Government policies play a crucial role in advancing – or impeding – economic well-being and human rights. At Dalberg, we help clients seize political opportunities and confront constraints. Our work shows that practical, context-driven advocacy strategies can equip governments with the information they need to spend limited resources in effective ways. When top researchers and enterprising governments join forces, the impact can be profound.

• We lead country-level advocacy landscaping. Effective influence looks different in every country. Our presence and networks around the world enable us to deep dive into country-specific relationships, norms, and priorities of target governments to identify what it takes to influence policy outcomes. We conduct political economy analyses and embed in target countries to understand effective approaches to advocacy, where power sits, and opportunities for influence through power mapping. We use these tools to create a path to policy change. 

• We develop strategies and organizational plans for advocacy organizations. Strategic advocacy requires a deep understanding of political context and opportunity, along with a perspective on what advocacy tools and tactics are most important to deploy. We work with advocacy organizations to define or test their overarching purpose. We ensure their work is aligned to that purpose: whether that entails a change in approach, issue area, or geography. 

• We monitor and evaluate success. Measuring the impact of advocacy is a tricky business. It requires an understanding of which actions or conversations actually influenced specific decisions by policymakers – which isn’t always obvious. We develop tools that bring the best of M&E processes, while tailoring them to make sure that an M&E strategy is robust without requiring unnecessary or cumbersome measurement.

Practice area lead: MATT FRAZIER

Learn about our projects here.