Advocacy

Description
Advocacy is one of the most powerful ways that non-profit organizations can create large-scale
social change. When advocacy is successful, an organization can achieve far greater impact
than through direct service delivery. However, advocacy is an unpredictable adventure,
requiring clear thinking, skill, and luck.

Advocacy work can be large scale, advocating for governments to change policies, or smaller
scale, advocating for community members to change behaviors. In this course, you will learn
successful advocacy tactics and strategies from two of the leading experts on the subject. Ruth
Levine of the Hewlett Foundation and Rakesh Rajani of the Ford Foundation will share real-
world examples, interviews with extraordinary advocates, and lessons learned from decades of
advocacy experience.

Course Topics:
• Module 1: If advocacy is the answer, what is the question?
Connect your advocacy work to the problem you are solving.
• Module 2: Motivating and persuading
Identify the right advocacy strategy for your organization.
• Module 3: Good strategy requires great tactics
Select appropriate advocacy tactics.
• Module 4: The case of the unaffordable drugs and the case of the invisible worker
Hear from advocates working in the field and develop a partnerships plan.
• Module 5: Learning as you go
Evaluate the effectiveness of your advocacy efforts.
• Module 6: The potential risks of advocacy
Understand and prepare for the risks of advocacy.
Curriculum

Module 1: If advocacy is the answer, what is the question?

Recommended Schedule: Complete by Week 1
Description: Before you can create a useful advocacy strategy, you need to understand
exactly what problem you are solving. This module introduces a strategic method for
arriving at advocacy strategies.

Assignment: Problem Statement and Logical Framework

Module 2: Motivating and persuading

Recommended Schedule: Complete by Week 2

Description: Advocacy is all about persuading people to think and act in ways that
they otherwise would not. In this module, Ruth and Rakesh analyze the different ways
that motivation and persuasion can be achieved.

Assignment: Advocacy Strategy

Module 3: Good strategy requires great tactics
Recommended Schedule: Complete by Week 3
Description: In this module, you will investigate a few different advocacy tactics. With
the help of a strategic framework, you will select tactics that match well with your goals.

Assignment: Advocacy Tactics

Module 4: The case of the unaffordable drugs and the case of the invisible worker
Recommended Schedule: Complete by Week 4
Description: Hear from two world-class advocates in this module, as we study the
stories of two extraordinary organizations.

Assignment: Case Study Analysis

Module 5: Learning as you go

Recommended Schedule: Complete by Week 5
Description: Evaluation is difficult. Evaluating advocacy work? Even more difficult. In
this module, evaluation expert Tanya Beer explains how she thinks organizations should
approach this difficult task.

Assignment: Advocacy Evaluation

Module 6: The potential risks of advocacy

Recommended Schedule: Complete by Week 6
Description: While advocacy can be extremely impactful, it also can expose individuals
and organizations to risk. In this final module, Ruth and Rakesh share advice for
identifying and mitigating risks.

Assignment: Risk Analysis

Course Instructors
Rakesh Rajani
Director of Democratic Participation and Governance, Ford Foundation

Rakesh Rajani has established and led many key social initiatives focused on advocating for
citizen agency, open government, and basic education in East Africa. From 2001 to 2007
Rakesh served as the founding Executive Director of HakiElimu, Tanzania’s leading citizen
engagement and education advocacy organization. He is currently the Director of Democratic
Participation and Governance at the Ford Foundation in New York. Rakesh was previously a
fellow at Harvard University and graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis and Harvard
Universities.

Ruth Levine
Program Director of Global Development and Population, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation

Ruth Levine is the Program Director of Global Development and Population at the William and
Flora Hewlett Foundation. Ruth is an internationally recognized development economist and
expert in global health, education and evaluation. Previously, Ruth was a deputy assistant
administrator in the Bureau of Policy, Planning and Learning at the U.S. Agency for International
Development. In that role, she led policy research to inform decisions by government officials.
She is experienced with advocating to get policy research in the hands of the people who can
use it in government. Ruth is the author of scores of books, and she holds an undergraduate
degree in biochemistry from Cornell University and a doctorate degree in economic demography
from Johns Hopkins University.

Certification
The University is a non-degree, diploma or credit granting initiative. Philanthropy U, Inc. is the
concept developer and sponsor of the initiative. Learners are not entitled to earn college or
other academic credit.

Learners are eligible to receive a Certificate of Achievement for this course through the Haas
School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley Haas). Berkeley Haas is
known for its role in defining a new generation of business leaders with a focus on social impact.
Ranked #2 among all business school nonprofit programs in the United States (US News &
World Report, 2017), Berkeley Haas inspires and empowers innovative solutions to pressing
social and environmental challenges through the work of the Institute for Business and Social
Impact (IBSI) and the Center for Social Sector Leadership (CSSL).

To earn a Certificate of Achievement for this course, you need to earn more than 50% of
possible points on quizzes and assignments to obtain a passing grade. Quizzes are worth 15%
of your total score, while assignments are worth 85%.