Unique Methods in Advocacy Evaluation

This document describes four unique advocacy evaluation methods for assessing advocacy and policy change. 

The Bellwether Methodology and Policymaker Ratings were both designed by Harvard Family Research Project. It was developed to find out where a policy issue or proposal is positioned on the policy agenda, what is the attitude of decision makers towards it, and how likely they are to act on it. The Harvard Family Research Project was created to measure political will or support for a particular advocacy issue among a defined group of policymakers. Intense Period Debriefs developed by Innovation Network engages advocates in evaluation shortly after a policy window or intense period of action occurs. System Mapping is especially useful for advocacy efforts aiming for system change.

Contents

• Introduction
• Common advocacy evaluation methods
• Summary of unique advocacy evaluation methods
• Bellwether methodology
• Sample bellwether interview questions
• Policymaker ratings
• Sample policymaker rating scales
• Intense period debriefs
• Sample intense period debrief questions
• System mapping
• References