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Reports:

Civil Society Advocacy in Uganda: Lessons Learned by David Devlin-Foltz with a Foreword by Richard Ssewakiryanga
Over several decades – and with increasing intensity in recent years – the non-governmental organization (NGO) sector in Uganda has participated in vigorous efforts to shape public policy. The emergence of such civil society advocacy in Uganda, as one commentator notes, refl ects the growing and welcome ability of civil society “to occupy space inadvertently ignored by government.” This study underscores the potential for charitable service delivery groups and rights-based organizations to bring their knowledge of real human needs to bear on the policies that constrain equitable access to services and fair treatment under law. Co-published with the Uganda National NGO Forum and featuring a thoughtful foreword by its director, Richard Ssewakiryanga, this study identifies cross-cutting issues and lessons learned from four case studies commissioned by the Forum.  The campaigns studied span a range of issues, time frames, and levels of contribution to the desired policy impact. Discussion questions following this overview and each case study may inspire deeper refl ection on the role of civil society advocacy in Uganda and in other settings.

Advocacy Evaluation: Challenges and Emerging Trends by David Devlin-Foltz, Michael C. Fagen, Ehren Reed, Robert Medina, Brad L. Neiger
A well-designed evaluation that moves beyond inventorying advocacy activities can help make the case for funding advocacy and policy change efforts. Although it is one thing to catalog meetings held, position papers drafted, and pamphlets distributed, it is quite another to demonstrate that these outputs resulted in useful policy change outcomes. This is where the emerging field of advocacy evaluation fits in by assessing (among other things) strategic learning, capacity building, and community organizing. Based on recent developments, this article (Health Promotion Practice, 2012) highlights several challenges advocacy evaluators are currently facing and provides new resources for addressing them.

AEA365: APC Week: David Devlin-Foltz on Advocacy and Policy Change as a Developing Evaluation Field
Kicking off AEA365's Advocacy and Policy Change Week, David Devlin-Foltz highlights the work of the American Evaluation Association's Topical Interest Group on Advocacy and Policy Change as well as The Aspen Institute's new and improved Advocacy Progress Planner.

A Response to Coe and Schlangen by David Devlin-Foltz, Lisa Molinaro and Robert Medina
In a response to Jim Coe and Rhonda Schlangen's article titled "Looking Through the Right End of the Telescope" (Center for Evaluation Innovation, 2011), the Advocacy Planning and Evaluation Program team argue for the thoughtful use of tools in the field of advocacy evaluation, keeping in mind that not every situation requires a tool and not every tool is suited for all situations.

AEA365: David Devlin-Foltz on Tools for Advocacy Evaluation
This blog discusses two useful tools in the emerging field of advocacy evaluation: The Aspen Institute's online (and free) resource, the Advocacy Progress Planner, and the cutting-edge research coming out of the Center for Evaluation Innovation.

Better Together? A User's Guide to Funding Advocacy Coalitions by David Devlin-Foltz
This article provides guidelines for funders supporting advocacy coalitions. David considers the potential pitfalls of coalition funding and offers practical advice on strengthening the work of advocacy coalitions by helping them work “better together.”

Champions and "Champion-ness": Measuring Efforts to Create Champions for Policy Change by David Devlin-Foltz and Lisa Molinaro
Creating “policy champions” who can bring about changes in public policy is central to many advocacy projects. But what exactly is a champion for policy change? How can we assess progress in identifying, informing, supporting, or engaging them? This brief describes our process and preliminary experiences. It also highlights challenges we have encountered.