West Africa Civil Society Institute wacsi.org

WACSI Strengthens the Policy Advocacy Skills of IBIS Partners

The training enabled IBIS and its partners to develop a synchronized advocacy plan with the help of the Advocacy Planning Framework (APF), a new advocacy planning tool central to the Institute's Advanced Policy Advocacy and Engagement Training.

Ms. Theodora W. Anti, Programme Officer of Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) who has been utilizing various advocacy skills and campaign strategies for over 4 years in her position, explains that “it was very practical, easy to understand and one of the best I have attended”. Theodora committed to “apply the knowledge and skills gained in the implementation of FOSDA’s Youth in Governance and Women Empowerment Project”.

The training took place at Forest Hotel, Dodowa from April 17 – 20, 2012. It included sessions that encouraged experience sharing and deepened participants' understanding on how civil society actors can constructively intervene at various stages of the policy process. The training also helped participants sharpen their advocacy communication skills, specifically through writing compelling and gripping policy briefs. Participants were exposed to the importance, roles and differences between a policy study and policy brief as advocacy communication tools required to promote diverse policy agenda.

Ms. Beatrice Amoah, Programme Officer, Research and Publication, of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) who participated at the training commended the practical aspect of the training. Francis Acquah-Aikins, Program Officer of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) who considered the training to be an "eye-opener" expressed his his satisfaction with the training. "This is one of the best professional capacity building trainings I have ever attended" he explained.

The contextualisation of the training package, particularly the use of indigenous case studies during analysis, further provided clarity to policy making processes in West Africa. It also exposed participants to the complexities of policy and political environments within the sub-region. 

Overall, the training was tailored to enable IBIS partners (MFWA, WANEP and FOSDA) working on the WAHRD project to envision the feasibility of moving the project into its next advocacy phase by adopting and applying new advocacy strategy. Through a 'walk-through' session with WACSI's facilitators, Ibis and its partners represented at the training, developed a 3-month advocacy plan with practical deliverable and specific timelines for the 5-year WAHRD project.

WACSI as a capacity building institution engages in empowering civil society actors with policy advocacy skills. This is done to strengthen their advocacy campaigns. The Institute has scheduled more policy advocacy and engagement courses in 2012.

For more information on these courses and to apply, click here.

You can view more pictures on the training here.