7.3 A huge range of possible influencing tactics

Tactics are the specific actions you intend to pursue to help you achieve your objectives. There are a huge range of possible tactics to use to make change happen. The possibilities are as broad as your imagination. Your context and power analysis will help guide you, but central will be your power mapping and the decisions you have made as to who your key targets are and what specifically you need to influence them to do. You will need to choose an appropriate mix and sequencing of your tactics and activities keeping these targets in mind. The more specific and targeted the aims of your chosen tactics are, the easier it will be monitor progress, to make adjustments and ultimately the more effective you will be in moving towards your change goal.

We have seen just a few possible tactics through the case studies and discussions in this course so far, such as the media adverts, billboards, radio broadcasts, marches, trainings, education cards, discussion groups, police and school engagement used by the ‘I care about her’ campaign in Zambia.

A key question to ask yourself when choosing tactics is what will help make real change happen among the specific people and institutions you are influencing?

Think about whether you want to encourage or persuade by engaging directly with decision-makers and influencers in their spaces through what we call insider tactics, and which are generally less confrontational. Or do you need to put pressure on them through public mobilisation and what we call outsider tactics, which are generally seen as more confrontational? Often a mix of these two approaches works best but tensions might also arise as a result of using both, something you will need to manage.

For instance, if you are aiming to change the policies and practices of governments or other institutions or businesses you could consider the following.

Insider (persuasion) tactics:

• Research and evidence to highlight what needs to change and why.
• Focus on engaging directly with policy and decision-makers by developing relationships, convening meetings, establishing dialogue, letter writing and lobbying, also known as advocacy.
• Package up your ideas and solutions and be ready to present them when there are windows of opportunity, for example, a new sympathetic government or a swing in public mood in favour of your issue.
• Recruit influential and credible voices who can access and influence decision-makers directly.
• Create your own spaces and platforms for change and invite relevant people in to help influence the agenda.

Outsider (pressure) tactics:

• Build alliances and coalitions for change to engage and put pressure on decision-makers – for example with celebrities, community and religious leaders, or other people seen to be credible spokespeople on the issue.
• Mobilise your community and the public to demonstrate concern on the issue and support for the change – through demonstrations, protest and media stunts, online petitions and digital and social media activities.
• High profile media to hold targets to account and even to expose bad practices.
• Raise awareness via social media, engaging influencers who have large followings and are prepared to take up the issue.

If you have an objective to strengthen the voice or power of people who are affected by or concerned about the issue, you could consider using the following tactics:

• Awareness raising activities within your community.
• Bring people together to act and learn and be involved in securing the change.
• Build a wider movement for change through events, meetings and social media activities.
• Build leadership and campaigning skills within your group.
• Fundraising and technical advice

If you have an objective to change social norms and behaviours that are helping to perpetuate an injustice you could consider the following:

• Develop communication messages, ideally delivered through popular messengers, influencers and role-models, that emphasise positive norms and behaviours that also challenge the ‘bad’ social norms or behaviours.
• Awareness raising activities within communities affected.
• Empowerment and social-learning activities with those people negatively affected.
• Activities that influence or put pressure on government, public services, the media, businesses, or the justice system to change policies and practices that shape norms and behaviours or contribute to maintaining negative social norms.

If you have an objective to pioneer or promote new solutions to tackle a particular injustice, and to help spread the change through influencing and campaigning, you could consider using a mix of the following:

• Pioneer the initiative locally, test it and then, if successful, scale it up.
• Create networks and communities of practice to share learning on and promote new approaches to solving the problem you want to address.
• Influence other groups, institutions, service providers or government departments to adopt and promote the new practices or behaviours.
• Create spaces for open discussions and brainstorming of ideas around solutions.

Many other tactics can be employed too, dependent on the context, the audience, the message, and what you’re trying to achieve and with what resources. A list first published in 1973 by the American political scientist Gene Sharp, shows 198 methods of ‘nonviolent action’, and it was compiled even before the dawn of digital and social media. A PDF version of this list is available in the downloads area below.

Although focused on methods of nonviolent action, this publication also highlights a range of confrontational tactics that can be used to achieve change. This also begs the question whether violent action can ever be justified when seeking to achieve positive change on social and environmental justice issues, recognising that there is a distinction between violence against people and causing damage to property or disruption to events or livelihoods.

Whichever tactics you think could be effective in achieving your objectives, careful consideration of how to manage risks is important, and something we’ll come back to later in this unit. If you need to, how easy will it be to switch tactics when something is not working, when tensions become unmanageable or when a new opportunity appears? Finally, do you have access to the resources and time needed for the kind of tactics you think could work?

There are many resources available on the internet which provide guidance and inspiration on possible influencing tactics and we link to some of them in the further reading sections of this course.