Making a Plan to Win:
How to Run an Advocacy Campaign
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Contents
How to Use the Making a Plan to Win tool 3
Campaign strategy overview 4
Overview of strategy development process 5
Identifying your issue 7
Campaign Example: Choosing an Issue 9
Doing a power analysis 11
Campaign Example: Doing a Power Analysis 15
Identifying targets 20
Campaign Example: Identifying Targets 20
Understanding your resources 21
Making an action plan 21
Campaign Example: Setting SMART Goals 23
Determining your ask 25
Campaign Example: Determining Your Ask 25
Matching tactics to targets 26
Campaign Example: Choosing Tactics 28
Assignments and timelines 30
Campaign Example: Assignments and Timelines 30
Carrying out the campaign strategy 32
Campaign Example: Shared Action & Responsibility 32
Campaign Example: Clear Communication 33
Evaluation 34
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How to Use the Making a Plan to Win tool
What you’ll learn
This tool will walk you through the steps of making and carrying out an advocacy
campaign. You’ll learn how to choose an issue to address, how to make a plan to win,
and how to avoid common mistakes.
How to use the tool
The rst part of this tool is an overview of what a campaign strategy is and what
steps you need to take to make your strategy. After that, we’ll give you more detailed
information about each step in the process.
You can read the tool from start to nish or use the Table of Contents on page 2 to nd
what part you want to read. Maybe you’ve already started planning your campaign and
want to skip some of the sections at the beginning. You can use this tool in whatever
way works best for you.
Campaign examples
This resource is an introduction to planning an advocacy campaign with your group.
Throughout this resource, we will be using a ctional public transit advocacy
campaign to show how to practically use the information in each section.
The examples will be set off like this:
All of the text with a light blue background is part of an example.
In some sections there will be an outline for you to ll out. There will be examples after
these sections with red text. Red text shows how you might ll out the outline if you
were planning the ctional public transit campaign.
1. Compelling and Timely
a. It is widely and deeply felt and commands attention
Budget cuts were a hot button issue in the most recent election. Many people
already feel passionately about this issue. This issue is directly related to our
issue.
Public Transit Campaign Example
Choosing an Issue
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Campaign strategy overview
What is a campaign?
A campaign is a way to get support for your ideas and goals. A good campaign gets
support from as many people as possible.
What is a strategy?
A strategy is the way you will run your campaign. A strategy gives you steps you can
use to change the relationship between you and your target(s).
A good strategy will have:
• The specic issue you want to work on
• Specic goals
• Targets: People who can make the changes you want.
• Tactics: Tactics are the tools and specic steps and actions you will use to carry
out your strategy.
• Detailed action plans to show how you will meet your goals
The next section will give an overview of what the process looks like. Each section
after that will go into more detail about each step of the process.
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Overview of strategy development process
1. Identify the issue
Before you can even start to develop your strategy, you need
to have an idea of what you want to talk about. You need to
rst identify the issue that you want to address.
Issues are different from problems. Issues are big. Issues
are things that hurt many people. Problems are small and
only affect one person or a very small group of people.
2. Do a power analysis and figure out your resources
To make a good strategy, you need to gure out what the
relationship is between your group’s power and the power
of the people who can make the changes that you want.
This is called a power analysis.
A power analysis helps you gure out who your targets
are.
It will also help you gure out what resources your group
has to use for your campaign.
3. Create an action plan
Once you have all of this information, you can make a detailed action plan.
The action plan will:
• help you gure out what your goals should be
• help you gure out what your ask is for your
targets
• match your tactics, or actions, to your targets,
and
• have specic assignments and timelines for
your tactics and goals
Your action plan should be exible. It should leave room to make changes. This is
important in case you need to change directions in the middle of a strategy.
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4. Carry out the strategy
After making your action plan, it’s time to carry out the strategy. Carrying out the
strategy in your action plan means that everyone will have to work together to take
shared action.
Every person in your group needs to know what their job
is and what they are supposed to do. Everybody needs
to do their part of the action plan. This is called shared
responsibility.
Sometimes you may need to change part of your strategy
after you’ve already started it. This is why it is important
that your action plan be exible. Communication
with your team members is very important during the
campaign. If you need to make a change, everybody
needs to know.
5. Evaluate your campaign
The last part of a campaign is an evaluation after you are
done. An evaluation talks about what did and did not work
in the campaign. Knowing what you can do better next
time is how you win campaigns.
Next, we’ll go through each step of the strategy design
process in detail.
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Identifying your issue
Problems vs issues
Problems are small, and issues are bad for many people. An individual problem is
usually a part of a bigger issue. Here are some examples of problems and the issue
that they’re part of.
PROBLEM:
small, only affects one person
ISSUE:
big, bad for many people
I could not nish the test we had in time.
I will drop the class. The class is too
hard for me.
Disability Services does not do
a good job letting us know what
accommodations we can have.
Students with disabilities could do better
if they knew what services are available
for them.
I use a wheelchair and the train station
nearby isn’t elevator equipped. Now I
have to take two buses to get to work
and my commute is much longer.
The people who run public buses
and trains have not done a good job.
Stations are not easy for people with
disabilities to use.
My state has a huge wait list for support
services. I’m just going to have to pay
for my support services myself in order
to get them.
Programs that help people with
disabilities need more money from the
state government.
You will only help a few people if you make a campaign about a problem. You can help
more people if you make a campaign about an issue - both now, and for people in the
future.
We will use an example campaign strategy to show how campaigns are made. Our
example campaign will center on the issue “The people who run public buses and
trains have not done a good job. Stations are not easy for people with disabilities to
use.”
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What makes a good campaign issue
Once you have chosen an issue, check and see if it meets the criteria below:
1. Compelling and Timely
a. It is widely and deeply felt and commands attention
b. Potential to affect a large number of people
c. Potential to engage a large number of people into
action
2. Specic and Achievable
a. There are clear and specic gains to be made
whether the issue is immediately winnable or not.
b. Can be stated in one simple sentence with a clear
and specic solution
c. We have the power and resources to win the issue
d. Clear cut target or decision makers
e. We can get organized within a timeframe that we
control
f. We have the power to frame the issue for group
members, potential allies, the campus/community, and
the media.
3. Builds our organization
a. We will be stronger after the issue is won or lost
b. Builds our organization’s membership and leadership
c. There is a chance to teach people in the community about the issue
d. Unifying – it unites diverse and divided members.
4. Promotes our organization’s long term values, vision, and strategy
for change
a. A win on the issue helps our long term goals right away. (The campaign tries to x
the issue, instead of trying to solve the problems the issue makes.)
b. Lets people know about the issue and gets more people thinking about our
message.
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1. Compelling and Timely
a. It is widely and deeply felt and commands attention
Budget cuts were a hot button issue in the most recent election. Many people
already feel passionately about this issue. This issue is directly related to our
issue.
b. Potential to affect a large number of people
Many people in our city rely on public buses and trains to get around.
c. Potential to engage a large number of people into action
Other groups care about public buses and trains in our city. Those group want
change as well.
2. Specic and Achievable
a. There are clear and specic gains to be made whether the issue is
immediately winnable or not.
• Money budgeted for public transportation is not spent on other things
• increase number of wheelchair-accessible stations
• increase number of bus stops and train stations with clear signs
• budget should not decrease below the $50 million set aside for
transportation in the state budget
b. Can be stated in one simple sentence with a clear and specic solution
People with disabilities must have equal access to public transportation
c. We have the power to win the issue
Yes, see power analysis
d. Clear cut target or decision makers
Mayor, city council, people in charge of public buses and trains
e. We can get organized within a timeframe that we control
Yes, see timeline/task list
f. We have the power to frame the issue for group members, potential
allies, the community, and the media.
Yes, if we follow our plan and work together.
Public Transit Campaign Example
Choosing an Issue
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3. Builds our organization
a. We will be stronger after the issue is won or lost
This issue is a way to work with other groups. The campaign helps us add
members to our group.
b. Builds our organization’s membership and leadership
More people will know us if we work with other groups. Our members can learn
skills from a campaign.
c. There are opportunities to educate members, allies, and the community
This campaign is a chance to involve people who use public trains and buses.
d. Unifying – it unites diverse and divided members.
Most people agree we need good public buses and trains. This issue affects
many people.
4. Promotes our organization’s long term values, vision, and
strategy for change
a. A win on the issue helps our long term goals right away.
Yes, people with disabilities lose out on state money all of the time. This issue
shows how hard it for people with disabilities to get to where we want to go.
b. Lets people know about the issue and gets more people thinking about
our message.
Yes, see above
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Doing a power analysis
A power analysis shows how much power your group has vs. the people in charge of
the issue.
Figure out with your group the answers to these questions:
Their power
1. Who are the key decision makers?
a. Who has the power to make decisions?
b. How is their organization, company, corporation
structured?
c. Who else is a key decision-maker above them or
along side them?
d. Where are they located?
e. What are the ways you might reach or contact them?
f. What is their motivation/ goal/ concern?
g. Why are they making the decision that way?
h. How is this decision made?
2. Who or what is important to them?
a. Do they have clients? Customers? Friends?
b. Do they have a public image they care about?
c. Do they have allies in the community? In other places?
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3. How do they make their money?
a. Where do they get their resources, funding, support
from?
b. What do they sell and what portions of their
business/organization are most important to them?
c. Do they have relationships with subcontractors and/
or are they a subcontractor?
d. Where do they invest their money, what are their
nancial strengths and weaknesses?
4. What other groups, orgs, regulations might affect them?
a. Could they be affected by regulatory agencies? Which
ones?
b. Are there procedural ways to pressure them?
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Our power
1. What is our community?
a. What other groups might share our concerns?
b. What other groups have different concerns but same key target?
c. Who else is affected by their decisions?
2. What resources/ capacity do we currently have?
a. How much “people power” do we have and what are
those people willing to do?
b. What are our funding and material resources?
c. What spaces do we control that may help us to
confront them?
d. What do we need to successfully make the changes
we want to see?
3. What are our strengths and weaknesses?
a. What do we do well?
b. What abilities and skills do we have in our group?
c. Where have we made mistakes in the past?
d. What are we not able to do well?
e. What abilities/ skills do we need that are not in the group?
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4. What is the community context for the campaign?
a. What else is happening that may impact this ght?
b. What is the media talking about and how do they
talk about it?
c. What are average people saying about this issue?
d. Have there been recent victories or losses that
impact people’s general feeling about taking action?
How has it impacted them?
e. What is the recent history of groups taking action on this issue/ against these
decision makers?
You do not need to know every answer. Fill in the rest later as you get more
information.
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Their power
1. Who are the key decision makers?
a. Who has the power to make decisions?
Public bus and train board members. 4 members of the board chosen by the
Mayor. 3 members of the board chosen by the Governor.
b. How is their organization, company, corporation structured?
Public bus and train board members and the Board President make the rules
c. Who else is a key decision-maker above them or along side them?
There is a regional board above the local public bus and train board.
d. Where are they located?
City transportation authority - 567 W. Lake Street; Regional transportation
authority - 175 West Jackson, Suite 1550
e. What are the ways you might reach or contact them?
City transportation authority: Tel: 312-681-5022, Fax: 312-681-5035, monthly
board meetings
f. What is their motivation/ goal/ concern?
“We deliver quality, affordable transportation services that link people, jobs and
communities.”
g. Why are they making the decision that way?
The people in power need to make choices that way by law.
h. How is this decision made?
The main choices are made by a board once a month. Other committees
are in charge of the many parts of the public train and bus system. The other
committees are:
• Human Resources
• Strategic Planning
• ADA Advisory Committee
• Finance, Audit & Budget Committee.
Public Transit Campaign Example
Doing a Power Analysis
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2. Who or what is important to the people in power?
a. Do they have clients? Customers? Friends?
People who use public trains and buses
b. Do they have a public image they care about?
Yes
c. Do they have allies in the community? In other places?
Amalgamated transportation Union (local represents the workers, support of
national ATU)
3. How do they make their money?
a. Where do they get their resources, funding, support from?
The public bus and train gets its money from the riders who use the buses and
trains. By law 50 % of the money the buses get must come from riders. Other
money comes from the state board that is in charge of public buses and trains.
There is other government money at the state and national level too.
b. What do they sell and what portions of their business/organization are
most important to them?
Tickets for trains and buses. Goods about public trains and buses. Places for
businesses to get their message out. Tickets and places for businesses to get
their message out are important.
c. Do they have relationships with subcontractors and/or are they a
subcontractor?
Yes, the public trains and buses need help from many groups. These groups
are:
1. People to clean up,
2. People to keep the area safe,
3. People to get rid of snow.
4. Other people to keep the trains and buses working.
d. Where do they invest their money, what are their nancial strengths and
weaknesses?
The public trains and buses put their money into more stations. Stations get
xed. Public trains and buses are weak because they need the state for money.
Public trains and buses are strong because they know how to use a small
amount of money.
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4. What other groups, orgs, regulations might affect them?
a. Could they be affected by regulatory agencies? Which ones?
• Department of Justice ADA enforcement
• Civil Rights Commission
• National Transportation Safety Board
• Federal transportation Administration
b. Are there procedural ways to pressure them?
In court, demand the right to use the train and buses under the ADA
Our power
1. What is our community?
a. What other groups might share our concerns?
Other disability groups. Groups they care about public buses and trains. Groups
that care about people with little money.
b. What other groups have different concerns but same key target?
People who want to change public trains and buses. People who are do not like
the lack of state support for public projects.
c. Who else is affected by their decisions?
Riders of public trains and buses.
2. What resources/ capacity do we currently have?
a. How much “people power” do we have and what are those people
willing to do?
12 members in our ASAN chapter
b. What are our funding and material resources?
ASAN National will give up to $1000. They pay up front and then we pay them
back later.
c. What spaces do we control that may help us to confront them?
None
d. What do we need to successfully make the changes we want to see?
LOTS of people power, media contacts
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3. What are our strengths and weaknesses?
a. What do we do well?
Speeches to the press and protests.
b. What abilities and skills do we have in our group?
We can do these things well:
1. Write well.
2. Plan events.
3. Get our message out to the public
4. Good art skills.
5. Good at speeches.
c. Where have we made mistakes in the past?
• We do not have productive meetings
• Members do not communicate with each other
• We need to plan better
d. What are we not able to do well?
Get and keep members
e. What abilities/ skills do we need that are not in the group?
Skills we need:
1. work with other groups
2. get large group of people together
3. more exibility during campaigns
4. understand state budget
4. What is the community context for the campaign?
a. What else is happening that may impact this ght?
The new governor wants the state to get less money. Each program would get
less money.
b. What is the media talking about and how do they talk about it?
The new governor’s plan. The governor wants less money in his plan. Public
trains and buses have not raised prices in three years. This is good news for
the mayor, because he wants to get re-elected. The mayor chooses the board
members in charge of trains and buses.
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c. What are average people saying about this issue?
Public bus and train waits are long. Buses do not go where they need to.
Routes can be confusing. Too much money to ride trains and buses.
d. Have there been recent victories or losses that impact people’s general
feeling about taking action? How has it impacted them?
No, not recently
e. What is the recent history of groups taking action on this issue/ against
these decision makers?
Other cities have taken action around this issue. Our city has not. But there are
people in our city who are ready to take action.
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Identifying targets
A target is always a person. It is never an institution or elected body. You should
identify:
Primary Targets
• Who has the power to give you what you want?
• What power do you have over them?
Secondary Targets
• Who has power over the people with the power to give you
what you want?
• What power do you have over them?
Primary Targets
• Who has the power to give you what you want?
Governor is in charge of most of the money for buses and trains. This
money is the state’s. The city puts some money in trains and buses as
well. Roads are built with public train and bus money, which means it takes
more money to ride the train. The people in charge of the trains and buses
set the policies for how the trains and buses work.
• What power do you have over them?
Governor - People need to like him. He needs money for his campaign.
state government - Says how much money public trains and buses get.
Public bus and train board - Needs people to like them and want to use
their services.
Secondary Targets
• Who has power over the people with the power to give you what you want?
Mayor appoints public transportation administration board members &
president
• What power do you have over them?
Mayor is running for re-election - pressure on him to address our concerns
Public Transit Campaign Example
Identifying Targets
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Understanding your resources
Your power analysis should give you a clearer picture of:
1. Who your targets are
2. What resources your group has
3. Where your strong points are
4. What your network of potential supporters looks like
Now you will use this information to make an action plan around your issue.
Making an action plan
Setting SMART goals
Your issue is clear. You have a big picture of what resources you have. You know
who the major targets of your campaign should be. Now you can set goals for your
campaign.
All goals should be SMART. SMART is an acronym that
stands for:
• Specic
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely
Let’s take a look at what each of these words mean. Then we’ll look at some good and
bad examples to help you understand SMART goals better.
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Specic
Your goals should be specic and concrete. It is easier to
create strategies if your goal is specic and easy to see.
Measurable
After setting a specic goal, you will need to make a way to
measure your progress towards the goal. How will you know
how close you are to your goal? You will need to be able to
answer that question.
Attainable
An attainable goal is a goal that can realistically be reached.
Your chapter can not get rid of every problem everywhere. But
your group can win a smaller issue.
Realistic
Can your group get your goal done? Is your group the right
size for your goal? Does everyone in your group care about
the issue?
Timely
Can your group start working on this issue right away?
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Specic
Bad: The Governor should give us enough money for public transportation.
Good: Oppose governor’s plan to take $40 million from the public train and bus
budget to pay state bills. This plan hurts public trains and buses. The money
would not be used for the trains and buses like it is supposed to be.
What makes it better: Including a specic amount and source of money makes
your goal more tangible and direct.
Measurable
Bad: More accessible stations.
Good: The public train and bus board needs to make a plan. The plan will give
money to train and bus stations for elevators. 50 stations should get elevators in
the next 2 years.
What makes it better: Including specic benchmarks will give you a way to
evaluate the progress of your goals.
Attainable
Bad: Make all train stations easy to use for people in wheelchairs by next year.
Good: The people who run the public trains and buses should study all of the
train stations. They should look for stations with bad elevators or new elevators.
Then the people who run the public trains and buses should write a report.
This report will say which stations will get xed rst. It will also say how many
stations they can afford to x this year. The report will also say what the plan is
to keep paying for xing stations.
What makes it better: The bad example is not easy to do. It does not give the
public transportation board enough time to complete the projects. The good
example asks for a realistic report and plans. It also gives more time for the goal
to get done.
Public Transit Campaign Example
Setting SMART Goals
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Realistic
Bad: Put digital displays at all bus stops. These displays would show planned
re-routes and provide information on bus arrival times.
Good: Change the paper signs posted at bus stops. The new signs would be
more cognitively accessible.
What makes it better: The bad example is asking for a big, expensive change.
The Governor and the public transportation board could easily tell your group
that it is too expensive to do. The good example is asking for the existing
system to be re-designed. This could be as simple as making a new document
template.
Timely
Bad: The people who run the public trains and buses should write a report
about the stations with bad elevators.
Good: Public transportation authority write their report within 6 months. Then
they should present a 3-year plan at next year’s budget hearing.
What makes it better: Clear timeline for carrying out the goal makes it easier
to monitor progress. It also makes it harder for your targets to keep pushing the
deadlines further into the future.
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Ask: Ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to public
transportation.
How it will be done: Governor makes no cuts to state money for the next year.
The public trains and bus board makes signs at stations clear this year. The board
adds some elevators this year. The board makes a plan for all elevators this year.
• Short and memorable? Yes
• Measurable? Yes
• Realistic? Yes
• Clear plan to carry it out? Yes
• Logical timeline? Yes (this year’s state budget deadline for the Governor,
next year for public transportation board)
• Clear reason? Yes (people with disabilities should have equal access to
transportation options as non-disabled people do)
Public Transit Campaign Example
Determining Your Ask
Determining your ask
Your goals will help you determine what your ask is. Your ask is the center of your
campaign. What are you asking your targets to do?
A good ask should:
• Be short and easy to remember
• Have a way to measure your progress
• Be realistic enough that your targets can do it
• Have a clear plan for carrying out the ask
• Have a clear and logical timeline for when it should be
done
• Have a clear and compelling reason for why it is important
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Matching tactics to targets
What are tactics?
Tactics are the specic steps in carrying out the strategy. Tactics can include:
• Occupying the ofces of your targets (having a sit-in)
• Taking over a media event that your target organized with the intention of using
it for your own purposes. A small group of activists can sneak into an event with a
hidden banner and release it at a strategic time.
• Submitting testimony to a senate
committee
• Popular education: Hold a seminar on
your issue, or speak to a local community
group about your campaign
• Stunt, street theater, or ash mob: Plan
and execue a public stunt that is creative,
visually appealing and newsworthy.
• Visiting a local politician with members
of your group
• Consumer boycott: Refuse to buy goods
from stores owned by the power-holders
• Blockade: Physically obstruct the activity you oppose. ADAPT activists often
chain wheelchairs together or to buildings.
• Media campaign: Send out releases and hold press conferences to educate the
public about your issues and proposals.
• Advertising: Get your message out via email, online ads, blog posts, social
media, radio, tv, print, bus stops, billboards…
• Grafti: Write your message some place suitably public.
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Choosing tactics
For each target, list the tactics that will work best to make
your power felt. In your power analysis, you should have
identied who the key targets are and what their pressure
points are.
Tactics must:
• Have context
Tactics must t your issue. Other people should be able to tell what your issue
is by the tactics you use. Don’t use a tactic just because it sounds cool if it has
nothing to do with your issue.
• Be exible and creative
You need to plan a variety of tactics. Your group needs to be able to adapt to
changing circumstances. You need backup plans, and then more backup plans
for those. You should be prepared and have enough tactics ready that you can
change what you’re doing right away if circumstances change.
• Be directed at a specic target
Your tactics will be more effective this way. It forces the target to make the choice
to either respond or not respond. If your tactic is directed more generally, your
target can ignore it and claim that it was not directed at them.
• Make sense to the membership
Your tactics should be something that your group can actually do.
• Be backed up by a specic form of power
Tactics must have a reasonable chance of success of impact. You have to know
exactly what resources you’re putting behind any tactic that you plan.
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Context
Bad: Starting off your campaign by throwing bricks through the windows of the
Governor’s ofce.
Good: Having a town hall meeting around your issue. You can talk about how low-
income and disabled people are affected by this issue.
What makes it better: The bad example does not really advance your campaign
strategy. It might show that you’re angry, but angry about what? How does property
damage help disseminate your message and push for changes? A town hall
meeting makes sense because it allows you to spread information about your
issue.
Flexible and creative
Bad: We’re going to put all of our energy into having a huge rally.
Good: We’re going to plan a week of action leading up to the rally:
1. town hall meetings
2. public education done with our coalition members
3. actions directed at the Governor
4. putting our own signs up over the ads on the trains
5. putting out a press release.
What makes it better: Putting all of your energy into one big event means that
if any part of it goes wrong, your entire campaign strategy falls at. Having a
diversity of actions not only ensures that you have multiple options in case one of
them does not pan out, but it also will help raise awareness and get more people
involved in your campaign.
Public Transit Campaign Example
Choosing Tactics
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Specic target
Bad: We are going to protest the government for being ableist and not giving
enough money to public trains and buses.0p5
Good: We are going to protest the Governor’s proposed budget cuts. These
budget cuts would take money away from public trains and buses. We will
advocate for the General Assembly to not allow any budget with these cuts to
pass.
What makes it better: Raging against “the government” is not a particularly
compelling campaign message. Who in the government? Are you just protesting
the concept of the government? What is your ask? The good example makes it
clear who your targets are and what you want from them.
Makes sense
Bad: We are going to have a loud protest with megaphones and noisemakers.
This might mean that some of our members might not be able to participate.
Good: Our protest outside the ofce of the Governor will be sensory-friendly and
accessible.
What makes it better: If members of your group are sensitive to loud sounds,
you probably should not be staging a loud protest that your own members can’t
participate in! The good example not only ensures that your members can
participate, but also reinforces your overall message of the importance of inclusive
and accessible spaces.
Backed up by power
Bad: Occupy the ofce of the Governor.
Good: Have an informational picket outside the ofce of the Governor.
What makes it better: You have a small group. Staging an occupation as a tactic
requires a large group of people. However, it does not take that many people to
have an informational picket - especially with large signs.
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Assignments and timelines
After you decide by when you want to achieve your goal,
create a timeline and assign tasks. This timeline will help you
plan out what needs to happen by when in order to reach
your goal. We recommend you develop your timeline by
starting at your end goal and thinking through each step to
get there.
Public Transit Campaign Example
Assignments and Timelines
Make sure that all of your tasks are SMART tasks and that it is clear who needs to do
what and when they need to do it.
Planning Chart Example #1
Date Task List Who will do the task?
Sept. 1 - Sept. 15 • Make list of local groups that might
want to work with us
• Contact other local groups about
working together
Ashley, James, Denise
Design by the 15th,
send to printers by
Thursday (18)
• Design rally event posters/ier
• Send posters/iers to printers
Carlos, Tabitha
Media advisory
written and sent -
Sept. 23
Press release draft
written - Sept. 27
• Write media advisory about rally
• Write press release about rally
• Contact news media
Trevor, Samantha
Day of action -
Sept. 30
• Send out press release
• Hand out iers
• Introduce speakers
Samantha
Carlos
James
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Planning Chart Example #2
GOAL: Ask public transportation board to change the confusing paper signs posted at
bus stops. These new signs would be more easy to understand.
Timeline:
Determine by
when you want to
achieve the goal
Action Steps/Tactics:
List what needs to happen to achieve
the goal. (These are the individual
steps)
Resources:
What resources are
already available? What
resources are needed?
New design
adopted by end of
the year.
1. Find calendar of board meetings to
attend.
2. Attend a board meeting to learn how
the process for being able to speak
at meetings works.
3. Take notes on how to present at a
public transportation authority board
meeting.
4. Prepare presentation on cognitive
accessibility.
5. Prepare example of proposed new
sign layout.
6. Attend board meeting and make
presentation/request.
7. Follow up with ADA Advisory
Committee.
8. Follow up with members of the
public transportation authority board
about implementation.
Design skills/software -
we have already
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Carrying out the campaign strategy
Shared action and shared
responsibility
Taking shared action means that your group
works together to get to your goals. You do
this by working together to do the tasks in your
action plan. Your strategy will work best if your
group works as a team towards the same goals.
Your group will also need to have shared
responsibility. This means that everybody
needs to do the tasks they’re supposed to do.
They have to do their tasks on time. Everybody
has to be responsible for their part.
You need to have clear tasks as well as clear goals. Be honest about what you can and
cannot do. Know what your members can and cannot do. Do not leave the work to one
person. Goals only happen if everyone helps. Make SMART goals for yourself.
Public Transit Campaign Example
Shared Action & Responsibility
Ashley, James and Denise ask local groups to help on the issue. Carlos and
Tabitha make yers. Trevor and Samantha write a press statement. Everybody is
doing their part. This is shared action.
Shared responsibility means everyone must do their job. This means if Carlos
has a task to mail yers by the 12th, he must get the task done by the 12th. One
person not doing their job lets down the entire group. There should be somebody
in charge who checks in on everybody else in the group. This person should make
sure that the tasks are getting done.
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Communication
Group members must talk often in a good campaign. Talk
about each task. Everyone needs to know who is doing each
task. Everyone must know the strategy. Communicate with
your group from the start of your campaign to the end of it.
Talk to your group often in case you need to change tactics.
The whole group knows what goes on if you talk to them. A
campaign that does not talk to each other is not good. Set
regular times to talk. These talks help everyone know what
happens with the campaign.
Public Transit Campaign Example
Clear Communication
Carlos and Tabitha made posters for the rally. The rest of the group never saw the
posters. The posters went to the print shop. The date on the posters was wrong.
No one saw the posters had the wrong date until it was too late.
HOW THIS COULD BE AVOIDED: Talk to each other! Let everyone know what is
going on.
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Evaluation
Look at every task. Your group needs to get together and talk about what worked and
what did not work in the campaign. You want to get together after every major task.
Look at the process, outcomes and impact.
Why do an evaluation?
It’s important to do an evaluation after your campaign is over. With each campaign your
group works on, you should be getting better and better at the skills needed to plan a
campaign strategy.
The only way to get better is to get together with your group and do an evaluation.
You can talk about what worked and plan to do that next time. You can talk about what
didn’t work and gure out how to improve for the next time.
If you don’t do an evaluation after your campaign, you might keep making the same
mistakes. You won’t be able to take on bigger targets or coordinate bigger actions if
you don’t start small and pay careful attention to what did and did not work.
Process, Outcome, Impact
Process
Process evaluations look at the planning and development of your campaign. How well
did we communicate with each other? How could we do better? What tools did we use
to plan our strategy? Were they effective? Did we give ourselves enough time to plan
our actions? How well were tasks delegated?
Outcome
Outcomes are what happens directly because of the campaign. How many state
lawmakers want the law? How many people said they support us? How many people
went to our event?
Impact
Impact evaluations look at long-term changes. Has the campaign changed the way
people see disability rights? If so, how? Will new people help your group? Has our
group been made better by the campaign?
