Alliance for Justice: Evaluation Tools Now Online

Alliance for Justice (AFJ), in partnership with The George Gund Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Alliance Healthcare Foundation, California Endowment, and Joyce Foundation, released an online version of its advocacy capacity assessment and advocacy evaluation tools on September 15, 2007. The hardcopy version was published in 2005 for foundations seeking to better understand the capacities of potential advocacy grantees as well as the effectiveness of grantees' advocacy campaigns; and for advocacy organizations seeking to strengthen their work.

Alliance for Justice published the tools online to make it easier for organizations to evaluate their advocacy activities update the tools on a continuous basis—as part of AFJ’s work to break down barriers to enable more foundations and nonprofit organizations to engage in advocacy. One of the tools is an indicator check-list to gauge an organization's ability to carry out sustained and effective advocacy campaigns. The nine indicators of advocacy capacity fit into the following three categories:

Organizational Operations Indicators: Indicators that speak to ways of doing business that allow the organization to manage its advocacy work effectively. They include, for example, having an efficient method, such as a policy subcommittee of the board, which can make quick and strategic advocacy decisions when necessary.
Relationship Building Indicators: Indicators that speak to relationships built with key players. Key players include people in organizations that can collaborate on advocacy work, the organization's members or constituents, and policy decisionmakers.
Implementation Skills and Knowledge Indicators: Indicators that speak to potential impacts of and ways to work with the political, cultural, and economic environment; the media; and the legislative, regulatory, and other policymaking systems.

A second tool is an evaluation section which asks for incremental and long-term advocacy plans at the beginning of the grant period and at reporting time, and the results of grantees’ work. Examples of key concepts included in the tool include:

Flexibility: Flexible and nimble organizations are more effective advocates. Grantees are encouraged to explain why and how they may have changed their work strategies and objectives, and not to see changes as failure.
Capacity Building: Strengthening an organization’s capacity to be effective is a goal in itself that should be planned for, monitored, and evaluated.
Incremental Progress: Since advocacy successes can be far down the road, incremental success along the way should also be planned for, monitored, and evaluated.

For more information about the tools and fee structure, please visit the Alliance for Justice at http://www.advocacyevaluation.org.

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