Information generated

 A clear objective for your influencing

 Identification of the DFID individual or team responsible for delivery of the

objective

Process

When developing an influencing objective, you should make it as SMART as

possible.

Specific The more precise your objective, the easier it is to develop an

influencing plan. If your objective is very broad, you may need
to split it into two or more objectives.
Measurable What type of change or changes do you want to influence and
in whom or what?
Achievable Be realistic about the type and extent of change you could
influence, within your given timeframe and context.
Relevant How does the objective fit into DFID’s broader multilateral
reform priorities?
Time-bound How long can your team commit to following up an influencing
plan? The amount of time you can commit to will help
determine how ambitious your objective is. Remember that
successful influencing often requires an incremental approach,
slowly building support for a particular policy over time.

There are a lot of different tools you can use to help develop an influencing
objective, such as:

- Visioning. A technique that describes what the ideal situation would look
like (say in ten years time) and what would be in place or happening.
Although visioning focuses on describing what the future would look like
and not how it could be achieved, it can be a helpful starting point in
thinking about the end goal is, and therefore what changes need to
happen now. Find more information on visioning here.

- A problem tree. A type of problem analysis, which maps out the root
causes (and effects) of a problem. Problem trees start with a focal
problem; a group is then asked to brainstorm issues which contribute to
this focal problem, and link them together in causal chains, showing the
relationships between them. Understanding how different issues link
together can help you focus on one or two core problems to address in
your objective. Find more information on problem tree analysis here.

- Focusing on the type of change. Considering what type of change or

changes you wish to achieve can help clarify draft objectives. Ways to
describe changes include:

5
  Discursive change Changes in the words, narratives and concepts
used by an organisation or group. For example,
reference to specific social groups in new
policies or widening the definition of a particular
group, such as “displaced persons”.
 Procedural change Changes in the way things are done by an
organisation or group, but that do not necessarily
constitute a change in the policy itself. For
example, changing the way that consultations
are carried out to make it easier for rural
communities to take part.
 Attitudinal change Changes in attitude towards other organisations
and/or their values and causes. For example,
inviting NGOs to contribute to policy debates.
 Content change Actual changes in the strategy, policy documents
or budgets of an individual or group. For
example, apportioning a greater percentage of
an organisation’s budget to fragile states.
 Behavioural change Permanent changes in the way organisations or
groups act or behave; changes in formal and
informal incentive structures. For example,
decentralising decision making power from
headquarters to country level.

TIP: If you want to decide whether to divide a policy objective into two
separate objectives (each with their own influencing plans) conduct two AIIM
analyses (see step 3), one for each of the sub-objectives. If the actors have
roughly the same amount of interest and alignment for both, then you only
need one policy objective, and therefore one influencing plan. If the two
matrices look very different then you need two policy objectives and two
influencing plans.

Example

DFID can define its policy objective as a content change (changes in the ToR
of the funding mechanisms). This may lead to future discursive changes and
behaviour changes among the multilateral’s staff, and other partners using the
same funding mechanisms.

Step 2 - Understand the policy context: policy spaces

Key to successful influencing is identifying where and when decisions

affecting your objective will be taken, in other words, the policy spaces. This
does not just mean the meeting or conference where the final policy might be
agreed. It includes any key decision-making spaces and moments when
change that will affect your objective is likely to happen.