Campaigning
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Influencing long-term change through activism and advocacy is a fundamental part of the charity sector’s work, and has been for centuries.
But it isn’t easy. Advocacy is by nature a risky business with no guarantee of success. A charity campaign may play out over many years in complex and changing conditions. How do you even start to achieve your campaigning goals? How do you know if your campaign has made a difference?
We think charities can plan campaigns that make an impact, and can understand how their work has affected social change.
Find out how our insights could help you plan, monitor and assess your campaigns.
Featured tools, resources and commentary on campaigning
Walking the Talk
Walking the Talk is our cross-sector partnership to help charities improve their diversity
Postponed – Achieving impact through campaigning
Campaigning is fundamental to the role we play in representing and advocating for the people we serve, and achieving lasting social change. Discuss how charities can understand the impact of these new ways of organising and campaigning.
How can you tell if your campaign is shifting the dial?
Now we have another general election around the corner, many charities will be gearing up to get their causes up the policy agenda. But in such a complex and ever-changing environment—where attitudes and the policy agenda are affected by a million different factors—how can campaigners know if their efforts are having an impact?
Measuring your campaigning impact: An introduction
NPC’s briefing paper following our event on how charities can measure the impact of their campaigning work.
Shifting the dial: How to take an impact-focused approach to your policy change campaigns
A practical guide to focusing on impact while planning, delivering and evaluating a campaign.
Closing in on change: Measuring the effectiveness of your campaign
Campaigning is a powerful tool for bringing about social change, but it is a risky pursuit for many charities, involving as it does the spending of often scarce time and money on activities for which success is far from guaranteed. Measuring the impact of your campaigning will raise your confidence in pursuing this course, as well as fulfilling your responsibility to assess whether—and how well—your strategy works.
Recent updates
Back to basics? Campaigning in a Tory majority Parliament
You’d need to be in your fifties to have any professional experience of operating in an environment where a Conservative government commands such a stable and substantive majority in Parliament. In this guest blog, Richard Darlington shares how to campaign in this new context.
Polarisation: Why Brexit and a hung Parliament need a different campaigning style
Richard Darlington shares what has been having an impact in the world of social sector policy influencing, despite the current challenging context.
Charities must collaborate or fail
Red Cross CEO Mike Adamson spoke at 2019's NPC Ignites, his speech examined the massive potential of the social sector to change the world, if it can work together and the new leaders who will put collaboration at the heart if achieving their mission. It is reproduced here as a blog.
One week ’till NPC Ignites 2019!
It's just one week till NPC Ignites 2019! Our CEO Dan Corry runs through the exciting programme.
Nothing is settled
EU citizens rights to remain in the UK after Brexit is being brought into a question by the government's apparent push towards hard Brexit and decision to end freedom of movement on deadline day. The Transition Advice Fund needs support to ensure everyone who is entitled to settled status gets it.
Who’s next?
It’s game on in the race to lead the Tory party. With odds changing daily and the race well underway, we take a look at the charity CVs of those applying for today’s top job in politics.
Settled status: What level of take-up can we expect?
As the UK prepares to leave the EU 3.5m EU citizens need to register for settled status to remain in the country. This report reviews a range of similar schemes from around the world looking at the level of coverage achieved, how take-up was encouraged and any lessons we can learn.
NPC welcomes new Minister for Sport and Civil Society, Mims Davies
On the 5th of November 2018 Mims Davies was made Minister for Sport and Civil Society. Here NPC CEO Dan Corry welcomes her to the role and suggests some priorities to make her time in the role a success.
2018 Budget reaction from NPC CEO Dan Corry
Dan Corry's statement on the Budget of 2018.
NPC announce new Chair Elect: Vaughan Lindsay
New Philanthropy Capital are excited to announce the new Chair Elect of their trustee board is Vaughan Lindsay. He will chair the trustees in the new year, as Richard Atterbury steps down following six years as in the role.
How the EU settlement scheme affects women and girls
New analysis by the Transition Advice Fund reveals extent to which women are likely to be disadvantaged in the application process for settled status.
