Transcript Document

Introduction to Strategy
Planning
NIGERIAN TOBACCO CONTROL
STRATEGY PLANNING MEETING
Lagos
16-19 May 2005
Q1: What do we want?
Any advocacy effort must begin with very
concrete objectives.
The more specific, clear and concrete the
objective, the more effective the planning
process will be.
WHAT DO WE WANT?
This can be the most difficult question to
answer. Ask yourself:
How specific is it? Could it be achieved in
the short-term (1-3 years) or is it a longerterm project?
How much impact will it have/how effective
would it be?
Will it help lay the foundation for other
objectives or is it an end in itself?
What do we want (cont.)?
Will it happen anyway?
How much would it cost and who would
pay?
Is it best tackled at the federal, state or
local level?
Are there options you should just not do?
What do we want?
For each potential goal you need to have an
honest assessment of:
Your strengths and weaknesses as a movement
Public support (actual and potential) for the
agreed-upon goal
The barriers you face as a movement (tobacco
industry resistance, political corruption, hostile
media, etc.)
Q1: What do we want?
Remember, advocacy is an art, not a science. It
is fundamentally about achieving desired goals.
Many paths may get you there.
In setting your goals as a movement, don’t think
too small but don’t think too big either! Small
victories can build on each other and give you
and your supporters a sense of your ability and
power to change things. But if the goal is not
ambitious enough, it may not inspire people to
act.
Q2: Who Can Make It Happen?
Who has the power to give you what you
want? Depending on the objective it could
be:
-- Parliament
-- The President
-- a mid-level national or local bureaucrat
-- a combination of any or none of the
above
Map the decision
Q3:What do they need to hear?
You will need to craft "messages" to
incorporate into your written materials,
press statements, talking points, etc.
Important!: When formulating messages,
the question you need to ask is not: “what
do we want to say” but “what must we say
to persuade them to take the actions we
want". These will often be very different!
What do they need to hear to
persuade them to do what
you want?
Core messages speak to the broad public
interest.
Tailored messages address the self-interest and
special concerns of your target audience.
Examples of Core Messages
“Our society cannot wait to act until millions
of our children become victims of cancer,
heart disease, and stroke.”
“Ratifying the FCTC will show that the
government cares more for the future
health of the country's children than for the
economic wealth of the tobacco industry.”
Examples of Tailored
Messages (to the President)
Ratifying the FCTC will be a politically popular
move with the public which has already shown
strong support for tobacco control measures.
Other countries on the continent like South
Africa and Kenya have already ratified the
FCTC. Our country must not be seen as lagging
behind.
If we ratify the FCTC our views will have more
weight in the formation of the Conference of the
Parties.
For tailored messages…
1. The more political intelligence you gather
about the concerns and motives of key
targets, the more effectively you can tailor
the messages they need to hear to
support your advocacy objectives.
2. Your messages will vary depending upon
the policy you want to change and the
people you are trying to convince.
Use Research to Support Your
Advocacy Efforts
Existing local and international research,
public opinion polls, household surveys,
etc. can and should be used to support
your advocacy efforts.
You can also produce your own research
and conduct your own focus groups. See:
“Low Cost Research for Advocacy” by
PATH Canada for ideas.
If Your Are Talking to the Ministry of
Finance About An Ad Ban….
“Advertising restraints will not harm the
economy. The advertising industries in
countries with advertising bans have not
suffered significant losses of jobs or been
bankrupted.”
If Your Are Talking to the Ministry of
Health About An Ad Ban…
“Advertising restrictions and bans have
proved effective in keeping fewer young
people from starting to smoke.”
Advocate, don’t educate
Advocate, don’t educate
Advocate or educate?
Educate

The addictive effect of
nicotine is mediated at
least in part by
stimulation of
dopamine release in
the nucleus
accumbens
Advocate

Nicotine is as addictive
as heroin or cocaine
Keep it simple
Keep it simple?
What are powerful "Simplifying
Concepts"?
These are short phrases or labels that
capture the essence of what you are trying
to accomplish in ways that resonate
naturally with most people:
“a tobacco free future for our children“
"freedom from addiction and disease“
“health before tobacco industry profits”
Messages That Speak to the Brain
What are Numbers That “Sing”?
Another term for this is “creative epidemiology”.
This is a way of presenting statistics in ways that
convey scientific information but also move an
audience emotionally. For example, “Every day
in America, 3,000 children start smoking; 1,000
of them will die early from the diseases smoking
causes.” Or: "If we do not act, 2 million of our
citizens now alive will die from tobacco caused
disease."
Example:
“The deaths of 350 children under age
five could be prevented each day if only
70% of their parents’ tobacco
expenditures went to food
instead…Each year, 10.5 million
children are needlessly malnourished,
due in part to their parents’ expenditure
on tobacco rather than food.”
-- WBB Bangladesh, “Hungry for
Tobacco”
What Messages Speak to the
Heart?
What words and phrases best evoke
important cultural values? What might be
effective "responsive chord messages"
(i.e. questions that evoke responses
already embedded in people’s minds)?
Example
“Many poor tobacco-growing countries
argue that they need the revenue from
tobacco. But who in your family are you
willing to sacrifice so that the
Government can earn more taxes?
Would you want your brother, or sister,
or child to start smoking so that
the Government can earn more money?”
– Phillip Karugaba, Uganda
Say what you mean
Say it again
Q4: Who are the most
effective messengers for our
target audience?
When deciding who your messengers will
be, think of the following questions:
Who will our target audience most trust or
listen to?
Who does that audience most want to
please?
Who does that audience honor, respect,
fear, or even love?
Q: Who is the “Right” Messenger?
A: The answer will always change,
depending upon the situation.
Who are the most effective
messengers for our target
audience?
Think creatively!
For example, if your target audience is the Prime
Minister, the most effective messengers could be
former or current aides, a cabinet member,
business or labor leaders, leading scientists,
journalists, religious leaders, etc. Or it could be
friend from University, a spouse, or a celebrity.
This is where intelligence pays off.
Who are the most effective
messengers for our target
audience?
Additionally, you will need to ask:
Who does our target audience dislike,
distrust, and/or not take seriously?
What Other Allies Do You Need?
People with legal expertise in the legislative
process and in drafting strong proposed laws
People with an understanding of the political
power structure your tobacco control advocacy
efforts must confront
Knowledge of the political operations,
governmental ties, and advocacy strategies of
the tobacco companies that operate in your
country
What Other Allies Do You Need?
Tobacco control science and
economics expertise; connections to
the WHO and other international
organizations and experts that can
provide access to knowledge, human,
and financial resources.
What Other Allies Do You Need?
People with:
an understanding of what messages key
decision makers need to hear to persuade them
to enact the laws and programs you want
knowledge of how your nation's mass media will
react to tobacco control media advocacy
knowledge of and experience with successful
NGO policy-advocacy strategies in your country
influence with organizations willing to provide
financial and human resources to support
coalition-building and advocacy activities.
Mobilise others
Other campaigns

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Childrens’ health, childrens’ rights
Anti-poverty groups
Medical associations (nurses, oncologists,
pulmonologists, etc.)
Environmental groups
Commercial interests?

Pharmaceutical companies
My enemy’s enemy is (sometimes) my friend
Mobilise others
Your
Their
interests
interests
A coalition/network is:
A group of individuals and/or organizations
united around a common issue or goal.
Advantages of coalition/network
Increases available human and financial
resources
Increases visible support for goal
Creates common front (and consistent
messaging)
Educates and mobilizes concerned
citizens & groups
Expands reach of campaign
Disadvantages of
coalitions/networks
Sharing control and slower decisionmaking
Balancing goals and needs of coalition vs.
that of member organizations
Sharing credit and visibility
Differing organizational cultures and
constraints
Differing strategies
Success Factors
Common goal that all members sign on to,
with strategy decisions left to smaller
group
Differing but clear levels of commitment
Respect for each others’ self-interest
Mechanism to take quick decisions and
action
FLEXIBILITY: Give and take
Key Questions When Forming A
Coalition/Network
Who needs to join our cause during the first phase
of our campaign?
As we progress, what kind of groups do we need
to influence decision-makers in government?
How can we efficiently recruit the allies we need?
Do we need a formal coalition? If we do need it,
who do we include?
Ten Commandments for Tobacco
Control Coalitions
(UICC Tobacco Control Strategy Planning Guide #2)
1.
Ensure that building and maintaining a coalition is not
the primary objective
2. Keep the coalition loose and flexible
3. Focus on “leadership” more than “management”
4. Be proactive
5. Find lobbying expertise
6. “without involvement there is no commitment”
7. Don’t get too far in front of your own forces
8. Keep proper perspective
9. Recognize collaborate achievements
10. Use best practices (lessons learned)
Q5:How Can we Get them to
Hear It?
Lobbying?
Focused Media Advocacy?
Public Protest?
A combination of these?
Campaign methods
Letters
Parliamentary inquiries
Industry conduct exposure
Research and reports – with spin
External experts
News stories
Events
Direct action
Advocacy Commandment:
Do what is needed, not what
you are comfortable doing!
What are effective ways to gain the
media's attention with stories that
best convey our messages?
Make stories newsworthy.
Give your stories a “public health” frame.
This means:
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Translate the individual problem into a social
issue
Assign responsibility for the problem
Present a solution
Make a practical appeal
Examples:
Tobacco company caught doing an illegal
promotion
the release of a report with new scientific
findings
a statement from prominent figures calling
on the government to ratify the FCTC
Q6: What Resources Do We
Have?
Take careful stock of the advocacy
resources that are already there to be built
on. This includes past advocacy work that
is related, alliances already in place,
written and visual materials, staff and
other people's capacity, information and
political intelligence. In short, you don't
start from scratch, you start from building
on what you've got.
Embrace technology
Computers, e-mail, internet, databases are
your strength
Q7: What do we need to
develop? (GAPS)
After taking stock of the advocacy resources
you have, the next step is to identify other
or additional advocacy resources you
need that aren't yet there. This means
looking at alliances that need to be built,
and capacities such as outreach, media
advocacy, and research which are crucial
to any effort.
Q8: How do we begin?
Steps)
(First
What would be an effective way to begin to
move the strategy forward? What are
some potential short term goals or projects
that would bring the right people together,
symbolize the larger work ahead and
create something achievable that lays the
groundwork for the next step?
Q9: How do we tell if it's
working? (Evaluation)
As with any long journey, the course needs
to be checked along the way. Strategy
needs to be evaluated revisiting each of
the questions above (i.e., ask yourself:
Are we aiming at the right audiences? Are
we reaching them? etc.) It is important to
be able to make mid-course corrections
and to discard those elements of a
strategy that don't work once they are
actually put into practice.
GOOD
LUCK!!!