"It's too complex to evaluate" - An introduction to Evaluating Advocacy Initiatives

Social justice advocates and funders frequently argue that given the unpredictability of outcomes of advocacy, one cannot evaluate advocacy initiatives except by their ultimate achievements - changes in policy or in practice. However, over the last ten years a body of work on evaluating advocacy has developed that support activists, advocates and funders of this work to identify progress towards advocacy objectives. This workshop will provide you with the  theory underlying advocacy evaluation with a particular focus on what kind of outcomes provode signs of progress or lack thereof.

Examples of advocacy evaluations will be shared and the mix of methods they have used and then open discussion with participants on experiences and questions. The workshop will be followed by training in outcomes harvesting, a method particularly suited to capture outcomes of social justice advocacy because of its focus on actual change.



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Participants will 



• be able to link the theory of change underlying strategizing for influencing policy-makers and institutional decision-makers to approaches to advocacy evaluation
• be able to identify the range of types of outcomes that measure progress towards achievements of advocacy goals, including in relation to movement-building, 'outsider' strategies such as protests, and 'insider' strategies such as negotiation.
• be able to distinguish between attribution and contribution and understand why contribution is acceptable in advocacy evaluation

Objectives 

The objective of the workshop is to



• build participants' understanding of the theory and practice underlying evaluation of advocacy and their ability to distinguish a range of methods that might be suitable for answering their evaluation questions

Methodology

This course will run in a workshop-style using adult learning methodologies. Group work is interspersed with input sessions. Workshops provide a space for participants to learn from each by sharing knowledge and experiences.

Outcomes

Who should attend?

• Activists, advocates, evaluators and fundres of social justice advocacy