The Centro de Colaboración Cívica (Centre for Civil Collaboration) is an NGO working to reinforce democratic change in Mexico through dialogue, collaboration and conflict management. In October 2006 the centre facilitated a workshop for 14 organisations that were about to launch an advocacy campaign to influence relevant government bodies and ministers on issues relating to sexual and reproductive rights. The organisations analysed the political context, the basis on which they could develop their collective strategies. In this process, three tools proved particularly useful.

The tool used for context analysis was a ‘political map’ setting out the positions of relevant officials in the various branches of government with regard to sexual and reproductive rights. Prior to the workshop, the facilitators interviewed representatives of the 14 organisations, and identified the groups to be targeted in the campaign. The facilitators compiled brief profiles of each of the target groups identified by the 14 organisations. They mapped their attitudes, based on previous voting records, public statements and, where possible, personal interviews. Note that the authors of the map offered no conclusions prior to the workshop.

During the workshop, participants were divided into groups. They were asked to review the map and to identify opportunities for advancing the group’s agenda as well as possible threats. They were also to note any surprises in the map, such as perspectives that might have not have been expected from specific individuals. The map thus revealed areas where increased efforts by the group might yield favourable results, and where they would be wasted.

Any group or network working towards a common goal needs to avoid the duplication of efforts, and to identify any gaps. To address these challenges, the facilitators drew up a simple matrix in which the participants wrote the name of their organisation next to the groups they would target in their activities.

Finally, the group used an abbreviated version of the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) method to highlight the capacities of their organisations. Everyone present was asked to think of a moment of excellence in their work, when they felt connected with their mission and proud of their achievements. The participants told their stories in pairs, and then in groups of four, eight and 16. Later, they listed the practices that had made those moments possible.

Through this exercise, many stories of success in difficult political circumstances emerged, making the current situation seem less daunting. In the process, the dominant narrative gradually changed from one of doom and gloom, to one of possibility. The participants made a collective inventory of their best practices, which generated a great deal of motivation to work together to face the challenges ahead.

Collective learning and advocacy

Based on our experience in facilitating this collective learning process, we can draw a number of conclusions:

• Collective analysis can generate a process of learning that is not possible in other settings. All the participants were able to broaden their perspectives, and to benefit from their colleagues’ informal knowledge.
• Context analysis is important, but is not often done. The workshop allowed the organisations to take time to reflect on the context of their campaign, and to plan accordingly.
• A common document or proposal is useful for organising the group discussion. Without such a document, in this case the map, from which to work, the meeting might have become an excruciating exchange of opinions that would have been difficult to ground in any kind of common understanding.
• Consensus, while useful, should not be required. Although the group engaged in a shared analysis of the context, it did not necessarily reach consensus on what was going on, why, and the implications. Nonetheless, the insights gained enabled the participants to develop promising strategies.
• Stereotypes must be challenged. The importance of building coalitions across party lines cannot be overstated – preconceived notions of who may or may not be friendly to one opinion or another may hinder the ability to build winning coalitions.
• The narrative constructed around the possibilities for action matters. Perceptions can become reality as people act, or not, based on what they believe to be true. At the workshop, the transformation of the mood in the room after the AI exercise was palpable. What had seemed impossible suddenly became possible.

Links

Centro de Colaboración Cívica/Centre for Civil Collaboration.

Collaborative for Development Action (CDA), Reflecting on Peace Practice project.