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Step 4: Explore Tactics

Tactics are the wheels that move your strategy forward. It is important that your strategy includes both short and long term goals. Goals make it possible to track the effectiveness of your tactics.

How do you know where to focus your attention for action? What tactics will be successful in moving people in your direction?

Explore Tactics

Used well, tactics can build your influence. Tactics can change the terrain of human relationships. Tactics empower those left out to non-violently claim their human rights.

The more you understand about tactics, the more flexible you can be when pursuing your strategic goals. The key to success is choosing effective tactics to reach specific goals. A “tactic” is a specific action or combination of actions taken to affect a given situation.

  • Tactics are how you move a strategy forward.
  • The success of an individual tactic often depends on how it was used in conjunction with other tactics.
  • A tactic is an action tool that is part of a strategy.

There are many tactics available to human rights defenders. More are being developed every day! A key ingredient in creating innovative tactics is YOU! The more tactics you study and learn, the more you can adapt tactic ideas to meet your needs. You can keep your opponent off balance. You can change course when tactics are not working. Tactics make it possible to reach small and big successes.

This is a critical step in using the New Tactics Strategic Effectiveness Method.

This step helps you make strategic decisions. You use the sources of knowledge you have collected: Know Yourself (your Allies), Know Your Opponents and Know the Terrain.

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.

Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

– Sun Tzu

There is nothing mysterious about strategy. But it is often difficult to think strategically. Strategy is not a single decision. It is a coming together of many decisions. Now is the time to make some of those important decisions.

Objectives:

  • Determine goals to address your problem.
  • Examine which “targets” or “actors” in your context are important for making change.
  • Explore tactic ideas that will move those “targets” or “actors” to take action in your favor.

Develop Your Strategic Path – determine goals and tactics

Your journey of change requires some key components for effective advocacy. These components include deciding on your goals. Identifying the targets in your terrain needed to reach those goals. Selection of your tactics to move those targets to take action. These all combine to move your advocacy forward. You and your team will need to decide on goals – short, medium, and long-term goals.

As you consider your goals, reflect upon your human rights aim for addressing your identified problem. We call these human rights-based tactical aims. Decide on the aim that best addresses your problem. Is your aim prevention, intervention, promotion or restoration?

Return to your problem statement. Do you want to prevent the abuse from taking place in the future? Do you want to intervene in a long standing or on-going abuse or denial of the right? Do you want to promote a law, process or new way to address the problem? Do you want restorative action or justice for victims and communities that have been abused?

Most organizations seeking to advance human rights can only accommodate one or two human rights-based tactical aims. An organization’s mission often determines the aim or aims on which it focuses. Each aim takes time to learn and investment in staffing and resources. It can also be challenging to measure performance and effectiveness. We also have a human tendency to “do what we know how to do.”

You and your team will need to decide on specific goals. Your human rights-based tactical aim will help you determine a longer-term goal. You will then need to decide on more immediate goals for your advocacy. These goals will guide the selection of your tactics. These goals will help you decide how you best use your limited resources.

Consider four important tactical action outcome areas for achieving successful advocacy. These are the key components of your strategic path. These four areas include research, internal capacity building, mobilization and engaging decision makers. These will help you identify your longer-term and immediate goals. These areas can also help you identify your targets and tactics for action. These will move your journey of change advocacy forward.

Click here to use the online Tactical Mapping Tool to develop and track your goals and tactics. Use the Tactical Actions feature. This feature will help you track your strategic path. See also these Tips to Determine Goals and Tactics.

Steps of Our Methodology