Transcript Advocacy and networking

Promoting Rational Drug Use
in the Community
Advocacy and Networking
Advocacy and Networking
Session Objectives
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Importance of collaboration
Effective advocacy
Principles of networking
Various networks
Exchange of experience and discussion
Advocacy and networking
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Collaboration - why?
 multiplication of strengths
 sharing of skills and strengths
 use limited resources effectively
 learn lessons from others
 bringing together different actors
Advocacy and networking
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Effective advocacy
 Understand the problem
 Define your objectives
 Focus your ideas
Advocacy and networking
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WHO
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Identify influence
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Who makes decisions?
How are decisions made?
What is the time-frame?
What are key moments?
preparation is critical
understanding the rules of the game enables
you to become a player.
Advocacy and networking
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WHO
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Get to know decision makers
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Who are they?
Are they accessible?
Do they know you and your purpose?
Do they hear from you regularly?
What can you do for them?
• Information
• Access to your group
• Press coverage for positive action
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Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Build a strong case
 Anticipate counter arguments
 Select useful facts and examples
 Formulate goals carefully
 Deal positively with criticism
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Identify allies and helpful experts
 Look at different levels of influence
 Look at those who partially share your views
 Look at different roles
• the expert witness
• the popular hero
• the powerful voice
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Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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How do you get a result like this?
In a hard-hitting speech to the British pharmaceutical
Conference in Glasgow, Princess Anne said firms should
focus on effective long-term measures such as cutting drug
prices rather than short-term publicity stunts.
The princess, an honorary fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, which organised the conference, also warned that
basic disease prevention measures, such as immunisation
programmes, were in decline in many countries. She said
donations of medicines often failed to cover their
distribution costs, which sapped other scarce health
spending.”(IP-Health Sept 2001)
Advocacy and networking
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Identify and understand your
opponents
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Who are they?
What are their reasons?
What are their interests?
What strategy are they likely to adopt?
Can you dialogue with them?
Do you have good counter-arguments?
Advocacy and networking
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Develop a campaign timeframe
 Don’t wait till the last minute
 Make the most of a launch moment
 How to keep momentum
 Windows of opportunity
 Do you need to end?
Advocacy and networking
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Evaluation
 Look carefully at your campaign
 What are the lessons?
 What have you gained?
 Have their been negative spin-offs?
 Do you need to modify your strategy?
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Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Networking
 Communication and cooperation between groups
and individuals sharing a commitment to a
common goal, ideal or objective.
 Sharing resources and/or ideas
 Providing mutual support and assistance
Advocacy and networking
Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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Networks: different forms
 national/international
 informal/more structured
 virtual/face-to-face
 short-term/long-term
 small selective/open
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What makes networks effective?
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mutual trust and solidarity
active participation
decentralised activities
clearly shared goals
coordination
flexibility for rapid response
expertise and experience
cooperation and collaboration
resources for key activities
Advocacy and networking
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WHO
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Threats and pitfalls
 lack of money
 lack of focus
 inability to agree on strategy and priorities
 domination by one or few partners
 tendency to centralise power/resources
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WHO
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How can you use networks?
 get in touch with others
allies, sympathetic experts etc
 ideas and examples
 attention for your work
 potential funding contacts
 back-up in trouble
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Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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What can you contribute?
 share your successes
 help others get started
 share information
 share expertise
 give support to others
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Advocacy Activity 1: First Task
choose an objective
 Implementation of existing law or ethical
criteria to regulate drug promotion (can aim to
confront OTC advertising, DTCA and
‘undercover’ ads etc)
 Inclusion of RDU education in primary school
curriculum
 Increasing access to safe, effective and
affordable GENERIC drugs
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Advocacy Activity 1: Second task
 Discuss the advocacy objective selected: what
exactly do you want to achieve? If needed,
formulate sub-objectives for the advocacy
campaign.
 Brainstorm: who do you need to collaborate
with? Who is likely to resist? Make a list of
stakeholders.
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MSF campaign to increase access to
drugs: sub-objectives
 Achieve health exception in trade agreements
 Overcome access barriers
 Stimulating research and development for
neglected diseases
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Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
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Advocacy Activity 1: Third task
Stakeholder analysis
 Which stakeholders have you identified?
 Are they likely to resist or support your
advocacy objective. What arguments will be
used to resist?
 In what way will you be able to collaborate with
stakeholders who support your objectives?
 How will you deal with resistance? How will you
respond to the counter arguments?
Advocacy and networking
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WHO
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Activity 2: PRDU by consumers:
1) reflect on existing networks/networking
 Who promotes rational use of drugs by
consumers in your country?
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Do these people work together? Do they share
successes and failures? Do they support each
other? Consider also electronic networks?
If they do not network, why not?
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WHO
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2) Activity 2: How to strengthen country
PRDU by consumers networks
 Brainstorm about the ways in which we can
strengthen our efforts to promote rational use
of drugs by consumers by means of networking
 Write ideas on a whiteboard/flipchart
 Select three key activities/good ideas, and
present in plenary
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WHO
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Summary advocacy and networking
 Develop clear objectives and an advocacy plan
 Be imaginative in identifying partners and allies
 Be creative in using windows of opportunity
 Find out about international and national
networks in which you can participate
 Maybe you need to create your own network
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Summary framework
Components
Strategies
•Research
•Stakeholder
analysis
Advocacy
•Plan
•Activities
•Networking
•Collaboration
•Lobbying
•Evaluation
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Promoting Rational Drug Use in the Community
WHO
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