This online course introduces participants to the core skills needed to influence powerful stakeholders and policy processes in a range of contexts. It also gives participants a thorough understanding of how to develop and monitor effective advocacy strategies. The course is articulated in 8 weekly modules, with a combination of seven live sessions and independent learning.
The live sessions are designed in a way to maximise interaction between participants, through skilled facilitation and techniques such as virtual whiteboards/scrapbooks and break-out groups. You will have access to videos / screencasts, slides, links to videos and external resources for background reading, all accessed through INTRAC’s e-platform. Using these inputs, you will be asked to complete a series of assignments each week in order to consolidate your learning and prepare for the next week’s live session. Some core assignments are mandatory, while others are optional: this allows for a personalised learning experience, giving participants the option to further explore the topics that are most relevant to them.
A critical element of the course is the interaction with other participants and the opportunity to share and learn from each other’s experiences and stories. You will be able to share challenges, relevant stories and personal reflections with your fellow participants through an online discussion forum. Through personal assignments and live session discussions, you will be encouraged to apply the tools and techniques provided on the course to developing strategies for the real live issues you may be advocating on, either at present or at some point in the future.
You will also have the chance to learn from various case studies of other organisations’ advocacy initiatives around the world.
A one-to-one mentoring session with the course trainer (on Skype or Zoom) is offered to each participant as part of the course, providing space to work through and identify potential solutions to specific advocacy challenges you are facing or support for getting started if you are new to advocacy.
Summary of course content
- Identifying common tools and techniques behind successful advocacy initiatives
- Developing an advocacy strategy – key steps
- Analysing the context for your advocacy and where power lies
- Developing an advocacy roadmap
- Tools and techniques for monitoring and evaluating advocacy, including advocacy indicators
- Developing and communicating an advocacy message
- Persuasive techniques
This e-learning course provides flexibility and enables you to take part in an INTRAC course wherever you are. Based on previous feedback, the average workload is estimated to be between 4-6 hours per week between live sessions and self-paced activities. For more details on the course content and timetable of the live sessions, please download the course profile below.
Course fee: GBP 799
Application deadline: 21 April 2024. We may close the applications sooner than advertised if the course is fully booked.
Course trainer: Helen Collinson is an experienced advocate with over thirty years’ experience in this field. Helen has been an INTRAC Associate since 2008, training civil society and providing them advocacy strategy support in parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Download the course profile to see further details and live session calendar.