My Communities

I believe it would actually be easier to operate in one of the two extremes: open, or restricted, rather than semi-open which often gives a false sense of progress.

I'm finding that a lot of NGOs are very restrictive. With funding and grant guidelines these days, its hard to be completely open. "You can do this, you cant do that." That leaves larger restrictive NGOs with all the funding and a very hidden, narrow way of thinking that strangles any chance at competing against these powerful NGO's who take in all the money and have limited transparency to what they really advocate. There's a form of crony type corporatism and excessive spending in many NGOs today. Even the "good ones" are doing it. Being "open" sometimes feels like voting 3rd party. Your integrity is there but you never win. haaa

Thanks you very much for the lecturing, indeed you have touched the core issues especially knowing the context, Basically, my name is Yunus Esmail Ebrahim i am a Somali by origin Tanzanian by birth and now I'm working in Hargeisa Somaliland. Even here when i am writing about Report let say Participation of Women in Democracy or Freedom of women Journalist you have to be very carefully especially when writing your Report. In our case whatever we are saying we just quoting Somaliland Law so it seem your not just attacking the government rather your identifying the problems.
Again, some time is better to clarify when the wrong acts has been done, who is the doer of the action is it a police or government at large?, sometimes you may find that some police are just doing their things let say they may take someone in prison without warrant and even President is not aware of what is going on, though someone may judge government are responsible because police are part of Government officials. I think to pre judge like that is wrong because some days president is not in the country and police did what they did who is to be blame?

This is a very crucial aspect in our political setup which makes it very difficult to freely advocate

I agree the stakeholders need to all be on board with change in my filed of training so much training is wasted if the organization does not support the new learning.

I answered the question about what type of environment do I work in based on the region in my state within the US. Generally speaking, the US has been experiencing a great political divide which we are experiencing also on a local level. This has impacted our advocacy work immensely and has affected our capacity to do advocacy work. When I began this work 6 years ago, I felt very different about our environment as I do now. In many ways I feel we have gone backwards. Our NGO was in a position to act as checks and balances on power and government, and in our recent work that impacts public health and safety, we have been challenge on our position and stance. This challenge comes from our own board members who have ties to higher political groups who were not in favor of our messaging. It was this resistance that changed our environment to semi-open to restrictive. I wonder if anyone else has experienced that shift in capacity.

we all know about advocacy is a word that is up for grabs in public discuss, research ,and pol-icy , government officials, classifiers, non profit managers, and other used of the word differently in their professions. political context is way where people living in group make decision, politicians and other people may get together to form government.

@Jesse_Brooks said in Module 1 Discussion: Advocacy and the Political Context:

I answered the question about what type of environment do I work in based on the region in my state within the US. Generally speaking, the US has been experiencing a great political divide which we are experiencing also on a local level. This has impacted our advocacy work immensely and has affected our capacity to do advocacy work. When I began this work 6 years ago, I felt very different about our environment as I do now. In many ways I feel we have gone backwards. Our NGO was in a position to act as checks and balances on power and government, and in our recent work that impacts public health and safety, we have been challenge on our position and stance. This challenge comes from our own board members who have ties to higher political groups who were not in favor of our messaging. It was this resistance that changed our environment to semi-open to restrictive. I wonder if anyone else has experienced that shift in capacity.

Hi Ms Brooks,

It's very interesting to hear how your political environment has changed so much in these past few months, especially with regards to work you are currently doing. I'm very curious to know how your own board members are opposing work they are meant to be advocating?

Kind Regards,
Jian Olivier

Hi there! I work for a non-profit that advocates for the health, education, and financial stability for all people in our region. About 6 years ago we layered on youth substance prevention work into our mission recognizing that if we are successful in reducing youth substance use, we could increase the health, education, and financial success for our community and the future. Recently our state and county was considering commercial retail sales of cannabis, which our team provided public health information that highlighted the importance of protecting youth and informing populations (such as parents) of the potential negative impacts. One of our board members was personally in favor of the opt-in vote happening and tried to influence the board that our work could be seen as political in order for us to stop sharing information.

Understanding about the political situation and cultural concept of certain country or targeted area is important step before doing the Advocacy for certain objective of organization because the action taken without understanding of political context of the targeted country or location have high possibilities to get negative impact as consequence.

Fully agree with scoping the political context for the problem and root cause one is advocating for. There are many political instances, and the organization should map decision makers and influencers too.

Yes strongly agree.

Understanding the context is key in designing an advocacy strategy

I strongly agree that we need to have an open and welcoming environment in the work place.

I work for the government and I envy how NGOs invest in advocacy programs. Our organization has been around since 2014 but people still don't know what we do since we never had a clear and concise communication plan.

Based from experience, a very important aspect of knowing the context of a political landscape is knowing the leaders. In our country, majority of the leaders do not know how to advocate simply because they were appointed based on years of service and connections - and not based on experiences and qualifications.

Do you think consistency in advocacy efforts would yield results in a semi-open context?

YES IT IS IMPORTAN TO UNDERSTAND POLITICAL CONTEXT AS IT IS MACRO FACTOR THAT AFFECTS ONE'S ORGANIZATION.

YES IT IS IMPORTAN TO UNDERSTAND POLITICAL CONTEXT AS IT IS MACRO FACTOR THAT AFFECTS ONE'S ORGANIZATION.

Great insights shared in the intro of the course on the need to understand the context and understand the problem a hand. Contexts differ and hence there can not be one size fits all advocacy strategy.

Looking at the context in which we want to do the work of advocacy is essential. Without an adequate knowledge of the context, an NGO may find themselves failing in their efforts to address a problem. First it is very important to gather facts from the stakeholders including beneficiaries about what they see as the problem and the root causes of the problem. Sometimes, people might be able to name a problem but the root causes might not have been analyzed in depth and so advocacy measures might only end up addressing the problem superficially and this does not provide lasting solution to the problem. Researching and analyzing the root causes helps to develop a holistic approach to addressing the problem.
It is also very important to be aware of the kind of political context the NGO operates in. This will help to know which kind of advocacy measures might work best in such a situation. For example, applying measures which suit an open context to a restrictive context might create more problems and danger to the NGO and the beneficiaries rather than alleviating their problems.

It is important to understand the political environment ahead of time to understand the situation and start the advocacy . This can help to meet the target or address the advocacy effort of bringing changes.

It's important to learn the political context of the area you come from in order to establish the best approach in advocacy. The approach to advocacy to be chosen must also take in to consideration the strategy and self-preservation

The actual thing is not the strategies to use but the things we are advocating for, the issues whether, political, economic or socio-cultural. These issues will lead us into the context and strategies to us either in a restricted, open and semi- open political environments. This is humble opinion.

for me its very important you contextualize the advocacy strategy and plan you want to use, for instance in African context, Nigeria to be precise, you have you localize the language usage in simple and clear terms, you have to link up with the religious and community leaders to gain acceptance before the proceeding to carryout the advocacy, also have a detailed background knowledge of the problem you want to solve and how you want to solve it also matters,.

True analyse the root cause or problem and classify weather its public or health

Here in Nigeria, it's a sami-open. Because there is a restrictions but not that much. And also government is monitoring NGO activities. Sometimes, rallies are mostly not encouraged.

The political and social context (I would argue) is fundamental to the type of problems and strategies that NGOs and other civil organisations face and can use. It is fundamental to take into consideration the law and political atmosphere for an advocacy work (I strongly believe that without a political involvement is not possible to change things), but also involve who we are trying to help, especially if the NGOs or other organisations are not constitute by beneficiaries.

Understanding the political environment plays a great role in the success of any advocacy approach.

Sometimes what someone sees as a problem and needs to find a solution,it's actually not a problem to the specific community. They might just feel they should be left alone with there traditions.

NGOs need to really think about the governments in the countries where they operate because, whether they like it or not, it is the governments that run the countries. The challenge I think is to how you can be seen as a constructive partner in nation-building: not too contradicting but also not always bowing down to whatever those in power are saying.

YES, stakehplders need to be properly and bring on board

Need some personal level help to educational program

Global governance is no longer a matter of state cooperation or bureaucratic politics. Since the end of the cold war, advocacy groups have proliferated and enjoyed increasing access to global governance institutions such as the European Union, World Trade Organization, and the United Nations climate conferences.

we have an open political environment

Irrespective of Whatever challenges, positive movements must be sustained.

I agree with this statement. Context is most of the times the single most important thing that many people may forget to take into account. When we are talking about advocacy and problem solving, I think it is especially important to take into account the experience of those who have faced the problem directly. Otherwise, our ideas and solutions might not be viable nor effective.

Wow in with this module i have just seen where my country and my NGO falls in between the three contexts. Understanding the context will help you know how to protect yourself which is more important so as to know how you can approach a problem in advocacy.

The political context is indeed critical when developing an advocacy strategy. Much of our work tends to be affected not only by the organization's goals but also the goals of the authorities or government in power and the extent to which the two coincide will also determine the extent of support or resistance that the we face in our advocacy.

Looking at the risks vis-a-vis the benefits in advocacy work can truly be challenging especially where you may be put in a position where you have to trade in your goals and ethics for safety and security in your work. It is unfortunate that this appears to be the situation for many NGOs where their efforts have to take the back burner in exchange for, say, funding from agencies whose policies do not coincide with theirs or governments whose laws and practices either limit or are opposed to the advocacy work.

I'm agree with you

I agree with my colleagues about involving the stakeholders , and just to expand on that involving the community comes at hand. Grass root level approach is as well crucial because they are victims and when NGOs fail to involve them then they feel used which leads the NGO not to succeed.

Very true, I agree with you on that.

The contextualisation and pre-emptive consideration of political environment allows for policy makers and pressure groups to push forward agenda relating to developmental and non-developmental issues. However, what is important to note, is that even in restrictive spaces, NGO's try an overcome barriers via careful dialogues and dissent strategies. If there are certain successful examples, of such advocacy strategies we would be able to prepare ourselves for the worst conditions. It also difficult to completely categorise such enviroment, because there will always be certain sectors which are completely centralised and non-invasive. Let's hear it from our coursemates if they have worked in such situations, and managed to come out successful.

It is important to note the right context to use inorder to have a successful advocacy.
Also through the theory of change we can identify what activities to do that can prevent the problem from rasing in the very first place.

It is important to note the right context to use inorder to have a successful advocacy.
Also through the theory of change we can identify what activities to do that can prevent the problem from rasing in the very first place.

It is important to note the right context to use inorder to have a successful advocacy.
Also through the theory of change we can identify what activities to do that can prevent the problem from rasing in the very first place.

It is important to note the right context to use inorder to have a successful advocacy.
Also through the theory of change we can identify what activities to do that can prevent the problem from rasing in the very first place.

It is important to note that three things must be put into consideration while advocating.
Motivation
Timing
Framing
All these when used well will lead to a successful advocacy.

I have difficulties to think about a country that would really be an open context. Is'nt it always, at least, a semi-open context ? It's seems to me that there will always be some kind of repercussion if you go against a main political idea. Would someone maybe have an personal example of an open context ?

I fully agree, with both fully understanding the problem you are seeking to solve and your environment, your work will likely fail or be perceived as tone deaf. We probably have all seen examples of well-meaning projects falling flat.

yes, true that

advocacy and political context are closely interlinked and depends on each other

Many countries are operating semi-open and restrictive context forms; except the Non- profit organizations are ready to dance to the tune of the policie makers/politicians they may not really get quality aid and support.

It is very important to understand that most NGOs act as co-implementing partners of government projects and help the government in fundraising for some programs. therefore, it is always important for NGOs to understand the political environment in the area of operation

I'm about to test this in my own organization with education around transgender issues, bringing to light the increased violence and death amongst the population. It's interesting that I'm taking this course at the same time because I don't feel like the context in the organization is appropriate for the topic but I'm not the only one advancing these ideas. So we shall see how it goes. I hope the learning fairs well for the majority of people that are exposed to the topic.

Yes, as the instructors said, even I also from the part of Semi-Open. Democracy is on the time elections but its nor prolonged or prevailed once they got elected. Its kind of roles in movies from being protagonist to become a participant when the elections got over...

I believe that the first step is to let the person who is suffering from a wound know, "Hey, you got a wound buddy, that's why you can't run as fast", then the second step is to try to find ways of healing the wound together.

The environment in which we operates determines the outcome of the things we are executing. If for instance the political environment is harsh, someone's mental health is affected and so the work and the outcome of the work is greatly affected. Thus advocating for a conducive open political environment is crucial in the quality of the outcome we expect

The environment in which we operates determines the outcome of the things we are executing. If for instance the political environment is harsh, someone's mental health is affected and so the work and the outcome of the work is greatly affected. Thus advocating for a conducive open political environment is crucial in the quality of the outcome we expect

The information received was informative and useful

The environment in which we operates determines the outcome of the things we are executing. If for instance the political environment is harsh, someone's mental health is affected and so the work and the outcome of the work is greatly affected. Thus advocating for a conducive open political environment is crucial in the quality of the outcome we expect

In my experience, semi-open context is very common in the education sector. Implementation of advocacy activities is favorable when all stakeholders are involved or kept in the loop during the formation of strategies.

Very informative module.

Political environment is one of the key that can make advocacy to be done effectively. In many countries advocacy may need public private partnership where the regime, the profit making organization and non profit organization need to conduct advocacy as a collective effort. A good advocacy strategy can be drafted but if there is no fair ground for it to be implemented, the advocacy become a aflop.

It is important to understand advocacy approaches and that requires analyzing the root causes of the problem we are trying to solve which can be done by being inside and understanding the problems by someone who is facing them directly.

yes, I agree with this. I think progress can often be hindered by the "grey area" of legislation and the beliefs of a governing body/stakeholders. When topics are taboo this can increase as well.

Problem identification and political context will determine how advocacy will be smoothly or roughly go through the community whom we deal with.

I think that it is critical that as an organization you pinpoint exactly what you are trying to achieve. By doing so you mitigate a lot of potential risks.

In the NGO I work with, we often shy away from relating with political office holders because we are wary of our work getting politicised. We often just want to get the work done and relate directly with the beneficiaries. However, I have learnt that one cannot run away from relating with policy makers because political will is often needed for effecting behavioural change. Secondly, the political class determine the laws that govern the development space and if they are not favourable then the work of NGOs is impeded. Right now, what matters is learning how to navigate the political space and make the political context serve an NGO's mission.

yes it good to look on that restrictive system of government will hinder us work efficiently

This is the mindset I have too. Try and avoid politicians at all costs but now the project I'm working now really needs them

Understanding the context in which you are operating is probably one of the most important building aspects of effective advocacy.

It is not possible to effectively advocate for a issue whose root-cause you do not understand. I good understanding of the cause and how the issue has evolved overtime is key to designing better advocacy strategy.

In a country that has a tough political actors like ours it's very important to map out the risk you may encounter when advocating.

It is not possible to effectively advocate for a issue whose root cause you do not understand. I good understanding of the cause and how the issue has evolved overtime is key to designing better advocacy strategy.

It is crucial to consider what you are advocating for and whether the outcome is going to be beneficial to the target audience. Again, knowing the kind of environment you are working in is equally important to know which approach works better.
The strategies must also be tailor suit specifically for what problem you are solving because what worked for project A might not work for B.

It is important to contextualize the government in your country. This will help you to decide on the strategy/tactics to use in advocacy.

I agree with you. Understanding your political context and creating effective strategies to implement advocacy is one key and basic foundation to efficient advocacy

What a better way to commence this course. Importance of knowing your politcal environment cannot be over discussed. it detemines the system of engagement and the success therefore. Also, knowing the root of the problem will aslo help in determine the rule of engagement. Thanks for the great insights

Once you identify the root cuase then you can apply means to either eliminate the resistance or the objection, and by that allow the conversation.

It is good knowing the political environment that will help you to the risk involved if you will carry out the advocacy and how to mitigate it, it also help you to know your limit and delimitation

Sure identifying root cause is key, but contextualization gives you guidance

it was interesting to learn and hear the three approaches of political context: open, semi open and restrictive. I was feeling these 3 levels but I couldn't categorize it like this before.
Thank you,

Politicians hold power and power influences decisions on a number of issues that affect the common people. Understanding the political environment in which an NGO operates is very key to realization of project/ program outcomes and impact. Carefully choosing who hold the power and how to engage them should be given utmost consideration.

Thank you for this..in my country we have a restrictive political system unlike some countries who do have a semi open political system,it's restrictive in the sense that you choose to be open and be an advocate for despotism,and any other files you are either threatened or even assassinated,and most NGOs who still have the courage to speak do that with hidden identity

I agree, It is essential for an organization to consider and understand the approach of their advocacy depending on the political environment they are working in in order to mitigate and be able to adapt to the level of context they are in without compromising their goal.

For advocacy to be successful and also ensure safety of those working with you, its important to take into consideration and plan according to the political context of the environment you are working in. Different places may require you to switch up your advocacy strategy depending on its context, what worked today may not work a few days, weeks, months or years later.

Advocacy is one way of speaking for those whose voices can not be heard(being a voice to the voiceless), but the question is a you doing for the good of the public or just for personal interests, knowing the root cause for the problem before finding solutions matters a lot because it is the focal point and a guiding line. Stakeholders in Government, NGO's, Organizations should uphold their roles and ensure that transparency exists, principle of accountability applies because each one has to stand accountable for the offices, work entrusted with them.

For advocacy to achieve its objectives depending on the topic chosen, a suitable advocacy approach should be taken but best on the root cause of the problem because if the root cause of the problem is identified then one is able to outline all the possible solutions to the problem and it will help in writing the objectives of the advocacy work study.

The problems can be best identified and solved by involving the target audience. But the political context has a greater role in advocacy than we might admit.
This has been a major challenge in Community Development work.

Figuring out where you stand in regards to open, semi-open and restrictive context seems to me to be a key factor in success or failure. Although any advocacy work is likely to get push back, true and powerful opposition is something we must be prepared for.

thank you very much for this.

The issue of political context becomes more crucial to me having listening to our facilitators. It has made me see that political context can actually be the defining factor between success and failure of similar solutions proposed for people in various countries.

i will check out the material you talked about.

In the country where I was born and raised, it is increasingly difficult to determine whether Indonesia has a restrictive or semi-open political environment. This is due to the increasing number of regulations in the Electronic Information and Transactions Law which makes the space for freedom of expression increasingly narrow.

Contextualization is very important as it helps understand the situation and strategize on the best way to improve the quality of the situation.

totally agree. implementing measures that can make a political system open or at least semi-open, the rights and the level of progress and personal growth of each individual would be respected and taken into account, which after all is what is pursued with this type of programs.

The context in which a type of advocacy can be applicable cannot be overemphasized; especially if the political atmosphere is unfavorable to the supremacy of the rule of law and has no regard for the voice or opinion of the people of the land. it could result to serious fatalities. Advocacy of itself is a dicey subject and strategies should be considers within the pillars of policy makers, advocators and the stake holders who understands and also might have experienced the problem that is the core of the advocacy.

I agree with those who are saying there are very few or even no open contexts. There is a very large number of semi open contexts. Likely the majority of countries in the world function under a semi open framework as I understand it, while few fall under restrictive. The country I am working from falls closer to the restrictive side of the spectrum, while my home country falls closer to the open side of the spectrum, but both would be considered semi open.

To venture into act of advocacy, one must as a matter of importance identify the problem, what are the causes of the problem. It after doing this that one can frame a possible solution and fashion out the best way to implement the solution.

My take is that contextualized advocacy is important,because it enables organisations anaylize the root cause of the problem being dealt with and often times the problems are linked to poor governance, unfriendly and unequitable polices that
deprives development in all Government sectors.

It is necessary to go beyond identifying the political environment an NGO is operating in to understanding the reason why that state/country adopts/practices that type of governance. Then aligning the project's goals with that of the political system will lead to less resistance from the latter and better success for the initiative.