Advice for Campaigners

An interesting article by Chris Stalker, head of campaigning effectiveness at NCVO in Guardian Society this week examines some of the issues faced by campaigners at a time when "people power" is being enthusiastically welcomed in government circles.

As well as setting out some of the challenges faced by voluntary sector in its relations with the government - some of which I personally think are a little pessimistic, - the article also makes some telling points regarding how the voluntary sector campaigns:

"We must be clear about what we want to achieve, and have a narrative and model for change. We must target and influence the relevant decision makers, be agile, and monitor and evaluate for impact. The importance of assessing and demonstrating impact to stakeholders is critical at a time when campaigners are increasingly in the public eye and when weak campaigns can be exposed for setting inappropriate objectives around promotion of the organisational brand and growing levels of funding support, rather than explicitly seeking social and political change."

This is sage advice and something that TCC stresses in both the advice we give and the hands on engagement we do in partnership with many organisations.