This guide is intended to be an introduction to the Senate and its procedures. It is designed to give NGO staff an understanding of the basics of the Senate and how to best achieve policy and campaigning goals.
Need to know how to contact Australian Senators and Members of Parliament? Here are contact lists and even some handy mailing labels.
Danny Sriskandarajah presented at Progress 2015 on what’s gone wrong in Australia and the world, and how we can steal it back. He argues for the power of civil society and solidarity to create a better future.
Gillian Triggs, the now Former President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, launched the Defending Democracy report at Progress 2017. She argued that advocacy is fundamental to our society but under threat with it increasingly difficult for people to speak up when they disagree.
The Australian National Development Index presents a new way to measure our wellbeing. At Progress 2017 Professor Fiona Stanley explained just why it’s so important.
This article explores the ‘moving the rock’ concept put forward by Daniel Hunter in his book Strategy and Soul. The concept has been valuable for campaigners and organisations reassessing their theory of change and particularly how they engage politicians and supporters.
Learn about Daniel Hunter’s metaphor of moving the rock to bring about social change through activating people’s social values.
A process guide to be used in training workshops and planning sessions. The workshop introduces the idea of ‘policy windows’ and ‘political opportunity structure’ and enables participants to critically evaluate the political opportunity structure apparent in current campaigns.
The policy window is an opportunity for advocates of proposals to push their pet solutions, or to push attention to their special problems. When everything comes together a problem is recognised, a solution is developed and available in the policy community, a political change makes it the right time for policy change, and potential constraints are not severe.
A process guide to be used in training workshops and planning sessions to introduce participants to lobbying in an experiential way; identify lobbying as just one tool in a community organiser’s toolkit of skills and techniques for change; provide resources and information for future reference.
Lobbying is one method of raising public awareness of an issue and enlists support for a particular cause. The objective of lobbying is to persuade decision makers to take or not to take particular actions. This handout covers the skills, knowledge and qualities of effective lobbyists, as well as the essential steps to preparing for lobbying.
Some rules, principles and tips for how to successfully set up a remote office and have staff working in diverse locations around the nation (or the world!), synthesised from best practice around the OPEN Network.
360 degree reviews are a helpful survey tool for peer-to-peer staff evaluations. Here are a set of stock questions that are often used, with an important mix of quantitative and qualitative questions.
Advice that can easily be adapted to your needs whether it’s meeting with an MP (or Senator) yourself or helping your members do it.
In Hungary, digital campaigning organisation aHang has been winning big and building people power in a difficult political environment. Their homecare campaign was a huge win for Hungarian carers, and people power everywhere.
Evaluating the impact of advocacy campaigns can seem impossible. Here are three handy guides that can help you undertake effective monitoring and evaluation of your advocacy and campaigning.
This role play activity outlines an interactive session to help people experience a political lobbying meeting, in a light-hearted way. The role play involves people being from either the Minister for Magical Creatures, or the NGO “Unicorn Revive”.