Involving people
By definition campaigning and influencing can not exist without the involvement and active engagement of people, whether they are citizens, consumers, service users or specific communities. They provide the force and motivation for change as well as the means by which to achieve it. Participation is therefore a key foundation of any campaigning or influencing strategy enabling people to influence the decisions that make an impact on their lives.
We have a range of resources to help you to identify who your stakeholders are and build in meaningful involvement into all stages of your work.
Involving people
In Focus guide: Involving people that matter
Explores why participation is important in campaigning and influencing work, what it involves, methods to decide who to involve and some of the key principles for good participation. A list of further reading is also included.
Download Involving people that matter (PDF, 551Kb)
Count me in: involving beneficiaries and users in campaigning
Involving those who you represent and placing them at the heart of your campaigning is not only positive and desirable but a can be a source of legitimacy and accountability that strengthens your campaigns. We have consulted with campaigners across the sector to develop resources to support and inspire you in devising an inclusive campaigns strategy to make a greater impact, including case studies, FAQs and further reading.
Beneficiary Voice - joint guide with Bond
This guide produced jointly by Bond and NCVO looks in detail at how to fully involve beneficiaries in all stages of a campaign from: selecting the issue, deciding how the campaign should be implemented, involved in the delivery and have the power to hold the campaign to account
Download the free guide (PDF 577KB)
Inspiring supporters
Inspiring Supporter Action - joint guide with Bond
Mobilising popular support behind your campaign can be a powerful way to achieve change. Working with supporters is not confined to mass mobilisation it can range from hundreds of thousands marching in support of a major global issue to small letter writing campaigns directed at organisations not used to being targets of lobbying.
This guide considers the why, when and how to mobilse supporters into action looking in detail at recruiting supporters, sustaining activism, empowering the grass roots and addressing some of the challenges and risks.
Download the free guide (PDF619 KB)
All supporters regardless of experience will require some kind of support. It’s important to consider what kind of support they might need and how and if you can provide it. Some of the basics should include:
Accessible info on the campaign – briefings, campaign packs etc
Explanations of the targets of who the campaign is trying to reach
Template actions or examples to help make it easier – letters, emails, press releases
Feedback on results and actions
You may well want to support people in building their understanding of and capacity to campaign. This needn’t mean starting from scratch as there are loads of free resources out there already.
Campaigning resources
The Free Dave films are great introduction to campaigning, summarising, in five short and quite amusing films, the basic elements - from picking the right issue to finding the right tactic to use.
You can watch them here http://www.louder.org.uk/FreeDave and then embed them from youtube into your campaign pages.
We also have a range of resources from getting you started sheets, outlining the basics to the Good Guide to Campaigning and Influencing. Many of them are free so have a look at all our resources.
Advise on regulation and legislation
If you are encouraging networks to run their own campaigns you should ensure that they are fully aware of all the regulations and legislation that affect campaigning.
Campaigns Central have advice on the law and campaigning.
More resources
For general resources on participation and involvement see the Strategy and Impact webpages
