We undertake a range of activities collaborating with overseas partners & other EU civil society organisations, researching, meeting with politicians, civil servants and businesses, and raising awareness.
Identify Solutions
We work with partners
We have a network of partnerships with a range of organisations in the UK, Europe and around the world. Sharing information and collaborating on projects is fundamental to our work since it enables us to ground our work and check if and how our work is making a difference.
We do research
In order to be as up to date as possible, we undertake research and regular monitoring through talking to a wide range of stakeholders (including producers and civil society organisations in developing countries), and commissioning specific pieces of research when necessary.
This information underpins all of our work and careful analysis of the situation is critical for the robust nature of our position.
Raise awareness of solutions
We write reports and briefings
As many of the issues in trade are complex and involved, one of the best ways to present complex research is to produce a policy report. This allows lobby targets to read the research and arguments, and consider our position.
Sometimes it is more helpful to break down bigger issues into shorter briefing documents, explaining the key points and laying out our argument. We therefore produce a variety of short briefings and factsheets.
We organise events
Workshops and conferences can be useful for for discussions amongst a wider group, and give a platform to key stakeholders who might otherwise not be heard.
We have lobby meetings
One of the main ways we influence decision makers is by talking to them. We do this in a number of ways.
Lobbying the UK Government
We regularly lobby both the UK government and the EU over the issues we work on. This can take the form of lobby meeting with ministers, officials and civil servants, as well as send letters, and campaign postcards from supporters.
We also engage with the government though enquiries they hold. We write submissions of evidence and have been invited on a number of occasions to give oral evidence.
Lobbying Business
We seek to engage with businesses in the UK, showing them the model Traidcraft employs as a Social Enterprise, and encouraging them to consider their impacts more widely than only the bottom line of their accounts.
We campaign
Engaging with supporters and members of the public to raise awareness of the issues we work on is a key aspect of our work. You can read more about this on our campaign pages. Decision makers are influenced by a range of factors, but popular opinion on an issue holds a lot of sway.
Evaluating effectiveness
We monitor what we achieve
It is important to consider the impact we are having and undertake both evaluations of our work, and reassess the strategy we are employing. We adapt our plans in the light of what we learn to ensure we are as effective as possible. Some of the things we particularly look for in considering our effectiveness include:
- Are key decision makers aware that there is a problem?
- Have we stimulated debate about the problem?
- Have we changed the opinions of key decision makers?
- Have changes to Policy occurred in favour of target beneficiaries?
- Have policy changes been implemented?
- Has there been a positive/negative change in people’s lives?
These are some of the indicators we report against in our social accounts.
