Nonprofits Assess Advocacy Capacities and Future Needs: Results from the Advocacy Capacity Tool
We now know that building organizational strength to influence policy should be included in nonprofit groups’ planning and evaluation efforts. Assessing their capacity to engage in advocacy is the first step in helping determine what areas to strengthen and to help lay a baseline for evaluating progress. With that in mind, Alliance for Justice released its second-generation advocacy capacity assessment tool, the Advocacy Capacity Tool (ACT) in 2012. They have just completed a review of the results from the first 100 organizations that used the ACT.
Sue Hoechstetter led the development of the tool with the Applied Research Center at the University of Wisconsin. She will report on the results and will provide the first public look at how these groups assess their advocacy capacities and how they want to build capacity.
Katherine Hohman of the YMCA will discuss how their State Alliances are using the ACT and how the national office is using the results.
The Aspen Planning and Evaluation Program (APEP) helps our clients plan, assess, and refine their social change and policy advocacy efforts. To learn more about APEP visit http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/apep.