Tactics for influencing policy
You need to have a vision first. Even as an individual, you can find ways to make your vision a reality.
As you begin your journey to create influence in support of your policy vision, it is important to have a planned approach which means you can be as effective as possible.
Here are six “tactics” for you to think about when making your action plan:
1. Identify the stakeholders
You need to know who is important to you – as influencers, decision makers, beneficiaries or champions. A stakeholder is simply “any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of your objectives”, so you need to think carefully about who your stakeholders are before you engage them. We will look at stakeholder mapping later on, but you need to consider the degree of importance, influence and needs of a huge range of people who can influence or be affected by your policy.
2. Learn the “rules of the game”
Every public sector, private sector or civil society mechanism that you need to work through will have its own ways of working. These may be processes, approaches, formal and informal power structures or any number of other considerations. Before jumping in to action you need to spend time working out how to navigate potential obstacles. Who are the critical individuals? How are things normally achieved? What are the politics and perceptions that are at play? Spending time to map out the way things happen will be invaluable to help you avoid potential difficulties.
3. Frame evidence to fit the policy context and stakeholder preference
Make sure that you have the quality and quantity of evidence that you need, so that you can use the data which is most valuable for your individual stakeholders and stakeholder groups. Select evidence and use it to structure your argument, adapting how you present your case accordingly. Frame your evidence in the way that it is most likely to be well received – you should not mislead anyone with the evidence you present, but do make sure that you are using what you have to your best advantage.
4. Understand the pathway
Every action has something that needs to happen before it, and a consequence or action that leads from it. Make certain that you understand what happens several steps ahead of committing to an action, and recognise what actions will follow on. If you know the path that a decision needs to take then you can be one step ahead of any challenges that may present themselves. If a decision is dependent on a certain series of steps being followed before the decision is made, then you must be able to manage these steps as you gain momentum towards the decision.
Whatever you want to achieve, there are something else that you need to get done first.
5. Form coalitions with influential actors
You cannot gain impact alone; you will need a coalition of support to make progress. How you choose your partners is critical to your success – they need to understand and engage with your vision, even if they view it in different ways. You can use the influence of collaborators to fulfil your goals even if their priorities are different, but you need to want the same outcomes.
6. Remain engaged to exploit “policy windows”
Staying continually engaged means that you are ready to take opportunity of “policy windows” – these are opportunities where your policy vision may be in the “right place at the right time”. We will look at policy windows in more detail in Step 3.4, but remember – these are not pure luck, they are the product of work, concentration and focus.
Once you’ve read this article, think about the following question in the comments section:
- Which of these policy tactics do you think is most important to follow?
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