Consulting: Developing campaign strategies to impact at the UN

Building your capacity on advocacy and lobbying at the UN

"We should never negotiate from fear or fear to negotiate" John Kennedy

Over the past twenty five years I have run a number of successful campaigns at the UN. These include:

• Advising organizations on their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Targets - securing a number of targets
• The introduction of stakeholder dialogues at the UN;
• In particular new governance processes for engaging stakeholders at UN Habitat, WHO European Environment Conference, UN Commission on Sustainable Development, UNEP GPA Conference;
• Secured water onto the UNFCCC agenda;
• Reformed sustainable development governance in particular for the creation of UNEO, the High Level Political Forum and the Follow up to the SDGs
• Guidelines for Corporate Sustainability Reporting;
• The four elements for the Rio+20 Conference (2012);
• The possibility for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (@002).

 

An advocacy campaigns is focused on the promotion of a particular cause.

A good advocacy campaign will have clear objectives, strategy, actions, and a realistic time-line. We can help you develop a successful Advocacy campaign. This would include the following elements:

• Advocacy Narrative: Develop with staff a clear narrative for the campaign.
• Advocacy Strategy: Develop a strategy for the campaign.
• Advocacy Mapping: Mapping out where your support is with other stakeholders.
• National Advocacy:  Any successful campaign starts with your own government. 
• UN Advocacy: Understanding the UN and how it operates and Where, when and how they can influence the negotiations
• Identify governments and officials: Identify the key governments and UN officials that need to be influenced – and the relationship that the organization has with them. Develop a plan on how to expand those relationships.
• Organize meetings with key governments and officials: having Identified the key people to see organize meetings with them for the campaign. 
• UN Demystification: Understanding the relevant parts of the UN that you will be working with or trying to influence. 
• UN Training: Training on how to lobby at the United Nations