> GEAR Components > Capacity Building

The progress of equity advocacy is driven by several activities: organizing, capacity building, communications, and research.

Advocacy capacity must be present from the outset of a campaign, but can be built throughout a campaign by developing community understanding of the policy process and strategies for engagement in the policy process, deepening knowledge of policy facts, and refining skills of strategizing and negotiating with policymakers. A successful campaign also requires leadership savvy to facilitate diverse partnerships, nimbly navigate changing processes, and broker external agreements. Campaign leaders must understand policy processes, have connections to powerful leaders, decision makers, and other key players, and be willing to take risks and make strategic decisions.

Examples of related benchmarks include:

• At the BUILD THE BASE stage:
  Paths to leadership within the collaborative are transparent, available to, and endorsed by members of the collaborative.
• At the NAME AND FRAME THE EQUITY SOLUTIONS stage:
  Community knowledge and expertise and academic and professional research are combined to understand the problem and develop possible policy change objectives.
• At the MOVE THE EQUITY PROPOSAL stage:
  Enhanced advocacy leadership and the cultivation of new leaders through capacity-building activities expand advocacy for the proposal and support for the overall effort.
• At the BUILD, ADVANCE, and DEFEND stage:
  Community members gain power through election, appointment, invitation, or other engagement in decision-making entities and processes.