In this chapter, we explain what a campaign strategy is. We show various examples of different types of campaign strategies that activists use, and we provide you with workshops to help you write your own!

Chapter quality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)

With a good campaign strategy, your movement or campaign makes more impact. In the articles below, we help you define what exactly the change is that you want to achieve, and what steps you need to take to get there.

• 🎓 Strategy basics 101

• 📢 Types of campaign strategies

• 📝 Develop your own strategy

Before you can start to define your strategy, you need to get a group of likeminded people together and organise yourselves. After you have defined your strategy, we recommend you to browse through our list of tactics to get inspiration.

Write your strategy #

• 💡 Vision

• 🌐 Stakeholders

• 🎯 Goals

• ✅ Objectives

• ⚡️ Tactics

• ❓ Evaluation

Other strategy guides #

• Dealing with opposition

• Power mapping

Political party strategy #

Local context #

The local context across countries can impact activists trying to develop their strategy in various ways. For example, the political system, the legal framework, the media landscape, the cultural norms, and the public opinion can all affect the opportunities and challenges that activists face. Depending on the context, activists may need to adapt their goals, tactics, messages, allies, and risks. Some general examples are:

• In a democratic country with a strong civil society and a free press, activists may have more space to voice their demands and mobilize support through peaceful protests, petitions, campaigns, and lobbying.

• In an authoritarian country with a repressive regime and a controlled media, activists may have less space to express their dissent and may face more threats and violence. They may need to use more covert and creative ways to communicate and organize, such as encryption, art, humor, or symbolism.

• In a country with a diverse and divided society, activists may have to deal with different and sometimes conflicting interests and identities among their potential supporters and opponents. They may need to build bridges and coalitions across different groups and sectors, and avoid alienating or polarizing others.

• In a country with a dominant and oppressive culture, activists may have to challenge deeply ingrained norms and values that justify or normalize injustice and discrimination. They may need to raise awareness and educate people about the issues they are fighting for, and use cultural expressions and narratives that resonate with their audience.

Case studies #

This section still needs to be written! What strategies have groups used, or are groups currently using? What has worked? How is success defined? What specific campaigns are worthy of study, for their success or ‘failure’ or ‘nearly-success’?

Improve this chapter #

You can make this chapter about campaign strategies better!

Some potential new sub-pages/sections:

• What is a campaign strategy?

• Types of campaign strategies:

  • Different models of categorising strategies, for example:

    • political/activist/nonprofit strategy

    • aboveground/underground

    • community/big organizing

    • mobilizing/organizing

    • working within the system/challenging the system

    • violent or nonviolent?

• How do develop your own strategy?

  • Writing a strategy for a new initiative

  • Improving your current strategy

• Workshops

  • Vision

    • 💡 Vision gallery: To help people to think big and find a common vision.

    • ⚡️ Forcefield analysis: To help you figure out what forces are working against you, and which are helping you move in the right direction.

    • 🌳 Problem tree analysis (root cause analysis/problem analysis): To find the root causes of problems.

    • 🚶 Critical path analysis: To find out what needs to happen to bring about change.

    • 🏷 Naming political assumptions: To create a better understanding in the different ways people view the world.

• Interventions: things your movement can change about society/in a community (see more in ‘types of strategies’)

Chapter organisation:

• Add link to ‘power mapping’ guide on ‘stakeholders’ page

Search keywords #

People are searching for:

*According to Semrush

External resources #

Creative Commons resources #

• Campaign Strategy: Start Here by Commons Library

• Collection: Developing a Strategic Plan by Community Tool Box

• Developing Strategic and Action Plans by Community Tool Box

• Collection: Assessing Community Needs and Resources by Community Tool Box

• Collection: Analyzing Community Problems and Solutions by Community Tool Box

• Collection: Deciding Where to Start by Community Tool Box

• Collection: Choosing and Adapting Community Interventions by Community Tool Box

• Strategy by The Change Agency

• Systems Thinking and Campaigning by Nicky Ison

• Starting an initiative by the Citizen's Handbook

• Website: campaignstrategy.org

• Campaign strategy by 10 Tactics

Copyright resources #

• Book: The Politics of Nonviolent Action [Book] by Gene Sharp

• Website: Thwink, root problem analysis

• Video: Root Cause Analysis

• How to Move from Vision to Action by Mary Joyce

• Choose Your Own Activism Strategy Adventure by Mary Joyce

• Developing Strategic Campaigns: An ITF Manual for Trade Union Activists, Educators and Organisers by International Transport Workers' Union

• The People Power Manual by The Change Agency

• Campaign strategy and planning by Change My Community

• PDF: Research, Strategy and Targeting from Campaign Skills Handbook by National Democratic Institute

• PDF: Building a campaign strategy from CMC Campaign Toolkit by Cluster Munition Coalition

• Effective Political Campaign Strategies by Brendan Finucane (2023)

• Political Campaign Strategies to Win an Election by Chunav Parchar (2023)

• Organizing: People, Power, Change by Leading Change Network, Marshall Ganz, New Organizing Institute, Peter Gibbs, Shea Sinnott