Making ROMA works Developing an engagement strategy

1. Making ROMA worksDeveloping anengagementstrategy How are the networks changing the situation - Using the Theory of change for better outcomes

2. Today program and goals In the end of the day/session you should know how to: • Set up tangible and measurable objectives for your coalitions. • Define the context of your coalitions´ interventions. • Track the success of your engagement strategy. • target the adequate stakeholders to reach you policy making objective.

3. Definingtheobjective(s) A good policy-influencing objective should be clear about: • why thechanges you are proposing are important, • who they affect, • whatneeds to be done about it and • where you stand in relation to otherswho are also trying to bring about change.

4. I - Definingtheobjective(s)

5. Objectives – example of Rapid housing To change the situation how homelessness is addressed for all populations in the Czech Republic. • Previous laws and practices have excluded people with past housing debts or evictions. This has made regaining housing for homeless families very challenging even in publically-owned units. • On top of that, for Roma families, assumptions about their behaviors in housing make access to the housing market very difficult, effectively precluding many of these families from re-entering the housing market. • Project showcasesthat any homeless family can be housed and retain the housing if given proper support, this could be a breakthrough evidence for change, because there are enough vacant flats in the Czech Republic to end homelessness altogether. • The project was referred to as a best practice example by the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in public, and also in documents supporting government social housing bill.

6. Exercise time – defining the objectives Define the main policy influence objective of the coalition • In groups define answers to the main questions: why the changes you are proposing are important, who they affect, what needs to be done about it and where you stand in relation to others who are also trying to bring about change. • Summarize your answers on flipchart – use maximum of 4 sentences to describe the objective • Introduce your objective to the others

7. Debriefing • Are you able to set up your policy objective? • Did the questions help to you make the objective more precise? • What is the evidence of the things that need to be done? How you prove the effect of the changed policy? • How does it differ from the objectives of your coalition?

8. II – Contextofyourobjectives

9. Force field diagram Tested methodology of Housing first Local politicians from the city districts Good relationship with city Brno Local inhabitant (prejudices) Practical tool to identify the potential barriers and enablers of change helps you target that objective in more detail. Changes in the government Good fieldwork service provider Big number of the free apartments Forces for What’s helping us? Forces against What’s stopping us? Willingness of the Ministry to adopt innovation Radical change of the social security system What we want Strength of the force Our influence Our influence Strength of the force EU funds to run the pilot and RCT …. ??? To change the situation how homelessness is addressed for all populations in the Czech Republic Insufficient funds to run Housing first nationwide

10. Excercisetime – definingthedrivingforces • Write the policy-influencing objective in the middle of the page. • Individually – brainstorm the forces for or against change – use post-its. • Group work: • Identify the forces (result of the brainstorming) and write them in the diagram • Look to analysis you have done, such as your ‘five whys’ or fishbone diagram to find some other inspiration. • Work out the strength of each one force, on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being weak and 5 being strong) – each of the group can award his/her mark and use the mean as a result. • Workout your own influence on the force - use a similar 1-to-5 scale to work out the strength of your influence on each of the forces. • Introduce your force field diagram to the others Very final step would be developing of the activities to overcome opposing and reinforce supporting forces.

11. Debriefing of the exercise • Did you find the same forces during the discussion as during the brainstorming? • Are you able to diagnose the forces that will enable reach your objective? • Are there some barriers that cannot be overcomed?

12. III – defining of the outcomes

13. Defining the stakeholder oriented outcomes In the context of anintervention seeking to influencepolicy, the outcome is policy change. There are many different typesof outcome we can look forthat will tell us whether ourinterventions are having thedesired effect. ROMA suggest nine possibleoutcomes to align witheach stakeholder or groupof stakeholders.

15. Defining outcomes - Example of Rapid housing To track thepolicychangeitisuseful to identifyspecificoutcomesforyourstakeholders. Youcandifferbetweenthreecategoriesthatwill show youthesuccesoftheintervention

16. Exercise time – defining own progress markers The aim is to define progress markers for the stakeholders you identified as influential for the problem you try to solve – groupwork • Choose 5 stakeholders that are influential to the policy change you are aiming. • Decide what type of outcome you expect/like/love to see influencing them – maximum three of them • Specify the outcome • Present the progress markers for your coalition tothe others.

17. Debriefing • Is the method understandable? • Were you able to tackle the outcomes you had expected for your coalitions? Are you expecting this changes as result of your activities? • You should focus on the changes in the target group to measure the success in policy making. • Go back in your groups and define activities that will help you fulfill the objective

18. IV – Theoryofchange

19. Theory of change ROMA methodology propose to have strategy to reach objectives of policy interventions. This is connected with changes in stakeholders behaviour. Any measure or activity planned in your strategy should be considered as tool for this change. It has not only tangible outputs or visible impact. It can (and in policy making should) lead to changes in behaviour. Behaviour theory state the changes can be described in following dimensions • Motivation • Attitude • Skills • External changes in the environment that undermine the internal changes

20. Example of Theory of change canvas for Rapid housing intervention

21. Exercise time – theory of change For the target group of your coalition is focused on develop theory of change. • In groups define the changes that should be brought by your intervention. • Use the blank canvas to put your notes for presentation.

22. Debriefing • Do the describedchanges fulfil the objectives you stated for your group/coalition? • Are there some other target groups it pays to describe in this way? • Are you expecting this changes should take a place as a result of your coalitions 'project?

23. V – Communication strategy

24. Communication strategy ROMA suggest two approaches how to develop proper communication strategy to achieve your objectives in the policy making. The approaches differs according the complexity of the issue you are solving. • encouraging a particular policy position – in the simple topic you may want to encourage policy-makers to adopt a specific position • knowledge-brokering – in situation topic is focused by many stakeholders of many different. Instead of achieving measurable impacts on policy, in your intervention or action may be more about developing capacities, improving and broadening the quality of debate through furthering dialogue and sharing ideas and interests

25. Communication strategy - encouraging a particular policy position Formal engagementprocesses Engagementtakes the insidetrack/morecooperativeapproach Engagementtakes the outsidetrack’/more confrontationalapproach informal engagement processes

26. Communication strategy- knowledge-brokering

27. Discussion • Which approach of communication strategy could track in presented Rapid housing project? • What approach do you use in your coalition?

28. Exercise time – develop your own communication strategy Make a short presentation to answer following questions (group work) • What actions you undertake to reach your objectives and stakeholders? • What is the core of the message you send them? • What channels and tools you use? • Presentit to theothers.

29. VI – Resourcemapping

30. Resources for your intervention All the input you need for your intervention could be distinguished as • Available • Needed • Define all the activities you planned to tackle your policy objective • Define the resource to accomplish it. • Personal (skills, competences, networks) • Funds • Facilities • Define how you will get the missing and needed resources • Define the personal responsibility for its obtaining. • Prepare presentation of your resource plan.

31. Feedback Did we fulfill our goals? Do you know how to: • Set up tangible and measurable objectives for your coalitions. • Define the context of your coalitions´ interventions. • Track the success of your engagement strategy. • Targetthe adequate stakeholders to reach you policy making objective. Are the knowledge and outcomes of your work useful?