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Deep Dive – How to develop an effective campaign strategy

by | 13 Dec,2023 | ,

You want to make change – but you’re not sure where to start, or if you’re doing it right. At SMK, we know from talking to campaigners and changemakers that there is active demand for training in how to develop an effective campaign strategy.   

SMK Deputy CEO Rob Abercrombie and SMK Associate and former CEO Julia Beart will run this in-depth session for experienced campaigners and leaders.  We hope it will appeal to Chief Executives, senior leaders, community leaders and emerging leaders who want to explore how to do campaign strategy better.   

This three-hour session will take place on Tuesday 27 February from 10-1pm on-line. This training, alongside our tools and case studies will help make your campaign strategy as good as it can be. 

In this session you will find out how to  

  • Develop a campaign strategy that works using our 4Cs approach to campaign strategy (more below) 
  • Understand how to apply this approach in today’s fast-moving landscape 
  • Dive deep into some case studies of how to balance strategy planning with agility  
  • Gain a set of practical tools to support your strategy development 

Introducing the 4Cs of campaign strategy
The 4Cs are Change, Collaboration, Capacity and Context.  Each ‘C’ represents an essential building block in SMK’s framework for developing campaign strategy.  We recommend that an effective strategy includes all 4Cs, but you don’t need to follow a particular sequence.  Instead start wherever makes most sense for your situation.  We explain more about the 4Cs in the deep dive session. 

About the session facilitators
Session facilitators are SMK Deputy CEO Rob Abercrombie and SMK Associate and former CEO Julia Beart, both experienced strategists. 

Before joining SMK Rob was Director of Programmes at The Royal Foundation.  He was Director of Research & Consulting at NPC for 7-years, leading NPC’s consulting work with charities, foundations, and philanthropists. During this time, he developed expertise in systems change. He was Head of Strategic Intelligence at Which? Rob is Chair of the Board at Global Dialogue. 

Julia is the Director of Pragmatic Radicals, a consultancy practice specialising in strategy and organisational development, Julia supports organisations to map their ecosystems, shift power, and realise systemic change. Previously she was CEO of social enterprise Primary Care International where she spent seven years growing the organisation from a start-up to a leading global social enterprise. Julia is a Trustee at the Aplastic Anaemia Trust. 

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Deep Dive – How to develop an effective campaign strategy: 15th October

by | 23 Apr,2024 | ,

You want to make change – but you’re not sure where to start, or if you’re doing it right. At SMK, we know from talking to campaigners and changemakers that there is active demand for training in how to develop an effective campaign strategy.   

SMK Head of Programmes Kath Christie and SMK Associate and former CEO Julia Beart will run this in-depth session for experienced campaigners and leaders.  We hope it will appeal to Chief Executives, senior leaders, community leaders and emerging leaders who want to explore how to do campaign strategy better.   

This three-hour session will take place on Tuesday 7th May from 10-1pm on-line. This training, alongside our tools and case studies will help make your campaign strategy as good as it can be. 

In this session you will find out how to:

  • Develop a campaign strategy that works using our 4Cs approach to campaign strategy (more below) 
  • Understand how to apply this approach in today’s fast-moving landscape 
  • Dive deep into some case studies of how to balance strategy planning with agility  
  • Gain a set of practical tools to support your strategy development 

Introducing the 4Cs of campaign strategy
The 4Cs are Change, Collaboration, Capacity and Context.  Each ‘C’ represents an essential building block in SMK’s framework for developing campaign strategy.  We recommend that an effective strategy includes all 4Cs, but you don’t need to follow a particular sequence.  Instead start wherever makes most sense for your situation.  We explain more about the 4Cs in the deep dive session. 

About the session facilitators
Session facilitators are SMK Associate and former CEO Julia Beart and SMK Head of Programmes Kath Christie, both experienced strategists. 

Julia is the Director of Pragmatic Radicals, a consultancy practice specialising in strategy and organisational development, Julia supports organisations to map their ecosystems, shift power, and realise systemic change. Previously she was CEO of social enterprise Primary Care International where she spent seven years growing the organisation from a start-up to a leading global social enterprise. Julia is a Trustee at the Aplastic Anaemia Trust. 

Kath is an award-winning campaigner with a solid track record in strategy development, high-level stakeholder relationship management, training and leading learning reviews. At SMK, Kath heads up SMK’s training and consultancy programme supporting campaigners and social change across the UK. Before that she convened the Police Bill Alliance – a civil society coalition of 350 organisations against the government’s policing bill (now the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Act 2022). Kath is an RSA Fellow and a critical friend of Playing Out, a social enterprise championing street play.

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Deep Dive – How to develop an effective campaign strategy: 23rd Sept 2025, 10am-1pm

by | 26 Mar,2025 | ,

You want to make change – but you’re not sure where to start, or if you’re doing it right. At SMK, we know from talking to campaigners and changemakers that there is active demand for training in how to develop an effective campaign strategy.   

SMK Associates Julia Beart and Laura Alcock-Ferguson run this in-depth session for experienced campaigners and leaders. We hope it will appeal to Chief Executives, senior leaders, managers, community leaders and emerging leaders who want to explore how to do campaign strategy better.   

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Deep Dive – How to develop an effective campaign strategy: 25th Feb 2025, 10am-1pm

by | 5 Nov,2024 | ,

You want to make change – but you’re not sure where to start, or if you’re doing it right. At SMK, we know from talking to campaigners and changemakers that there is active demand for training in how to develop an effective campaign strategy.   

SMK Associate and former CEO Julia Beart and SMK Head of Programmes Kath Christie will run this in-depth session for experienced campaigners and leaders. We hope it will appeal to Chief Executives, senior leaders, managers, community leaders and emerging leaders who want to explore how to do campaign strategy better.   

read more

Deep Dive – How to develop an effective campaign strategy: 7th May

by | 14 Feb,2024 | ,

You want to make change – but you’re not sure where to start, or if you’re doing it right. At SMK, we know from talking to campaigners and changemakers that there is active demand for training in how to develop an effective campaign strategy.   

SMK Head of Programmes Kath Christie and SMK Associate and former CEO Julia Beart will run this in-depth session for experienced campaigners and leaders.  We hope it will appeal to Chief Executives, senior leaders, community leaders and emerging leaders who want to explore how to do campaign strategy better.   

This three-hour session will take place on Tuesday 7th May from 10-1pm on-line. This training, alongside our tools and case studies will help make your campaign strategy as good as it can be. 

In this session you will find out how to:

  • Develop a campaign strategy that works using our 4Cs approach to campaign strategy (more below) 
  • Understand how to apply this approach in today’s fast-moving landscape 
  • Dive deep into some case studies of how to balance strategy planning with agility  
  • Gain a set of practical tools to support your strategy development 

Introducing the 4Cs of campaign strategy
The 4Cs are Change, Collaboration, Capacity and Context.  Each ‘C’ represents an essential building block in SMK’s framework for developing campaign strategy.  We recommend that an effective strategy includes all 4Cs, but you don’t need to follow a particular sequence.  Instead start wherever makes most sense for your situation.  We explain more about the 4Cs in the deep dive session. 

About the session facilitators
Session facilitators are SMK Associate and former CEO Julia Beart and SMK Head of Programmes Kath Christie, both experienced strategists. 

Julia is the Director of Pragmatic Radicals, a consultancy practice specialising in strategy and organisational development, Julia supports organisations to map their ecosystems, shift power, and realise systemic change. Previously she was CEO of social enterprise Primary Care International where she spent seven years growing the organisation from a start-up to a leading global social enterprise. Julia is a Trustee at the Aplastic Anaemia Trust. 

Kath is an award-winning campaigner with a solid track record in strategy development, high-level stakeholder relationship management, training and leading learning reviews. At SMK, Kath heads up SMK’s training and consultancy programme supporting campaigners and social change across the UK. Before that she convened the Police Bill Alliance – a civil society coalition of 350 organisations against the government’s policing bill (now the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Act 2022). Kath is an RSA Fellow and a critical friend of Playing Out, a social enterprise championing street play.

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Deep Dive – How to own the room: build your influence, presence and charisma

by | 24 Jun,2024 | ,

This is a hands-on workshop for anyone looking to work on their influencing skills, presence and charisma, whether your focus is on building strong relationships in one-to-one meetings or expressing campaign messages succinctly in front of an audience.

We all have natural presence, sometimes we just don’t know how to amplify it or our nerves stop us from accessing it. Viv Groskop draws on her experience as a comedian and BBC Radio 4 presenter for this masterclass on achieving a compelling connection in any context, anxiety-free.

Take-aways:

– How to speak up in meetings and be heard
– How to handle interruptions
– How to be persuasive in difficult conversations
– How to “dial up” your strengths and “dial down” your weaknesses
– How to manage nerves and anxiety around public speaking
– How to deliver succinct messaging in speeches and direct asks in fund-raising

Viv is a sought-after workshop leader and facilitator known for bringing sensitive, individualised feedback and humour into training in the corporate and charity sectors. She specialises in presence, public speaking, assertiveness, influencing skills and leadership development. With a background in stand-up comedy, she has a particular interest in authenticity and impact and in helping others to develop a powerful and individual voice. Viv is a regular on BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Review and Front Row and has appeared on Newsnight and Any Questions. She is the author of the international best-sellers How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking (Transworld) and Happy High Status: How to Be Effortlessly Confident (Torva).

 

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Deep Dive: Theory of Change – A Framework for Effective Social Change | March 2025

by | 18 Dec,2024 | ,

The theory of change (TOC) approach is widely used across the social justice sector, but its distinct benefits for campaigners are sometimes less well understood. TOC is a key planning and communications tool. It focuses on developing a clear description of the change your campaign seeks to achieve and how your campaign intends to contribute to this change. The TOC acts as a foundation or ‘north star’ for your activities and is something you can come back to throughout your campaign to help you consider priorities and actions.

This session will dive deep into the TOC process and equip you with a tried and tested approach to developing impactful theories of change for your campaigns and organisations.

SMK Associate and former joint Head of Data and Learning at New Philanthropy Capital James Noble will facilitate this two-part training session for experienced campaigners and leaders.  We hope it will appeal to Chief Executives, senior leaders, community leaders and emerging leaders who want to understand how to work with theory of change to create impactful campaigns.

In this session, you will:

  • Explore the benefits of the theory of change approach and how it complements other tools and frameworks used in advocacy
  • Consider the best ways for teams to work on theories of change, as well as some of the pitfalls to avoid
  • Work up your own draft theory of change using a template, and have an opportunity to review it in the second workshop session

The session facilitator is SMK Associate and former joint Head of Data and Learning at New Philanthropy Capital James Noble.  

James has over 25 years’ experience as a social researcher and evaluator. Until 2023, he was joint Head of Data & Learning at New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) where he spent a decade working with a wide range of charities and funders on consultancy projects. He specialises in the theory of change approach and wrote NPC’s key guide on theory of change (the most downloaded report in the organisation’s history). James has trained numerous organisations on theory of change from NESTA to the Youth Justice Board.  He has worked with well over 100 charities and campaigns to develop theories of change including RNID, RNLI and Disability Rights UK.

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Deep Dive: Understanding Local Power: insider perspectives on councils, mayors and grassroots impact | Thurs March 27 10-1pm

by | 17 Dec,2024 | ,

It is a big moment for local power across England, as the new government is moving intentionally towards a ‘devolution revolution’. More powers are being transferring out of Westminster and into the hands of local people in areas like transport, housing, and skills. It will mean that the majority of life decisions affecting ordinary people will be made by local authorities and metro Mayors.

How much do campaigners know about how local power works? This session will demystify processes, help you understand where decisions are made and how to increase your campaigning impact.

SMK Associate and Bow Councillor Abdi Mohamed and former Chief of Staff to the Mayor of the West Midlands Lucy Caldicott will co-facilitate this in-depth session for experienced campaigners and leaders.  We hope it will appeal to Chief Executives, senior leaders, community leaders and emerging leaders who want to understand how to work with local power more impactfully.

In this session you will:

  • Gain an insider’s perspective on local power including the key channels and players
  • Consider how to maximise your local campaigning and have a real impact ahead of the May 2025 local elections and the ‘all out’ 2026 local elections
  • Dive deep into some examples of what makes for a successful local campaign
  • Understand how to best engage local activists

About the session facilitators

Session facilitators are SMK Associate and Bow Councillor Abdi Mohamed and former Chief of Staff to the Mayor of the West Midlands Lucy Caldicott.

Abdi is a public affairs manager for a large charity, having previously been parliamentary researcher and policy advisor to the Shadow Minister for Disabled People. He has worked for the Labour Party and led an innovative community programme in east London which included setting up a local Somali Task Force. Abdi is a governor at Bow Secondary School, and a trustee of PohWER. He is a Councillor in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

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