Meetings are not only an internal communication tool, but also key opportunities to gather and analyze information for monitoring purposes. In turn, monitoring results need to be fed into management meetings so that decisions are based on robust evidence.
- Briefings, e.g. team and activist meetings before campaign events to plan for the activity, and debriefings shortly after the activity takes place, should be recorded in writing. A one-page form recording only the key information is mostly sufficient.
- Regular team meetings are meetings at short intervals (e.g. weekly) with lead members of the campaign team, or specific task forces or activists’ groups, to review recent campaign actions, outcomes and any key changes in the context. Team meetings should be action-oriented and conclude with agreements on action, recorded as “action points”. At each meeting, “action points” from previous meetings can be reviewed to verify progress.
- Quarterly Reviews usually review progress towards objectives every three months. In addition to key issues raised at team meetings, they may contain an evaluative element – i.e. to assess whether the activities over the past quarter were effective and efficient.
Practical tips for quarterly reviews:
- Ask lead members of the campaign team and its task forces to present short overviews of the key activities, successes and challenges over three months. Report sheets of regular team meetings can be a basis for this report.
- Review key outcomes, including unintended outcomes – positive and negative ones.
- Review activities that wait to be completed and determine if any of the lessons learned require adjusting the planned activities.
Source: Adapted from Raising Voices, 2009.
In large alliances that cannot meet on a regular basis, on-line chats and teleconferences are effective alternatives to face-to-face meetings. Campaign blogs can also keep campaign members updated.
See also Campaign implementation for more information on internal campaign management and working in a campaign alliance.