As identified that advocacy is not a single action, but a series of intended, well-planned actions that are directed towards a desired goal i.e., a change in policy decision, some processes are basic to advocacy. Whatever the nature of advocacy, it would normally comprise of the following stages as in the project cycle. The key processes as given by World Bank (SA, No:76, S D Papers, 2004) are:

Identifying an Issue (Entry Point)

In any social accountability initiative the identification of an issue and development of a strategy around it is of importance.  In the context of South Asia, where the social and human development indices are relatively low, issues around which advocacy could be carried out are more rights and entitlements-based. Once identified, mobilizing support from those who are aggrieved by the situation and who have a stake in better service delivery is essential.

Research and Analysis (Creating an Information / Evidence Base)

Accessing or generating relevant information and building a credible evidence base to hold public officials accountable is a critical aspect of social accountability. In accessing “supply-side” information (e.g., policy statements, budget commitments and accounts, records of inputs, outputs and expenditures, audit findings, etc.), the transparency of government and its capacity to produce and provide data and accounts are crucial. With regard to “demand-side” information, a wide variety of participatory methods and tools such as community scorecards, citizen report cards, participatory monitoring and evaluation techniques could be developed to generate data, while simultaneously serving to raise awareness and promote local-level mobilization and organization. Relevant data/information, once obtained, must be interpreted and analyzed in order to be rendered operationally useful.

Planning and Mobilizing Support through Information Sharing (Going Public)

Bringing information and findings into the public arena and generating debate around them are key elements of most social accountability initiatives. Effective communication strategies and mechanisms are, therefore, essential aspects of social accountability. These include organizing social audit, public meetings, public hearings and events as well the strategic use of both modern and traditional forms of media. Transmitting relevant information to government officials who are in a position to act on it (and, ideally, interacting directly with those decision-makers on an on-going basis) is also an essential aspect of social accountability.

Rallying Support and Building Coalitions

The ability of citizens to organize for collective action and the capacity of CSOs to facilitate and support such mobilization are crucial to the success of social accountability initiatives. Again, reaching out to poor and marginalized segments of the population requires specific effort and remains a principal challenge. Activities around sensitisation, awareness creation and knowledge sharing through colloquial media would help.

Advocating and Negotiating Change

In order to elicit a response from public officials and effect real change, the most effective strategies usually involve one to one to multi-stakeholder dialogues. Direct interaction and negotiation with the concerned government counterparts and, in some cases, the institutionalization of mechanisms for ongoing consultation and dialogue are some of the possible. Citizens’ groups employ a range of both informal and formal means of persuasion, pressure, reward and sanction. These include, for example, creating public pressure (e.g., through media campaigns and public meetings) or when necessary, resorting to formal means of enforcement (e.g., through legal and judicial processes).

Enabling and Disabling Conditions

The space and opportunity for political negotiation and the possibility of appeal through formal means vary from one context to another. In many developing country contexts, citizen’s groups have found that legal and/or institutional reforms are necessary to facilitate meaningful negotiation. Even the bringing forth of such pro-people legislations have taken a lot of advocacy.

Conflictive advocacy is found in situations where there are limits to information seeking and the systems and institutions are closeted with secrecy. However, information enabling laws such as the Right to Information ensures that the advocacy is collaborative. While this is one way of demand side approach to influence change in governance perspectives, the other way is to co-opt citizens into policy making by providing information, soliciting opinions and creating conducive environment and platforms for dialogue and conciliation.  The mandate to consult are normally embedded in policy documents that prescribe at least a minimum of consultation to precede any kind of developmental work, without the necessary obligation to incorporate feedback. In such cases then the consultation is restricted to the limits that it is prescribes to and all projects go through the same in a ritualistic manner, without necessarily taking the positives and the negative inputs into consideration. It is however possible and desirable that public opinion is solicited in critical developmental matters, making the process transparent and accountable.