Training resources : Lobbying and engagement of policy makers in Guyana

The National Coordinating Coalition is a group of NGOs who have organised to deal with common issues of sustainability and advocacy on common issues related to HIV/AIDS and other concerns. The NCC is implementing a project which includes an advocacy component. They have developed a comprehensive advocacy plan.

I facilitated a learning session on Lobbying and Engagement of Policy Makers .  The participants indicated satisfaction with the session
I  am sharing the resources used in the training.
Please feel free to use and adapt. These resources would be most suitable to Guyana. There are other countries which have strict lobbying laws and regulations.

 Methodology

The session should be  designed so as to be interactive and participatory.  The agenda should be flexible to accommodate the needs of the participants. The agenda I used was designed to answer the following questions :-

  • What is lobbying?
  • How does lobbying fit into advocacy objectives?
  • What are some principles of ethical lobbying?
  • What are the activities involved in lobbying? 
    • I used two case studies to discuss lobbying in Guyana. One case study related to the lobbying of the Guyana Evangelical Fellowship/Georgetown Ministers Fellowship to prevent the inclusion of sexual orientation as a grounds for non-discrimination in Guyana's constitution. The other case study related to the Mothers in Black and their road safety work.
  • What are the experiences of the organisations with lobbying?
    • What have been the good experiences with lobbying?
    • What have been the challenges of engaging with policy makers in Guyana?
    • What lessons can the organisations share about lobbying?
  • What are the skills and competencies needed in lobbying and engaging with policy makers?
    • I used a video from Amnesty USA to show some of the skills and competences in action. One participant hoped that there would be local videos as this one seemed 'old'.
The slides and case study extracts are shared here with Creative Commons Share and Share alike license. Please feel free to contact me if you need any more information.




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