Practice · Practice framework
Advocacy Toolkit for Small NGOs
- Any issue
- Justice, Legal, Civic
- Community Development
A step-by-step method that helps small NGOs and coalitions turn frontline knowledge of a problem into a focused, resourced advocacy strategy, from setting the goal through to lasting policy change.
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- Free to licenseCreative Commons
- Field Guidechapters and guidance
- 13 resourcestemplates and tools
About this practice
What This Toolkit Delivers
A complete, six-part method that takes a small NGO from "something needs to change" to a focused, resourced advocacy strategy: defining the goal, analysing the context, choosing tactics, building a roadmap, crafting messages, and monitoring progress.
What licensees get:
- A full Field Guide covering the toolkit's method, principles and evidence base
- Eight ready-to-use working tools, including a goal and systems-map worksheet, a power and stakeholder mapping canvas, a roadmap planner, a tactics decision guide, a message builder, a monitoring and evidence log, and a risk register
Why It Works
Built specifically for organisations with no dedicated advocacy role, a small team, and little or no prior campaigning experience, not for large advocacy departments. It replaces a borrowed campaign playbook with a scaled-down, repeatable method that turns existing frontline knowledge into a credible, focused strategy.
Developed by INTRAC for the "Strengthening Small Organisations with Big Ambitions" programme, funded by the UK FCDO Small Charities Challenge Fund, and refined using feedback from the small charities who piloted it.
The Six Core Steps
- Define the goal using root-cause and systems-thinking analysis
- Analyse the context: map power, stakeholders and the political environment
- Choose tactics: a deliberate insider/outsider mix
- Build the roadmap: sequence actions to milestones using the "so that" technique
- Craft the message: test every message against the TEA test (Touch, Enthuse, Act)
- Monitor and adapt: keep the strategy on track as the political context shifts
Who it’s for
Small NGOs, charities and coalitions with a policy, practice or attitude problem they want to change, but no dedicated advocacy role or prior campaigning experience.
Target population
This is a toolkit for organisation teams, not a client-facing service. The "population" it serves is the small NGO or coalition using it to build an advocacy strategy.
Best fit:
- Small to medium NGOs, charities and coalitions with a policy, practice or attitude problem that sits within their existing mission
- Teams with direct frontline or community knowledge of the issue, but little or no formal advocacy experience
- Organisations without a dedicated advocacy, policy or campaigns role, and with constrained staff time and budget
Not the right fit for:
- Organisations with no direct knowledge of, or legitimate stake in, the issue
- An acute, fast-moving crisis needing an immediate improvised response
- Organisations seeking direct service delivery guidance rather than policy influencing
- Highly restrictive contexts, without first adapting the approach using the toolkit's guidance on restrictive contexts
How it’s delivered
- Group work
- Structured Training
- Digital technology
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