Strategic Planning Workshop for National Partnerships

Introductions – hopes and concerns Introductions Hopes and expectations

Workshop objectives To understand strengths and weaknesses of Girls Not Brides national partnership. To set clear objectives for the Girls Not Brides national partnership. To make action plan for Girls Not Brides national partnership. To ensure roles and responsibilities of members in Girls Not Brides national partnership.

How will this workshop be run? We want to learn from you so… Not much lecturing! Lots of discussion, analysis and working things out collectively Participatory approaches Flexibility – we have an agenda but this will be reviewed daily and amendments made for the following day A workshop repot will be prepared to capture the outcomes of the sessions.

Monitoring groups Each day a ‘monitoring’ group (4-5 people) will review the workshop and give feedback to inform the next day Group should review the day and provide feedback to facilitators on what works Facilitators need to amend agenda for following day based upon recommendations

Timeline Timeline exercise – 1 hour Map your biggest achievements/biggest advocacy activities on this timeline How did the partnership/organisation change internally (e.g. growth of membership, funding, governance) Map what were the key obstacles you faced as a partnership EXTERNAL environment: What was happening in the policy environment with regards to CM? E.g. when did the issue emerge on the agenda/when did the issue grow on the public agenda? Who was for us/against us?

SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis- assessing ourselves and our environment. An exercise to help us understand our qualities and limitations as and partnership and analyse the environment in which we work. S= Strengths (internal). Think about what makes our partnership strong; which assets and qualities do we have? W= Weakness (internal). What are our limitations? Where can we not deliver and what needs to improve? O= Opportunities (external). What are the opportunities for us to make a difference or have influence/power. What opportunities do we need to make use of to achieve our goal? T= Threats (external). What are the risks we face? How do they influence our work? And how can we mitigate them?

SWOT Analysis Group exercise- 30 mins Divide into 3 groups Fill in the SWOT analysis as a group (30 mins). Use the handout as a guide. Write down you SWOT analysis on a flipchart.

Vison and Values We exist because they want to make a difference in society. A vision is a statement of how you how society could or should be in the future. It is what you ultimately try to achieve. A vision is not something you can achieve on your own. You need other stakeholder to achieve your vision. A vison guides you in your work and which you believe can be achieved if enough projects and organisations share the vision and work towards it. For example: We strive to contribute to a society where every citizen has equal access to quality health care and is able to live in an environment which supports quality health through access for all to clean water, healthy food and sanitary living conditions.

Vison- our current mission statement COPY MISSION STATEMENT FROM MOU.

Vison and Values Group exercise (30 mins) Write down the 3-4 key problems that you are trying to address in your work Imagine you have been out of the country for 10 years. You have arrived back to find that your dreams of how the society should be, in terms of the problems you have identified, have been fulfilled –the problems are solved and the society is functioning just as they had always hoped. Draw or construct a picture of what such a society would look like, using colour, shape, words, and/or images. Present your picture/story to the group

Values Values underpin your work as an organisation and your relationships with users and other stakeholders. What you believe is the right way to do things and to deal with people What you believe about the way that, ideally, the world ought to be organised. Determine your strategies and your operational principles. They guide you in making difficult decision. For example: – Should we work with this group of people, or project, or organisation? – Should we spend money on this? – Is what we are doing worthwhile or could the money be better spent doing something else? – Can we tender for this particular work? – How should we respond to this statement from business, government or a donor or other civil society organisations? – Is the way we are going about this project consistent with our values? If not, what should we do? – Is the work we are doing consistent with our stated values?

Values- Membership Principles Membership Principles: Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage Members of Girls Not Brides will: 1.Actively contribute to the efforts of Girls Not Brides to end child marriage worldwide, recognising that ending child marriage requires community engagement and action and that global and national efforts should ultimately support local change; 2.Positively and constructively engage with other members, as well as governments and other relevant actors at a local, national and global level; 3.Include girls’ and young people’s voices and representation in working to end child marriage; 4.Work towards ensuring that no child marries before the age of 18, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which all but two nations have ratified; 5.Commit to transparency, accountability and good governance in our work to end child marriage.

Values Group exercise (20 mins). Look at the vison statement we have just created. In your group, answer the following questions: – What are the values implicit in this vision statement that should guide our work if we are to make a contribution to our vision? – For each value, come up with two or three examples of the practices, processes, actions, or behaviours that could apply to the team or organization to help achieve the vision and live the values. Write down your answer on a sticky note.

Day 2

Triangle analysis Useful tool for problem analysis when working on advocacy issues Helps us to analyse the policies, institutions, social values and behaviour contributing to the problem Highlights specific aspects of the problem that need to be changed CONTENT STRUCTURE CULTURE

Triangle Analysis CONTENT Refers to laws, policies, budgets, constitution relevant to the issue STRUCTURE Refers to mechanisms, process and institutions responsible for implementation of laws, policies, strategies relevant to the issue of child marriage. Includes courts, police, ministries, schools,. Structure can refer to initiatives/ programmes run by government, NGOs or businesses CULTURE Refers to the values and behaviour that shape how people deal with and understand an issue. Values and behaviours are shaped by class, custom, religion, gender, age, ethnicity. Lack of information about laws and policies is part of the cultural dimension.

Stakeholder Analysis Stakeholders are people, organisations or institution who have something to gain or lose through the work you are doing. Stakeholders can contribute to your work Some stakeholders might work against you. With most stakeholders you will either work together or target them with your work. Doing a stakeholder analysis can help you to identify who you need to work with, involve or target.

Stakeholder Analysis- private, public and civil society Private StakeholdersPublic StakeholdersCivil Society Stakeholders Corporations and businesses Business associations Professional bodies Individual business leader Financial Institutions Ministers and advisors (executive) Civil servants and departments (bureaucracy) Elected representatives (Legislature Courts (Judiciary) Political parties Local governments/councils Military Quangos and commissions International bodies (World Bank, UN) Media Churches/Religion Schools and Universities Social movements and advocacy groups Trade unions National NGOs International NGOs

Stakeholder Analysis STAKEHOLDER Level of commitment to National Strategy implementation Level of power/influence to implement according to plan How can the Girls Not Brides national partnership influence this stakeholder?

Stakeholder Analysis- group work Break out in groups List all the stakeholders that are relevant to the Girls Not Brides national partnership’s objectives (private, public, and civil society) Assess their level of commitment to end child marriage and/or to the National Strategy implementation. What is their power/influence? How can we influence/engage each stakeholder?

Weaknesses and Opportunities- results ADD THE WEAKNESSES AND RESULTS FROM THE SWOT ANALYSIS THAT RECEIVED MOST VOTES. How can we translate these weaknesses and opportunities into objectives?

Objective setting Your advocacy goal is the long-term result of your advocacy efforts/strategic plan Your objectives are the specific changes that you can bring about that contribute towards reaching your goal Consider developing short-term and long-term objectives Need to refer to your vision, your triangle analysis and your SWOT analysis Consider developing objectives that refer to your internal needs as an organisation but also objectives that relate to your external advocacy work

SMART OBJECTIVES SPECIFIC MEASURABLE ACHIEVEABLE REALISTIC/RESOURCED TIMEBOUND E.g. The Government of Zimbabwe commits 3% of total public expenditure to child protection services (from 0.8%) by 2011

DEVELOPING OBJECTIVES 1)What can’t we do individually? What do we need to do together as a group? 2)What role do we need to play as a National Partnership rather than individual organisations?

HOW DO WE CHOOSE OBJECTIVES? What MUST we do? (if we don’t do this, there will be considerable negative consequences) What CAN we do? (what’s realistic and achieveable?) What does the group WANT to do? Where is there ENERGY?

Day 3

Understanding advocacy Our different understandings of advocacy embody different values, political views and goals E.g. Advocacy initiatives that are concerned with empowerment, participation, inclusive citizenship are very different from those focusing only upon policy reform

Characteristics of advocacy at Girls Not Brides Challenges imbalances of power and changes thinking ‘Advocacy not just about getting seat at the table. It’s about changing the size and configuration of the table to accommodate a new set of actors. It’s about changing the way decisions are made.’ Girls Not Brides Mozambique Offers credible solutions or positive alternatives Is evidence-based Strengthens the involvement of those most affected by the issues e.g. young people

Why youth and young people? It is their right to participate in decisions made that affect them (UNCRC) Leads to more relevant, targeted work and better solutions Lends legitimacy to our work – influencing decision makers Done properly, it can enhance the organisation and political voice of young people – sustainability Leverages what young people can do – untapped resource capable of contributing to our efforts today

Characteristics of advocacy at Girls Not Brides Empowering of a diverse range of civil society – including those who have less economic, social and political power. Alliances across diverse groups builds common ground, voice and legitimacy Important to make a bridge between grassroots activism and macro-level policy initiatives. Important to be continually sensitive to the grassroots situation and bridge the gap between that and national-level policy change What do we think? How is this similar/different to the approaches values the Girls Not Brides national partnership brings to its advocacy?

Advocacy techniques Advocacy techniques attempt to solve a problem by getting to its root causes You might select your strategy/chosen technique on the basis of -Context (every political environment is different) -Timing (at certain times of the year a public march might help draw attention to an issue; other times of the year a march may provoke repression) -What do you have capacity to carry out -Risk

Advocacy techniques Research Media – to increase public support (which may in turn influence decision makers e.g. Ghana); to raise profile of work Girls Not Brides Nepal is doing Media – HOW? e.g. release new evidence; arrange a celebrity visit; do an editorial; hold an interesting event Public mobilisation and public education Influencing decision-makers through public pressure; influencing public attitudes, norms and practices; building broad-based support for change; raising voices of youth and affected groups HOW? Media, large-scale campaigns, creative messaging through music, songs, theatre, videos, radio

Action planning Put together all the pieces of work into an Action Plan Refer to your objectives; SWOT; triangle analysis; Programme of Action analysis How are you going to phase your activities? What is the timeline? Ask WHAT is the activity required? WHO is going to lead on this activity? WHO will support? WHEN will this be done? WHEN would you like to do this? WHAT are the resources that will be required?

What is an activity? Be specific IF you can: Carry out X mass media campaigns targeting the general public in XX districts of XX. If you cannot be specific, you can be broader: * Carry out awareness raising campaigns involving religious leaders at community levels

Action planning – Questions to consider Are the activities complete? Realistic? Are all organisations contributing to the activity plan? Is the workload shared evenly enough? Are the required resources accurate? Is it realistic to assume you can mobilise these resources Is the timeframe achievable?

STAY FLEXIBLE! You need this plan, but you also need to remain flexible and opportunistic Be prepared to monitor the plan and make adjustments

Action planning Now we are going to pull together all of the pieces of work you have done and put them into one implementation plan

MONITORING AND EVALUATION Why M&E? To measure if your strategic plan is successful To ensure you are able to respond to unpredictable events To demonstrate your added value to donors, supporters and policy makers To help decision making

MONITORING AND EVALUATION Important to track: advocacy process - tracking activities (e.g. minutes of meetings; numbers of people attending a campaign) Advocacy progress – tracking whether you are achieving your objectives (number of people actively participating in a campaign; changes in skills, knowledge; research being cited in Ministerial meetings)

MONITORING AND EVALUATION ObjectiveAdvocacy process indicators Advocacy progress indicators Who will measure and how often?

MONITORING AND EVALUATION Be selective – only measure what will help you improve future practice Less is more! Keep it quick, simple, timely

What support do you need from the Girls Not Brides secretariat to implement your strategy? Programme development support (e.g. developing the pilot programme) Donor liaison Technical advice – e.g. in advocacy strategies, policy analysis Capacity building – by the secretariat or by a third party Support to convene another meeting to finalise the strategic plan Editorial support (to edit the final strategic plan) Support to develop a communications plan/digital advocacy/campaigns Connections with other National Partnerships – to share learnings

Next steps 1)Documentation of the workshop materials, translation of materials into Nepali 2)Finalising goal, objectives, activities 3)DEVELOPING AN M&E FRAMEWORK 4)DEVELOPING A BUDGET 5)Writing up strategic plan 6)How will you disseminate this strategic plan?