From May to November 2025, IWPR and the Public Foundation “INIDI” held 10 practical workshops for recipients of funding for advocacy projects in the field of human rights as part of the “Civil Society for Kazakhstan” (CS4K) project, funded by the European Union.
The workshops took place in eight cities of Kazakhstan: Almaty, Aktau, Kyzylorda, Pavlodar, Shymkent, Temirtau, Aktobe, and Astana. These events were part of comprehensive support for organizations that received funding under the project, aimed at strengthening their advocacy capacity, increasing the effectiveness of implemented initiatives, and promoting the formation of sustainable partnerships and coalitions.
Topics and Approach
Each workshop was focused on practical work with teams.
Participants included funded organizations and their partner organizations, allowing work not only on the internal logic of campaigns but also on building inter-organizational cooperation.
The program was designed to help teams develop practical, realistic, and structured campaigns based on their research and prepared policy briefs and white papers.
What the participants did:
- Rechecked the logic of their policy briefs/white papers;
- Clarified advocacy goals and formulated expected outcomes;
- Conducted in-depth stakeholder analysis;
- Distributed roles within the coalition or team;
- Selected campaign strategies and tactics;
- Formulated key messages for different audiences;
- Created an action roadmap and content plan.
Each team worked according to an adapted program considering the research topic, local context, and the specific needs of the organization.
Workshop Results
As a result of the workshops:
- 10 teams developed structured and realistic advocacy campaign plans;
- Roadmaps, stakeholder matrices, tactical plans, content plans, and message databases were created;
- Participants enhanced their understanding of coalition models and role distribution;
- Improved skills in strategic analysis, communication, and planning.
Participants highly appreciated the practical focus, individual approach, and the opportunity to work with real documents. Many noted that the format helped to clarify campaign goals, identify potential risks, and form a more realistic action trajectory.
“The workshop was held in a friendly atmosphere. Many questions were discussed in a short time, and the necessary materials were developed.”
-Madina Tulepova, Public Foundation “Support of the Initiative”
“It was excellent work with great results in a limited time. We are ready to continue improving our knowledge in organizing and conducting advocacy campaigns. Success and thanks for your contribution to the development of civil society.”
“Overall, I really liked the training from the point of view of developing an advocacy strategy and identifying key players connected to the campaign results to varying degrees. I clearly saw the ‘white spots’ in our research and understood what additional recommendations could be included. Overall, it was a good opportunity to look at the advocacy plan from another perspective under the mentorship of an external specialist.”
– Roman Reimer, Public Foundation “Wings of Liberty”The conducted workshops made an important contribution to strengthening civil society resilience and supporting local organizations implementing projects in the field of socially significant changes. Public Foundation “INIDI” and IWPR will continue to provide expert and methodological support to participants at all stages of implementing their initiatives.
This publication was funded by the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of IWPR and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.