Making Change Happen

This report provides an overview of the topics addressed at the November 2001 Making Change Happen conference. Four "key themes"

were covered during this conference and the results were both summarised and further discussed in this report:

1. Engagement in advocacy: When is policy space strategic and when is it just window dressing?


Many organisations have begun to make "civil society participation" a part of the decision making process. According to the

authors, conference participants felt that a set of criteria must be developed to determine with which organisations they will

work, given limited resources. Two main considerations for choosing opportunities were discussed:

• Does the organisation offers a real opportunity for influence and change, or is the invitation to participate merely a part

  of a public relations campaign by the organisation?

• Is the organisation considered "legitimate" by the advocates, and, if not, should one participate with an "illegitimate"

  institution?

2. Issue-based struggle or struggle-based issue: Linking social transformation and policy advocacy


Conference participants focused on the problems of donor-driven advocacy. The authors state that donor demands for quick results

lead to a focus on "narrow policy opportunities". Conferees referred to this narrow focus as an "issue-based struggle".

Participants emphasised the importance of focusing on the broader “struggle-based issues” that focus on a long-term struggle for

social justice

3. Who’s who in advocacy: Identity, representation and legitimacy


Conference participants discussed whether grass-roots movements have been replaced by institutionalised advocacy movements. The

authors state that if we assume that advocacy has moved from the streets into the hands of elite-run NGOs then we must consider

the implications of such a change. Problems, they argue, that may arise include:

• Loss of commitment, as the cause is depersonalised
• Focus on short-term projects over a long term view
• Shifting priorities, as organisational survival becomes a priority to engaged individuals

4. How to assess success: Evaluation for learning


The authors note the following trends in evaluation of advocacy success:

• Accountability not just to donors, but to the NGO and community as well
• Focus on learning rather than judgment.
• Focus on success as measured not only by policy changes, but also by "hidden impacts", such as changes in people's

  "understanding of themselves as subjects of rights".