Livability’s guide to effective campaigning

Copyright, Livability 2011

Livability has been fighting against poverty and discrimination for over 160 years. While much has changed for the better during that time, there is still a long way to go before disabled and disadvantaged people have true equality in the UK.

A child born with a disability, or brought up in a deprived neighbourhood, is likely to experience major disadvantages economically, socially and in terms of health and education. This is not good enough. Recent research (The Spirit Level) has shown that inequality is actually bad for everyone and leads to a breakdown in trust, poor health, stress, broken relationships and violence. The good news is ordinary people can bring about change. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” says the famous quote from Margaret Mead. Livability has never doubted this either and is committed to helping you bring about change to your community, friends, relatives and to the wider UK.

Disabled people in the UK are some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in our society. Livability works with adults and children with physical and learning disabilities helping them to lead full, independent lives and maximise their own potential. Campaigning is a crucial part of our work in order to ensure that disabled

people and their families get access to the right care, support and advice.

Much still needs to be achieved in term of disabled people having access to education and work opportunities as well as adapted housing and suitable transport facilities. Statistics also show that disabled people are more likely to struggle financially with disabled people being twice as likely to be in material poverty than their non disabled counterparts.

For many, having to face discrimination and misconception about their disability remains a reality. Often disabled people can fell isolated and excluded from their local community and society in general.

Campaigning allows us to bring all these issues to light and to change things for the better. All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. is the challenge from Edmund Burke to break the apathy which often permeates our society. If we can mobilize men and women of all ages and backgrounds to campaign for the disabled and disadvantaged we can bring real change and hope where discrimination and injustice exists. This belief is in the roots our Christian faith at Livability which believes in change even in the most seemingly difficult situations.

We hope this handy toolkit will help you develop your own campaigning activities and provide you with some of the advice and support you might need.

Mike Smith, Livability Chief Executive

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Welcome to the Livability’s campaigning toolkit

Introduction

1. Defining your campaign strategy 4

• Aims 4

• Calltoaction 4

• Gatheringevidence 4

• Youraudience 5

• Keepitsimple,keepitfocused 5

• Partnershipworking 6

• Resources 6

• Timescale 6

2. Let’s campaign! 7

• Politiciansanddecision-makers 7

• Petitions 9

• Themedia 9

• Events 10

• Campaignmaterial 10

• Evaluation 11

3. Contact us 12

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Why do we campaign?Campaignsusuallystartbecauseyoufeelstronglyaboutanissueand/orbecausethisissueaffectsyoupersonally.Youseeaproblemandwanttofindasolutiontoit.Raisingawarenessofadisabilityissueandmakingadifferenceofteninvolvesgettingsupportfromthegeneralpublicandthemediaaswellasinfluencingdecisionandpolicy-makerssuchasMPsandministers.Belowarethefirststepsinturningyourcampaigningideaintoreality:

AimsYourfirststepshouldbetodefineclearlyandsimplywhatyourcampaignisaboutandwhatyouwanttoachieve.

Forexample:areyoutryingtopreventalocaldaycarecentrefromclosing?Doyouwanttoimprovetheaccesstoyourlocalcinemaforwheelchairusers?

Writedowninacoupleofsentenceswhatyouraimsare.

Call to actionYouneedtothinkaboutwhatyouwanttoachieveasaresultofyourcampaignandwhatasuccessfuloutcomewouldbe.

Forexample:ifyouarecampaigningaboutpreventingtheclosureofadaycarecentre,youcouldbecallingforyourlocalauthoritytochangetheirmindandsavethecentreoryoucouldbecallingforthepublictohelpyoufundraisetokeepthecentreopen.

Writeinafewconcisewordswhatyourcalltoactionisgoingtobe.

Gathering evidenceYourcampaignneedstobebackedbyclearfactsandevidencesothatyoucandemonstrateandexplaintootherswhattheissuesare.

1.Definingyourcampaignstrategy

Forexample:inthecaseofadaycentrepotentialclosure,youwouldneedtostatehowmanydisabledpeoplewouldbeaffectedandhowtheclosurewoulddiminishtheirqualityoflifeandbeathreattotheirindependence.Youmightalsoneedtogatherfinancialinformation,forexamplehowmuchitwouldcosttokeepthedaycarecentreopen,andalsogatherpersonaltestimoniesfromtheindividualsattendingthecentre.

Gatherallyourwrittenevidences,statisticsandtestimonies.Theywillbecomethebackboneofyourcampaign.

Your audienceWhodoyouwanttoreachwithyourcampaign?Whocanmakeadifferencebygivingyoutheirsupport?Whoarethedecision-makers?

Forexample:Inthecaseofadaycarecentrebeingthreatenedwithclosure,youwouldwanttogathersupportfromwould-beyourlocalcommunity,yourlocalmediaandlocalpoliticians.

Keep it simple; keep it focused Aswithallcommunications,avoidingjargon,goingstraighttothepointandbeingclearandconcisewillhelpyoureachyouraudienceandkeeptheminterested.

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1.Definingyourcampaignstrategy

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Avoidbringingtoomanyissuesintoonecampaignasthiswilldiluteyourmessageandconfuseyouraudience.

Youmightbewell-versedintermsofdisabilityandtheissuesattachedtoitbutyouraudiencemightnotbe.Keepyourcommunicationssimplebuteffective.

Partnership workingYoumightwanttolookoutforotherindividualsandorganisationswhocouldbecomeinvolvedinyourcampaign.

YoumightwanttoseekthebackingofadisabilitycharitysuchasLivabilityorotherestablisheddisabilitygroupsandcampaigningorganisations.

Forexample:Inthecaseofadaycarecentrepotentialclosure,youcouldseeksupportfromotherdisabledpeopleattendingthecentreandtheirfamiliesaswellasthecentre’sstaff.YoucouldalsocontactLivabilityandaskustoendorseyourcampaign.

ResourcesBerealisticabouthowmuchtimeandenergyorfundsyoucandedicatetoyourcampaigningactivities.Makesurethatyouraimsareachievable.

Time scale Itisagoodideatodrawatimetableofactivitiesandplanyourcampaignclearlyandstepbystep,especiallyifyouareworkinginpartnershipwithothers.

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Nowthatyouhavedoneyourresearchandclearlydefinedyourcampaignaims,itistimetoputitallintopractice.Belowareafewtipsandadviceonwhotocontactandhowtoraiseawarenessofyourissues.

Politicians and decision-makers Oneofthemosteffectivewaysofgettingyourmessageacrossandachievingrealchangeistowinthebackingofdecision-andpolicy-makers.Inpracticethiswillmeantargeting:MPs,peers,ministersandlocalauthorities.

Youcandothisbywritingaclear,engagingletterhighlightingyourconcernsandhowyouwantthemtobeaddressedorbyseekingapersonalmeetingwiththesedecision-makers.

YoucanfindoutwhoyourlocalMPisby: • Askingyourlocalreferencelibraryorlocaltownhall • TelephonetheHouseofCommonsInformationOffice

02072194272 • Gotohttp://findyourmp.parliament.uk

2.Let’scampaign!

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ContactyourMPby: • WritingtoyourMPatHouseofCommons,

LondonSW1AOAA • RingingtheHouseofCommonsgeneralnumberand

asktobeputthroughanMP’soffice • ContactingyourMPbyemail.Addressescanbefound

at:www.parliament.co.uk • Makinganappointmenttovisittheirconstituencyoffice.

MostMPholdregularsurgeries.

Youcanfindoutaboutyourlocalcouncillorsby: • Goingtowww.direct.gov.uk • Visitingyourlocallibrary • Visitingyourlocalcouncil’swebsite.

JustlikewithMPs,youcancontactyourlocalcouncillorsbyletter,byattendingtheirsurgeriesorbyaskingforaspecificmeeting.

Otherkeydecision-makersyoumightwanttoinvolveinyourcampaigningactivitiescouldinclude:PrimaryCareTrusts(PCTs);StrategicHealthAuthorities(SHAs);NHSTrusts.

Ifyourhavearrangedameetingwithakeydecision-maker,makesurethatyouprepareforitwell.Makeanoteofthekeypointsyouwillwanttoraisewiththemandwhatyouwantthepersonyouaremeetingtodoforyouandyourcampaign.Haveallyourkeyfactsandevidenceathand.Ifyouareaskedtoprovideapieceofinformationyoudonothave,justmakeanoteofthequestionandexplaintothepersonyouaremeetingthatyouwillgetbacktothemwithmoredetails.

If you live in Wales:Since1999TheNationalAssemblyforWaleshasbeengrantedpowertomakedecisionsonhealthpolicyinWales.Thereare60AssemblyMembers(AMs).YouhaveaconstituencyAMandthenfour‘additionalmember’AMswhorepresentyourareaintheAssembly.YoucanfindoutwhoyourAMsarebyvisitingwww.assemblywales.orgorcalling08450105500.

If you live in Northern Ireland:In2007thepowertomakedecisionsonissuesofhealthandpublichealthandotherdevolvedissueswasreturnedtotheNorthernIrelandAssembly.YouhavesixMembersoftheLegislativeAssembly(MLAs)whorepresentyouatStormont.YoucanfindoutwhoyourlocalMLAsarebyvisitingwww.niassembly.gov.ukorphoningtheNorthernIrelandAssemblyon02890521333.

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If you live in Scotland:Since1999theScottishParliamenthashadresponsibilityforhealthpolicyandpublichealthinScotland.EveryoneisrepresentedbyoneMSPfortheirconstituencyandanadditionalsevenMSPswhocoveranentireregion.YoucanfindoutwhichMSPsrepresentyoubyvisitingwww.scottish.parliament.ukorbycalling01313485000.

Petitions Petitionsareagoodwaytogathersupportfromthegeneralpublicforyourcampaigningissues.Youcanthenshowdecision-makersthatyouhavethebackingofalargenumberofpeople.Ifyouwanttostartane-petitionyoucaneasilydosoat:http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/

The media Gettingyourlocal/regional/nationalmediainvolvedinyourcampaignisagreatwaytoincreaseitsvisibility.Thiscanputmorepressureondecisionandpolicymakerstoaddressyourconcerns.

Youcancontactthemediaby: • Sendingoutapressreleasehighlightingyourcampaign

anditsaims • Writingaletterforthe“Lettertoeditor’’sectionof

relevantnewspapers • Itisalwaysbesttoemailajournalistinthefirstinstance.

Youcanfollowupwithaphonecallonceyouhavesentsomematerialtoajournalisttodiscussthingsfurther

• PressreleasesshouldbeemailedtotheNewsDeskofanewspaper/radiostation/televisionstation.RingthegeneralnumberofthemediaoutletyouwanttotargettogettherightemailaddressfortheNewsDesk

• Youwillusuallyfindtheaddresswhereletterstoeditorsshouldbesentinthe“yourletters’’or“letterstoeditor’’sectionsofanewspaper.

• Pressreleasesshouldbeshortandconcise(twosidesofanA4maximum)

• Giveyourreleaseadateandtitle(thetitleshouldtrytodescribeyourcampaigninafewwords)

• Includeashortquotefromyourselforthemaincampaignspokespersonintherelease

• Attheendofthepressreleaseincludeacontactnumberoremailwherejournalistscanreachyouiftheywanttofollowuponyourstory

• Inyourpressrelease,grabyourreader’sattentionwitha

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goodfirstparagraphfeaturingclearinformationonwhatyourcampaignisabout

• Don’tsendyourreleaseasanemailattachment,copyitintothebodyofyouremail

• Rememberthatjournalistsworktotightdeadlinesandarereallybusypeople.Alwaysbeconciseandcourteouswhendealingwiththemediaandjournalistswillbemorelikelytowanttoworkwithyou

• Ifyouareaskedtotakepartinaninterviewtopubliciseyourcampaign,remembertosticktoyourcampaignaimsandcalltoactionandexplainhowthegeneralpubliccansupportyouandgetinvolved.

EventsYourcampaignmightbenefitfromtheorganisationofanawarenessraisingorfundraisingevent.Youcouldholdaconference,andofficiallauncheventforyourcampaignorapublicity“stunt’’.

Publicity“stunts’’areusedtogeneratemediacoverageandofteninvolveprovidingjournalistswithagoodphotoopportunity.

Ifyouorganiseaphotoopportunitymakesureyouhaveanyrelevantpermissions,particularlyifit’stakingplaceonprivateproperty.Alwayskeepthingstastefulandappropriate!

Contacttherelevantmediaaboutyoureventatleastaweekinadvance,sotheycanplaniftheywishtosendaphotographerorjournalistalong.

Whenorganisinganytypeofevent,alwaysthinkcarefullyaboutorganisationandanypotentialhealthandsafetyissues.

Campaign material Youwillwantto“spreadtheword’’aboutyourcampaign.Budgetpermitting,publicitymaterialsuchasposters,flyers,tee-shirtsorpostcardscanbeawaytobringattentiontoyourcampaign.Alsomakeuseoftheinternetandsocialmedia(Twitter,Facebook)todisseminateyourmessageandkeepyoursupportersupdated.

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Evaluation Alwaysevaluateyourcampaignandmeasureyourimpact.Lookatwhatwassuccessfulandwhatdidnotworksowell.Thiswillhelpyoubecomemoreandmoreefficientinyourcampaigningactivities.

Aboveall,don’tgetdisheartened!Campaigningfortherightsandwelfareofdisabledpeopleisalong-termgoal.

Rememberthatyoucanmakeadifferenceandthatyour voicematters.

Central office: Livability 50 Scrutton StreetLondonEC2A 4XQwww.livability.org.uk

Phone 020 7452 2000Email info@livability.org.uk

Patron HRH The Princess Royal

Charity registration no. 1116530Company registration no. 5967087

Livability is the new face of John Grooms and the Shaftesbury Society

The Livability website, www.livability.org.uk, features a wealth of information about our services as well as our campaigning work.

If you want to contact Livability about your campaigning issues and ask for our support email: campaigns@livability.org.uk or ring 0207 452 2126 or 0207 452 2084

3.Contactus

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