Civil Society Learning Event 2023: Strategic Planning, District Advocacy & Participatory Budgeting

Advocacy that isn't planned rarely lasts. PCE's 2023 learning event brought members together to step back from the day-to-day, share what was working in their districts, and plan for the road ahead. Qindeel Shujaat opened with a session on strategic planning -the value of a clear roadmap aligned to long-term goals - followed by Areebah Shahid (Executive Director, Pakistan Youth Change Advocates) on the craft of district-level advocacy, and how to tailor it to the particular challenges and openings of each local community. Participants then put it to work, designing interventions for real education issues and using an influence matrix to map where each stakeholder's leverage lay.

Day two was a hands-on workshop led by Maqsood Alam of the Institute of Social and Policy Studies (I-SAPS) on Participatory Budgeting, Planning, and Policy Influencing. It targeted a gap members knew well: how development planning and public-sector budgeting actually work, and where ordinary citizens can push. Through group work, participants practised identifying problems and designing budget-advocacy campaigns around girls' education and disability inclusion, leaving far better equipped to sit across the table from local authorities and be taken seriously.

Held alongside the 14th Annual Convention.