Step 6

Assess Progress

It is important to refer back to the action plan identified in Step 4 to assess the degree to which the plan is achieving progress. While your objectives and goals should remain constant, new information, legislative, or legal movement, or other emergent activity may require changes in tactics or positioning. On this basis, it is important to continuously monitor and assess the progress of your advocacy initiatives on an ongoing basis.

Recalibrate for Success

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? That is, a good plan can fall short if the actions planned did not roll out as intended, whether delayed, under-resourced, or changed. Or, it may be that emergent change in the public school debate, whether at policy, economic, or leadership levels, requires changes In your advocacy plan to better tell the story of public education.

Ask yourself or your group two basic questions, and recalibrate as needed based on the responses:

• To what extent have intended outcomes been achieved?
• Is the level of progress keeping pace with expectations?

To accelerate progress:

• Which actions are creating the greatest level of success, and which are falling short?
• Should certain actions be retooled, altered, or halted, based on outcomes?
• What else can be changed to achieve better results for future actions?

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