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Develop a Campaign
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• Set your goal: The goal needs to be something your group can accomplish. “Achieving justice in Guatemala” is not an appropriate goal for a campaign; it’s too broad. “Ensure the U.S. doesn’t provide military training to Guatemala this year,” however, is an appropriate, manageable goal that will likely advance justice in Guatemala. When selecting your goal, don’t forget to assess current public opinion on the subject, the intensity of the need, and the opportunities that exist for success.

• Conduct research: You need to get the facts to build a strong argument. Establish credible sources of information and documentation. Find out who has the power to make the changes you seek. Are there successful models elsewhere of what you want to achieve? Good research will provide you with many action ideas.

• Identify allies and opponents: Who can help you? Other peace and justice groups? NISGUA? Sympathetic congress people? You need to contact potential allies, keep them informed, and turn to them for help. You will also need to figure out who your opponents are and what they’re arguing. How can you counter their arguments? How are they susceptible to pressure?

• Take action: You will need to take a series of actions that will reinforce each other. Sometimes a group does what it can think of, sees what happens, and then plans next steps. If possible, try to put together a logical, incrementally progressive plan beforehand. Action steps of a campaign might include: getting articles in the local paper, holding a teach-in, sending delegations to local or national policymakers, circulating petitions, and holding demonstrations. Just remember: the purpose of this work is to generate widespread support for the changes you want and pressure the appropriate officials or public persons with the power to make those changes. If your target audience remains unresponsive, prepare an escalating public awareness campaign to place them on the defensive.

• Evaluate: You will want to hold evaluation sessions as you go along to decide how to overcome obstacles, build on opportunities, and revise your goals as needed.

• Be persistent: We are raised in the U.S. to desire instant results. But social change does not occur without a great deal of effort. Bring about meaningful change one step at a time, and remember that simply raising awareness is not enough. All of the steps above may have to be done several times. You may decide you need to do more research. When you find out what is possible, you may decide to modify your goal. Be creative.

"Rather than daydreaming about perfect solutions, activists need to push for the most rapid progress that can realistically be achieved. It's a process with constant movement. Keep building on previous achievements. Aim for initiatives that grow, proliferate, and become self-sustaining. It is an enterprise which develops a life of its own. Each action, each event is a step forward. With each step forward, you can look further ahead." Strategies for Activists by Henry Spira.

Thanks to Campus Action and Henry Spira’s Strategies for Activists for this explanation.

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