Informal connections or relationships cannot and should not be discounted.1 As one commentator remarked “Relationships are critical. Regardless of the formal or bureaucratic systems in which they operate, the personal and professional links among individual researchers and decisionmakers are decisive in affecting policy influence.”2 For example, a trainee from Tajikistan mapped out the circle of influence around the president and the people with the most influence were members of his family. The Macedonian example is also a good illustration of the importance of personal and informal relationships.
Case 3: Macedonia
Introducing and passing a Patients’ Bill of Rights (2006–2008)
Policy fellow and think tank (Studiorum)
The key path to influence in this case was through a newly appointed advisor to the Ministry of Health. He happened to be a colleague and friend of the researcher’s and although he had graduated in medical sciences, he had not worked in the area of healthcare for quite a while. He came to the researcher and her think tank to get some new ideas to to the minister.
Also, within the framework of a academic conference, the researcher had been trying to promote a more academic publication from Studiorum called the Journal for European Issues, “EuroDialogue.”3 After her presentation of the journal, one of the conference attendees expressed interest in publishing an article in this journal. This person turned out to be the future deputy minister of health and this informal academic connection turned out to be useful in the advocacy effort. In truth, this is more an example of luck and the benefits of being well-connected than planning, but often this kind of good fortune is also an ingredient of policy influence.
Don’t overlook or reduce the importance of informal or personal connections.
Advocacy planning checklist
Consider the important actors and networks in your advocacy plan:
- Who are the main stakeholders in the target policy issue?
- Who are the actual decisionmakers on your issue? Where does the real power lie?
- Who are decisionmakers connected to in government and in the NGO sector?
- Are there informal or personal relationships that matter?
- Who should be the main target audiences for your advocacy?