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STARTING YOUR CAMPAIGN

Problems...

  • Firstly, identify the problem your campaign is attempting to resolve, think about what the issue is by identifying the causes, and then think about why it is a problem

  • This will help you to identify the roots and causes of the problems

  • Write this down on paper so you can refer back to it during your campaign when liaising with stakeholders

Solutions...

  • Mission Statements

    • Having a mission statement will help to identify what you are trying to achieve and why, and can be used as a tool to refer back to throughout your campaign to ensure you are on track to reaching your aims.

    • A mission statement is a short description that explains your campaign and what it is trying to achieve…

  • Here is an example of a mission statement…

    • ‘The University of Brighton exists to enrich students’ lives, the community in which they live and the University of Brighton, by creating the changes they want and to enable them to achieve their ambitions'

 

  • Before you make yours, consider these three questions…

    • What change do you want to make?

    • Who are you targeting to benefit from this change?

    • When you’re ready, how would you put this together into a 1-2 sentence passage?

 

  • SMART goals

    • Use the SMART format to help set your aims…

    • Try to limit yourself to 3 or 4 aims within your campaign

    • Keep in mind your target audience… will they understand jargon?

    • Don’t forget that SMART goals are continuous… remember to review your aims throughout your campaign

 

  • Questions to consider… (building an evidence base)

    • Knowledge of your campaign and the surrounding context are crucial to ensuring the success of any campaign. Facts, figures and statistics are all necessary to reinforce your understanding of the topic and your campaign agenda.

    • To gather your evidence base, consider looking at your campaign goal and what questions need to be answered in order to reach your goal.

    • If your campaign goal is to raise awareness of the climate change emergency, you may want to consider answering the following questions to know what areas to research:

      • What actions are already in place?

      • Why is raising awareness of this issue needed?

      • Does another campus’ support the climate change emergency, and if so, how?

 

  • Identifying Stakeholders

    • Stakeholders are simply individuals or groups with an interest or concern in your campaign.

    • Have the table from PowerPoint here that has the potential contacts to further your campaign progression… (category and source)

    • Also, include information about the Freedom of Information (FOI)

      • Using FOI and Environmental Information Regulations (EIRs) is a common and often very effective campaigning tool to help build up the evidence for a campaign or gain crucial information on how decisions were made.

      • FOI is legislation that gives access to any non-personal recorded information held on behalf of the central government, local authorities, and other public bodies unless a specific exemption allows the authority to refuse to give this information.

      • If you apply for an FOI, be specific as possible with the information you are asking. Sometimes information acquired through FOI requests can also produce an interesting angle for a media story.

 

       

 

Head back to our main Campaigns Hub for more information about how we can assist you!