Evaluation of UNICEF’s Approaches to Advocacy
How can UNICEF increase the success of its advocacy efforts? What can be done to ensure that UNICEF’s advocacy approaches lead to measurable results?
In a world where myriad barriers can often impede access to fundamental human rights, UNICEF remains steadfast in its commitment to advocate for the rights and well-being of every child. In UNICEF, advocacy goes beyond mere engagement. Rooted deeply in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, our advocacy paves the way for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid, shedding light on the plight of the most vulnerable while imagining a future where every child has a fair chance. But to ensure our strides are as profound as our vision, evidence-based decision-making is paramount to reinforce UNICEF’s advocacy planning and ultimately improve our chances of advocacy success. In this vein, the UNICEF Evaluation Office, in collaboration with the UNICEF Division of Global Communication and Advocacy, the Programme Group, the Office of Emergency Programmes, the Public Partnerships Division, and the Division of Private Fundraising and Partnerships, conducted an evaluability assessment and formative evaluation of UNICEF’s advocacy approaches at the early stage of implementing the Strategic Plan 2022-2025. Two complementary purposes animated this early evaluation: first, to proactively identify areas for growth in our advocacy capacity, aligning it with the ambition of the Strategic Plan, and second, to prepare for a future summative evaluation by improving the soundness of the design of advocacy plans. The evaluation examined advocacy priorities at each organizational level, particularly the Global Advocacy Priorities and humanitarian advocacy. It also considered organizational capacities to conceptualize and implement advocacy work and generate the necessary data and evidence to advocate for child rights.
