STATEGIC PLANNING: 
NINE KEY QUESTIONS

1.	GOAL: WHAT CHANGE DO WE WANT?

2.	AUDIENCE: WHO HAS THE POWER TO MAKE THE CHANGE?

3.	MESSAGE: WHAT MESSAGE WILL CONVINCE THOSE WITH POWER TO ACT FOR CHANGE?

4.	MESSENGERS: WHO MUST BE MOBILIZED TO DELIVER THE MESSAGE?

5.	DELIVERY: HOW CAN WE GET THOSE WITH POWER TO HEAR THE MESSAGE?

6.	RESOURCES: WHAT HAVE WE ALREADY GOT?

7.	NEEDS: WHAT ADDITIONAL RESOURCES DO WE NEED TO DEVELOP?

8.	FIRST EFFORTS: HOW DO WE BEGIN?

9.	EVALUATION: HOW WILL WE KNOW IT'S WORKING?

What are the 9 Strategic Planning Questions?
These questions were developed by Jim Schultz, Director of the Democracy Center.
The first five questions involve looking outward. The last four involve looking inward.
What change do we want? - Any advocacy effort must begin with a sense of its goals. What are the long-term --goals and what are the short-term goals? What are the content goals (the policy change) and what are the process goals (building a coalition or grassroots infrastructure)? These goals must be defined at the start, in a way that can launch an effort, draw supporters to it, and sustain it over time.
Who has the power to make the change? - Who are the people and institutions you need to move? This includes the authorities, such as legislators, who make policy and those who can influence authorities, such as the media or key constituencies. You need a clear sense of who these audiences are and what access or pressure points are available to move them. You need to remember that your ultimate target is those with the authority to effect change, not on the general public. Of course, sometimes those in authority are responsive to public opinion.

What message will convince those with power to act for
change? Reaching these different audiences requires a
persuasive set of messages. While these messages must be
rooted in the same basic truth, they must be framed
differently to different audiences depending on what they
will respond to. Most advocacy messages have two
components: an appeal to what is right and an appeal to the
audience's self-interest.
Who must be mobilized to deliver the message? The same message can have a very different impact depending on who communicates it. Who are the most credible messengers for the different audiences you have identified? "Experts" with technical credibility? "Authentic Voices" who speak from personal experience? What do we need to do to equip these messengers, in terms of information and training?
How can we get those with power to hear the message? The range of available ways to deliver an advocacy message is quite wide and varies with the cultural and political circumstances you work in and from situation to situation. The key is to know what is available to you and to use the most appropriate vehicle for the given situation.
The last four questions involve looking inward.
What have we already got? Take careful stock of the advocacy resources already there to be built upon. These include past related advocacy, alliances already in place, capacity and talents of your people, information and

political intelligence. Everyone starts from some kind of base capacity. No one has it all. Everyone has something.
What additional resources do we need to develop? After taking stock, and keeping in mind your answers to questions 1 thru 5, identify needed resources that you don't yet have? Identify alliances that need to be built, capacities that need to be created.
How do we begin? What would be an effective way to move the strategy forward? What are some achievable short-term goals or projects that will bring the right people together, symbolize'the larger goal, and create a groundwork for the next step?
How will we know its working? You need to check and correct your course along the way. Strategy needs to be periodically evaluated by revisiting the questions above. You need to be willing to discard ideas that aren't working and put new tactics into practice.