Manual on Advocacy and Policy Influencing for Social Change 228 pages, pdf  Download Back

Manual on Advocacy and Policy Influencing for Social Change

Publisher: Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organizations (TACSO)

Date: July 2011

Volume: 228 pages, pdf

Description

In contemporary society, the amount of subjects and issues open to change, as well as the different and diverse opinions of actors and stakeholders makes it increasingly complex to govern, to consolidate or to bring about change. Entrepreneurs cannot develop their products and services without looking at the wishes of their clients, regulations from the government and increasingly opinions of pressure groups or social movements. Similarly, governments cannot formulate laws, rules and regulations without a thorough knowledge of the issue and the respective needs of its citizens and the interest of different stakeholders in society – entrepreneurs and civil society organisations alike. Finally, civil society organisations cannot bring about change by just demanding or claiming their rights without the empowered voices of its constituencies, the in-depth knowledge of existing laws and regulations, the interests of contradicting stakeholders and the proof or evidence of negative or positive implications on their beneficiaries or constituencies. In briefly, we have to become interdependent if we want to achieve sustainable change and to consolidate empowered change. Therefore nowadays Advocacy and Policy Influencing is crucial to every entrepreneur, politician or civil society group. It is a challenge to bring together different stakeholders to discuss, to inform and to influence decision makers as broadly as possible on different backgrounds and interests, in order to take an informed decision. Without advocacy and policy influencing, the quality of decision-making will suffer.