   What is exciting is the speed at which some campaigns can take off, and the ease that digital platforms can offer for engagement. I think organisations are getting better at using these. Rethink’s Find Mike campaign was a great example of a compelling story, a simple message and an easy action.

   What three attributes make a good campaigner?

   Probably similar to those that Mark Thomas has; Tenacity, a sense of humour and an ability to target and focus well.

   What’s the most rewarding or exciting campaign you’ve worked on and why?

   There are so many! Just before I left Parkinson’s UK I worked with local campaigners to successfully campaign for a Parkinson’s nurse. They had been trying for over two years and there was no specialist care in place when they asked me to help.
   I came in to help them think a bit differently, but made sure that the local campaigners were still at the forefront. Within three months they had an agreement to get a new Parkinson’s nurse in place. I love knowing that the people I worked with will see things improve for them and the ones they love.

   How do you feel campaigns will change over the next five years?

   I think we’ll see a lot more high profile individual campaigns because of social media and platforms like Change.org. The personal stories will be the ones that get attention and are widely shared.

   What advice would you give someone starting their career in campaigning today?

   Get involved and make mistakes. Don’t worry about trying things out, sometimes the things you’re sure are going to work well don’t – and vice versa. Find other people and organisations that you admire and talk to them to find out what they do and how they do it.
   I think that’s the same advice for people at any stage of their campaigning career.

   If you weren’t a campaigner, what would you be?

   Probably working in Corporate Social Responsibility for businesses helping them to change from the inside.