How are problem, need and product related in advocacy? On January 12, representatives of organizations, who can become mentors of the Mentorship Program 4.0 after their requests have been approved, learned about this.
During the pre-launch training for future mentors, Olena Matviichuk, Mentorship Program coordinator and organizational coach, explained what is important to pay attention to when making requests, as well as how to state a problem, need, and vision of the product in the work of an NGO.
“A problem always means a complaint: Something that is missing today or has too much of it and needs to be solved. The target audience is the people who are directly affected by this problem. If the target audience of the problem is you and you alone, then such an initiative is unlikely to change anything at the systemic level,” said Olena Matviichuk.
According to the trainer, it is important to understand the target audience: The better the representatives of organizations define it for themselves, the better they describe it, the better they will understand what needs this target audience has.
“A problem always means a disadvantage: Instead, a need is something that your initiative will meet. And this is something that should be clarified with a specific target audience,” added Olena Matviichuk. “When we understand the problem and the need, then we can offer a product – a solution to meet the need that will be most effective.”
At the same time, if an organization or initiative group wants something to change at the local level, the product can be something that addresses a systemic problem: for example, a local program, document, etc.
“In the form of advocacy campaigns, it is always a certain change. A change that brings something to the systemic level. The systemic level means that we know the problem, the target audience, and the needs of this target audience, so we understand what we should offer as a solution, as a product that solves the problem in the short term and meets the need in the long term,” explained the Mentor Program coordinator.
The training participants also discussed in groups their own needs that they meet in the public sector, what needs their target audiences have, and how they know about them.
Mentorship Program 4.0 to strengthen the advocacy and other capacities of civil society organizations is part of the Project Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Activity implemented by the Initiative Center to Support Social Action “Ednannia” in partnership with the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research (UCIPR) and Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law (CEDEM) with the sincere support of the American people through United States Agency for International Development.
