Finding Your Allies and Supporters

Once you have identified the decisionmaker to deliver your ask to, it is critical to explore who else in the advocacy eco-system could partner with you or provide support for your advocacy. Strong advocacy is rarely done alone. It is strengthened by relationships, shared evidence, and collective voice.

Allies may include parliamentarians, community members, civil society organizations, academics, service providers, or others who care about the issue. Generating change and political will often requires visible and coordinated support. When decision-makers hear from multiple voices, from individuals, to small grassroots groups or larger institutions with the same ask, the issue carries greater weight and shows that a deeper portion of society believes that making change on this issue is crucial. To ensure your advocacy is strategic, and your ask is getting to all the relevant targets, it is important to map out the connections and relationships you already have, while widening the net to identify potential new partnerships and champions for your advocacy.

mapping your targets

A clear ask is only effective if it is directed to the right person. Not all actors have the authority to create the change you are seeking, and not all influence flows in obvious ways. Mapping your targets (both decisionmakers and influencers) helps you understand where power sits, how it moves, and who plays a role in shaping decisions.

This process allows you to focus your advocacy efforts strategically rather than broadly. Instead of speaking to everyone, you identify who has the authority to act, who influences them, and how relationships and priorities shape their decisions. When you understand these dynamics, your advocacy becomes more intentional and more likely to generate political will.

Systems mapping

A systems map helps visualize how different actors, institutions, and forces interact around an issue. It highlights relationships, feedback loops, and points of influence within a broader system. Systems mapping encourages advocates to look beyond a single target and consider the wider context shaping decisions.

Reflection: Plot a systems map for your issue:

Place your issue at the center.
Add all people, institutions, or ideas connected to the issue.
Draw connections to see how they relate.

This exercise reveals patterns, relationships, and potential leverage points. It may also uncover stakeholders you had not previously considered. Systems mapping reminds us that change does not happen in isolation, it occurs within interconnected political and social systems.

picture of systems map

Power mapping

Power maps often plot actors based on their level of influence and their position for or against an issue. This helps advocates prioritize outreach and tailor strategies to different audiences.

This helps clarify:

Where pressure can be applied
Where relationships can be strengthened
Where champions can be developed
Where opposition may arise

Reflection: Using the targets you identified in your systems map, plot the on the power map to better understand their influence on the decision-maker. Place each target on the matrix of influence and opposition.

Picture of power map

Make your Map

In the next two reflections, you will use the issue and ask (that you developed in module two) to complete the mapping exercises to identify advocacy targets.

Advocacy is most effective when it understands not only who holds power, but how power flows, and who could potentially oppose the advocacy you are doing. Once you have completed both the systems and power map you will now have a robust list of who to target.