Joining Forces for Voices and Accountability

This project is a five-year advocacy initiative in twelve countries in Latin America and Central Asia/Eastern Europe, and is managed by a consortium led by IPPF/WHR in partnership with the IPPF European Network (EN).

Joining Forces for Voices and Accountability Initiative focuses on holding national governments accountable for their commitments to achieving universal access to reproductive health and gender equality as necessary prerequisites for eradicating extreme poverty by 2015. Through this project, we hope to improve the capacity of civil society (including IPPF member associations) to influence key decision makers and create policy change in SRHR issues.  In addition, we strive to improve the ability of IPPF regional offices to provide high-quality and timely technical assistance to our MAs specific to advocacy and governmental accountability related to SRHR issues.

This project seeks to increase the accountability of governments to their commitments of gender equality and universal access to sexual and reproductive health services. Such an endeavour requires a solid foundation based on thorough planning and capacity building.

THE IPPF/WHR ADVOCACY MODEL

1. Political mapping and analysis:  A 'Political Map' is a tool for analyzing political landscapes, researching the positions of elected officials and candidates for public office, and developing a detailed understanding of policymaking processes and possible entry points for advocacy. Click here for the Handbook for Political Analysis and Mapping.
2. Creation of an Advocacy Strategy. With a comprehensive analysis of the political context, each organization defines the problem that was identified in the political system that is directly related to the issue or social need and the advocacy expected result that states the political change that the project seeks to achieve, defining the audiences and conducting a SWAT analysis in order to develop the strategy. Click here for the Handbook for Advocacy Planning.
3. Introducing transparency and accountability mechanisms: Once the advocacy strategy is developed, each organization incorporates in that strategy the actions to demand enough public budget to guarantee funds to implement the advocacy expected result and ensure accountability mechanisms with CSO participation. Click here for the Handbook for Budget Analysis and Tracking in Advocacy Projects.
4. Creation and Design of an Advocacy Project. Taking the advocacy strategy developed in the previous stages, the creation and design of a project includes building the necessary steps in a detailed and sequential manner which will lead to the final result.

ANNUAL REPORTS & EXTERNAL EVALUATION: