A Voice For the Voiceless
MISSION
The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice
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About The Advocac...
> Frequently Asked ...
When was the Advocacy Project established, and why?
AP was established in June 1998 at the request of the NGO Coalition for an International Criminal Court (CICC). The Coalition asked for help in covering the Rome conference to draft an ICC statute and AP produced an online newsletter (On the Record) from the conference which was sent out to CICC members worldwide. AP continued on a project by project basis until July 2001, when the project acquired 501c3 (nonprofit) status, registered in Washington, DC.
What is AP’s philosophy of partnership?
We believe strongly that partnership exists between equals and on the basis of mutual trust. Our partners are leaders in their field and even known for their advocacy. While we can offer support in information we gain much from partnerships.
How does AP help partners?
AP’s mission and goals are implemented through the following activities:
Information production: The first of our program goals is to help partners develop information tools, such as newsletters, press releases and websites, which they can use to produce information. Not only does this help partners get the message out about their work, but it creates internal discipline and transparency. Often, AP will start the process and profile a partner’s work through our newsletters or in the blogs of our Peace Fellows. But our hope is that the partner will soon understand the value of information and acquire the ability to develop these tools for themselves.
Information dissemination: Once the information is produced, it must be disseminated and shared with the world. This requires a working knowledge of ICT and ICT tools. Working through volunteers (Peace Fellows) we try to tailor our support to the needs of the partner. Many community-based associations have very few resources. We can help them to assess their ICT needs and assets and take the first steps towards creating an in-house ICT capacity by identifying an “accidental techie” among their staff. Also, we may be able to find them computers. Maybe they need advice about using internet cafes efficiently. We will also try, through our Fellows, to identify an “eco-network” of IT experts who work in the area who can provide ICT support. Finally, we offer the group a page on our website, which gives them access to the Internet.
Larger, urban-based partners are likely to have the ICT foundation in place, and are more likely to need help integrating ICT into their work. We help them to develop and use ICT tools – websites, blogging, social networking, video etc. In the future we will offer all partners ICT trouble-shooting from Washington.
Parallel to this, we help partners to disseminate their information through our website and online news service, AdvocacyNet. AdvocacyNet currently has around 6,000 subscribers. We also hope and expect that bulletins will be picked up by other new services, thus ensuring a wide readership.
Use information: Our third program goal is to help partners use and act on their information by building a constituency for their work through networking and outreach. As part of this, we promote their message in the United States, because we believe strongly that advocacy does not stop at borders in today’s world. The issues of our partners strike a chord in Americans, particularly diaspora populations who want to connect with their homeland. The US government is also a major player in many countries where we work, and thus a natural target for lobbying.
AP relies mainly on volunteers - Peace Fellows - to work directly with partners. We carefully select Fellows, give them basic communications training, and then ask them to help our partners develop information tools during their fellowship. After their fellowship ends, we try to follow up from Washington and use networking to help the partner continue to develop and use tools in their advocacy.
Social justice and social change: Eventually we hope that partners will use their new information skills to address the root causes of discrimination. We monitor their progress and hope that our interventions can be shown to contribute. This can be hard to measure, particularly as many other factors will have contributed.
We also expect that our interventions will produce other important, but indirect benefits. We expect to generate funds, and (as of October 2007) we have raised $954,322 for partners since 2002. We expect to see partners grow stronger as institutions. We expect our Peace Fellows to expand their education horizons and enhance their careers as a result of serving in the program. We expect to see American activists engaged and empowered by exposure to the work of our partners. These are all important and valued outcomes.
Does AP focus on any regions, issues or areas?
In general, we believe that community-based advocates face the same needs wherever they work and regardless of their location or culture. We also feel that all advocates need to be able to produce and use information.
How does AP select partners?
AP does not select or seek out beneficiaries, because we do not want to impose an agenda. Instead, we wait for groups to find us through our news bulletins, word of mouth or the Internet and then develop a partnership. Any group that takes an AP service is considered a partner, and all partners are offered a page on the AP website. See our partner FAQs for more information.
Is there a demand and need for AP’s services?
Since 2003, we have received over 300 inquiries about partnership. There is also strong demand for Fellowships. In 2003, we received eight applications. In 2007, we received 169 and over half came from the top five International Relations programs in the United States. There is no doubt that our Fellowship program addresses a major need and provides a solid grounding in human rights to the next generation of American leaders.
AP does not have field offices. Is it possible to make a meaningful contribution to so many different organizations from Washington?
Each Peace Fellow offers his or her host the same package of services in an effort to ensure consistency and allow us to measure results. But we find that different partners focus on different services, depending on their needs and activities. In addition, once a fellowship ends, AP’s focus narrows considerably. We will prioritize new partners, and follow up with one or two services at the most. Once a partner is self-sufficient in information, our support becomes much less intensive.
Can AP ensure professional services by working through graduate students who are deployed for limited periods of time?
We recruit Peace Fellows who are mature and have experience working abroad, often with the Peace Corps. We have also found that young professionals in their mid to late twenties are well suited to the challenge of working with community-based groups. They thrive on informality, but set goals. They are familiar with information technology. They cost their hosts nothing. What they don’t know can be taught at training - the rest will be a test of character and an ability to improvise. We feel that such volunteers could, potentially, be a huge asset for human rights.
Why does AP draw on American and European students instead of local experts?
Peace Fellows seek to tap local resources and introduce partners to new allies, locally and internationally. Experience shows what can be done by a highly motivated, disciplined volunteer with a clear work plan and excellent connections. Peace Fellows help their hosts reach out to foreign embassies, IT specialists, and international NGOs.
How can AP produce long-term, sustainable results for partners?
In four ways. First, by helping their host organization to become self-sufficient in the production and use of information. Second, by encouraging their host to invest in volunteers, instead of viewing interns as short-term and ad hoc. Third, by encouraging their hosts to build bridges to supporters abroad (for example in diaspora communities). Fourth, by sending fellows to work with the same organization, year after year.
AP helps partners sustain activities through networking and linking them up with others who can provide support that we cannot - for instance, local ICT experts, donors, NGOs that have a full-time presence in the country, or American advocates who have a specialization that we lack. We are a product of the information age and a member of a huge community of like-minded organizations. Our strengths lie in exploiting that larger community. As noted above, AP has raised around $950,000 for partners. This was done by promoting their work and through networking.
How can the AP model be scaled up?
By working with others who have a larger footprint, and by successfully promoting the model. Many elements of the AP model were innovative when we introduced them, but are now quite common. For example, we were one of the first to use an online newsletter to strengthen networking and lobby for change (Rome, 1998); to use handicrafts as a tool for human rights advocacy (Bosnia, 2003); to work with the diaspora to promote human rights in the homeland (Nepal, Bosnia); to use blogging in our internship program (2003). The fact that these tools are increasingly used by human rights advocates is an example of our model being scaled up – even though we would not claim a direct cause and effect.
How is AP organized?
Into program areas: front office, administration, fellows, information (dissemination, website), outreach and networking.
Is AP a human rights organization?
Yes. AP is strongly committed to human rights and social justice, but our intervention differs from the traditional approach to human rights monitoring. Instead of collecting information about abuses ourselves and using the information to lobby for change, we seek to build human rights social capital as described above.
Does AP work with service-providers?
Yes. We view the provision of services and human rights advocacy as complementary, not exclusive. We have seen many partners evolve from providing services to become advocacy organizations as they come to understand why their clients need services. All too often, the reason is discrimination.
Does AP have a staffing philosophy?
Yes. We believe in offering young people an opportunity to engage and make a difference. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, military service, gender or age.
How are AP board members chosen?
AP’s five board members represent five sectors of society: universities/academia, diplomacy, private sector, ICT, and media. AP is seeking new board members from the legal profession, student bodies, and community-based organizations. We do not yet use term limits.
What is AP’s annual budget?
The annual operating budget for 2007 is $260,000. We are seeking funds to upgrade our own capacity and provide better services for partners in 2008. This will increase the budget to around $400,000.
Where do AP funds come from?
AP currently draws money from foundations, which tend to be interested in the AP approach of information capacity-building, and private benefactors, which are drawn by the Fellowship program. AP succeeded in securing sponsors for 16 fellowships in 2007
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Frequently Asked Questions
- When was The Advocacy Project established, and why?
- What is AP’s philosophy of partnership?
- How does AP help partners?
- Does AP focus on any regions, issues or areas?
- How does AP select partners?
- Is there a demand and need for AP’s services?
- AP does not have field offices. Is it possible to make a meaningful contribution to so many different organizations from Washington?
- Can AP ensure professional services by working through graduate students who are deployed for limited periods of time?
- Why does AP draw on American and European students instead of local experts?
- How can AP produce long-term, sustainable results for partners?
- How can the AP model be scaled up?
- How is AP organized?
- Is AP a human rights organization?
- Does AP work with service-providers?
- Does AP have a staffing philosophy?
- How are AP board members chosen?
- What is AP’s annual budget?
- Where do AP funds come from?
When was the Advocacy Project established, and why?
AP was established in June 1998 at the request of the NGO Coalition for an International Criminal Court (CICC). The Coalition asked for help in covering the Rome conference to draft an ICC statute and AP produced an online newsletter (On the Record) from the conference which was sent out to CICC members worldwide. AP continued on a project by project basis until July 2001, when the project acquired 501c3 (nonprofit) status, registered in Washington, DC.
What is AP’s philosophy of partnership?
We believe strongly that partnership exists between equals and on the basis of mutual trust. Our partners are leaders in their field and even known for their advocacy. While we can offer support in information we gain much from partnerships.
How does AP help partners?
AP’s mission and goals are implemented through the following activities:
Information production: The first of our program goals is to help partners develop information tools, such as newsletters, press releases and websites, which they can use to produce information. Not only does this help partners get the message out about their work, but it creates internal discipline and transparency. Often, AP will start the process and profile a partner’s work through our newsletters or in the blogs of our Peace Fellows. But our hope is that the partner will soon understand the value of information and acquire the ability to develop these tools for themselves.
Information dissemination: Once the information is produced, it must be disseminated and shared with the world. This requires a working knowledge of ICT and ICT tools. Working through volunteers (Peace Fellows) we try to tailor our support to the needs of the partner. Many community-based associations have very few resources. We can help them to assess their ICT needs and assets and take the first steps towards creating an in-house ICT capacity by identifying an “accidental techie” among their staff. Also, we may be able to find them computers. Maybe they need advice about using internet cafes efficiently. We will also try, through our Fellows, to identify an “eco-network” of IT experts who work in the area who can provide ICT support. Finally, we offer the group a page on our website, which gives them access to the Internet.
Larger, urban-based partners are likely to have the ICT foundation in place, and are more likely to need help integrating ICT into their work. We help them to develop and use ICT tools – websites, blogging, social networking, video etc. In the future we will offer all partners ICT trouble-shooting from Washington.
Parallel to this, we help partners to disseminate their information through our website and online news service, AdvocacyNet. AdvocacyNet currently has around 6,000 subscribers. We also hope and expect that bulletins will be picked up by other new services, thus ensuring a wide readership.
Use information: Our third program goal is to help partners use and act on their information by building a constituency for their work through networking and outreach. As part of this, we promote their message in the United States, because we believe strongly that advocacy does not stop at borders in today’s world. The issues of our partners strike a chord in Americans, particularly diaspora populations who want to connect with their homeland. The US government is also a major player in many countries where we work, and thus a natural target for lobbying.
AP relies mainly on volunteers - Peace Fellows - to work directly with partners. We carefully select Fellows, give them basic communications training, and then ask them to help our partners develop information tools during their fellowship. After their fellowship ends, we try to follow up from Washington and use networking to help the partner continue to develop and use tools in their advocacy.
Social justice and social change: Eventually we hope that partners will use their new information skills to address the root causes of discrimination. We monitor their progress and hope that our interventions can be shown to contribute. This can be hard to measure, particularly as many other factors will have contributed.
We also expect that our interventions will produce other important, but indirect benefits. We expect to generate funds, and (as of October 2007) we have raised $954,322 for partners since 2002. We expect to see partners grow stronger as institutions. We expect our Peace Fellows to expand their education horizons and enhance their careers as a result of serving in the program. We expect to see American activists engaged and empowered by exposure to the work of our partners. These are all important and valued outcomes.
Does AP focus on any regions, issues or areas?
In general, we believe that community-based advocates face the same needs wherever they work and regardless of their location or culture. We also feel that all advocates need to be able to produce and use information.
How does AP select partners?
AP does not select or seek out beneficiaries, because we do not want to impose an agenda. Instead, we wait for groups to find us through our news bulletins, word of mouth or the Internet and then develop a partnership. Any group that takes an AP service is considered a partner, and all partners are offered a page on the AP website. See our partner FAQs for more information.
Is there a demand and need for AP’s services?
Since 2003, we have received over 300 inquiries about partnership. There is also strong demand for Fellowships. In 2003, we received eight applications. In 2007, we received 169 and over half came from the top five International Relations programs in the United States. There is no doubt that our Fellowship program addresses a major need and provides a solid grounding in human rights to the next generation of American leaders.
AP does not have field offices. Is it possible to make a meaningful contribution to so many different organizations from Washington?
Each Peace Fellow offers his or her host the same package of services in an effort to ensure consistency and allow us to measure results. But we find that different partners focus on different services, depending on their needs and activities. In addition, once a fellowship ends, AP’s focus narrows considerably. We will prioritize new partners, and follow up with one or two services at the most. Once a partner is self-sufficient in information, our support becomes much less intensive.
Can AP ensure professional services by working through graduate students who are deployed for limited periods of time?
We recruit Peace Fellows who are mature and have experience working abroad, often with the Peace Corps. We have also found that young professionals in their mid to late twenties are well suited to the challenge of working with community-based groups. They thrive on informality, but set goals. They are familiar with information technology. They cost their hosts nothing. What they don’t know can be taught at training - the rest will be a test of character and an ability to improvise. We feel that such volunteers could, potentially, be a huge asset for human rights.
Why does AP draw on American and European students instead of local experts?
Peace Fellows seek to tap local resources and introduce partners to new allies, locally and internationally. Experience shows what can be done by a highly motivated, disciplined volunteer with a clear work plan and excellent connections. Peace Fellows help their hosts reach out to foreign embassies, IT specialists, and international NGOs.
How can AP produce long-term, sustainable results for partners?
In four ways. First, by helping their host organization to become self-sufficient in the production and use of information. Second, by encouraging their host to invest in volunteers, instead of viewing interns as short-term and ad hoc. Third, by encouraging their hosts to build bridges to supporters abroad (for example in diaspora communities). Fourth, by sending fellows to work with the same organization, year after year.
AP helps partners sustain activities through networking and linking them up with others who can provide support that we cannot - for instance, local ICT experts, donors, NGOs that have a full-time presence in the country, or American advocates who have a specialization that we lack. We are a product of the information age and a member of a huge community of like-minded organizations. Our strengths lie in exploiting that larger community. As noted above, AP has raised around $950,000 for partners. This was done by promoting their work and through networking.
How can the AP model be scaled up?
By working with others who have a larger footprint, and by successfully promoting the model. Many elements of the AP model were innovative when we introduced them, but are now quite common. For example, we were one of the first to use an online newsletter to strengthen networking and lobby for change (Rome, 1998); to use handicrafts as a tool for human rights advocacy (Bosnia, 2003); to work with the diaspora to promote human rights in the homeland (Nepal, Bosnia); to use blogging in our internship program (2003). The fact that these tools are increasingly used by human rights advocates is an example of our model being scaled up – even though we would not claim a direct cause and effect.
How is AP organized?
Into program areas: front office, administration, fellows, information (dissemination, website), outreach and networking.
Is AP a human rights organization?
Yes. AP is strongly committed to human rights and social justice, but our intervention differs from the traditional approach to human rights monitoring. Instead of collecting information about abuses ourselves and using the information to lobby for change, we seek to build human rights social capital as described above.
Does AP work with service-providers?
Yes. We view the provision of services and human rights advocacy as complementary, not exclusive. We have seen many partners evolve from providing services to become advocacy organizations as they come to understand why their clients need services. All too often, the reason is discrimination.
Does AP have a staffing philosophy?
Yes. We believe in offering young people an opportunity to engage and make a difference. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, military service, gender or age.
How are AP board members chosen?
AP’s five board members represent five sectors of society: universities/academia, diplomacy, private sector, ICT, and media. AP is seeking new board members from the legal profession, student bodies, and community-based organizations. We do not yet use term limits.
What is AP’s annual budget?
The annual operating budget for 2007 is $260,000. We are seeking funds to upgrade our own capacity and provide better services for partners in 2008. This will increase the budget to around $400,000.
Where do AP funds come from?
AP currently draws money from foundations, which tend to be interested in the AP approach of information capacity-building, and private benefactors, which are drawn by the Fellowship program. AP succeeded in securing sponsors for 16 fellowships in 2007
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The Advocacy Project develops partnerships with advocates on the frontline and with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In so doing, we take our cue from partners and tailor any support to their needs.