5.8 Identifying who you will work with and how

A group of refugee women in Tripoli, Lebanon, are fighting against Gender Based Violence and empowering other women in their communities to do the same. A member of the women's group, engages in discussions with women in her community.

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Two women stand talking to each other in the street in Tripoli, Lebanon.

A group of refugee women in Tripoli, Lebanon, are fighting against Gender Based Violence and empowering other women in their communities ...

Now that you have thought about where your real spheres of control and influence are, and you have identified the key people or groups with an interest in the change you wish to see – both for and against – it’s time to focus on finding those that you could effectively work with to achieve your change. These certainly include potential partners and allies, but also those stakeholders you wish to target to achieve change – these could be decision-makers, role models or key influencers, and might also be ‘messengers’, people with access to decision-makers and influencers, when you don’t have direct access or a great deal of influence yourself.

A partner would be an individual or organisation that you decide to work together with on an on-going basis on the change issue. An ally would be a person or group who is supporting and potentially contributing to the change activity in some way.

It is useful at this stage to refer back once more to the discussion on self-awareness and unconscious biases in Unit 1. In thinking about who is best to work with, take time to ensure that your judgement is not obscured by pre-existing assumptions.