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257  Clarity of advocacy responsibilities in job descriptions and work plans.  Appropriate salaries and other rewards.  Support and mentorship to carry out the advocacy.  Opportunities for continuous professional development. Supportive and optimal organisational structures Putting in place even basic structures for advocacy functions and responsibilities right in an organisation can avoid major communication challenges, conflicts of power and interest, forgetting and duplication and waste of efforts (IFAD, 2002). Therefore, a clear structure within the organisation organogram should be developed where advocacy fails. In some big organisations, or advocacy based- organizations, advocacy is a department or unit of its own. In small organisations or organisations whose sole purpose is not advocacy, advocacy is fussed in the communication, research or M&E department. Whatever the structure of the organogram, size and purpose of the organisation, it is important that advocacy functions have a clear position in the organisation’s structure. To ensure clarity of advocacy functions and tasks, consider:  Defining the advocacy responsibilities of implementing partners;  What staffing levels are appropriate for the set of advocacy tasks and function you need to fulfil;  Allocate clear level of authority to advocacy related staff;  Use detailed terms of reference for each staff member to coordinate inputs. If you are going to use consultants as most organisations do, ensure that you use them strategically for advocacy development in ways that build local capacities and build on existing advocacy strategies and methods. Finances and resources Advocacy requires money and supporting resources such as equipment. Therefore, ensure your budget is adequate for the time staff and partners are spending, for supporting advocacy strategies and methods, trainings, transport and other necessary conditions and capacities for advocacy. Develop annual activity-based budgets which are results-based to get the best out of the resources you have. Step 8: Developing and Implementing the Advocacy Plan - Participatory advocacy development and implementation should be embraced in order to empower and facilitate ownership, motivation, trust and

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