Advocacy Month – 4. Adapt and Sustain 

The Long Game

How to stay relevant, responsive, and ready beyond the initial conversation

So you’ve defined your case, mapped the landscape, and shaped a strong message. Now what?

Advocacy doesn’t end when you submit the application or finish the pitch. In fact, that’s often when the real work begins.

The organisations that consistently win support are the ones that stay visible, adaptable, and engaged long after the first conversation ends.

This is the long game and it’s where real influence is built.

1. Monitor and adjust

• The policy, funding, and political environment is always shifting. What was relevant in March might be overtaken by new announcements in June.
• Strong advocacy strategies include built-in responsiveness:
• Track policy changes, government budgets, and department restructures.
• Monitor leadership movements, elected officials, senior executives, or decision-makers moving into new roles.
• Keep an eye on funding trend signals. What’s getting media attention, where pilots are being funded, or what gets named in strategy documents.

Tip: Create a basic monthly monitoring routine. Check newsletters, alerts, Hansard speeches, and budget updates. A 15-minute scan can help you stay three months ahead of others.

2. Stay visible without being annoying

You don’t have to show up with a new ask every time you engage. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is remind people you exist and that you’re delivering results.

Ways to stay on the radar:

• Share project milestones, photos, or quotes from community members.
• Send a short note acknowledging a policy announcement that aligns with your work.
• Provide updates on how earlier funding or partnerships are progressing.

Be helpful, not needy.

3. Use feedback loops to improve your case

Win or lose, every advocacy effort is an opportunity to learn. After a submission or campaign:

• Debrief internally: What worked in your messaging, timing, or stakeholder engagement?
• Request feedback: Funders or policymakers often provide insights if asked constructively.
• Update your blueprint: Refine your problem definition, evidence base, or coalition for next time.

Over time, these cycles make your strategy smarter and more likely to succeed.

4. Invest in relationship capital

The best time to build trust is when you’re not asking for anything. Treat your relationships as long-term partnerships:

• Share useful intel or reports with stakeholders, even if it’s not about your project.
• Check in at key intervals (e.g., after budgets, during quiet periods).
• Invite collaborators to roundtables, site visits, or milestone events.

Advocacy is a relationship business and those who are seen as partners tend to get better access, insights, and outcomes.

Pro Tip: Don’t publicly antagonise or attempt to intimidate the same decision-makers you’ll be asking to fund your next project. Respectful challenge is important, but undermining trust publicly can close doors behind the scenes.

5. Self-check: are you playing for one grant or long-term influence?

• Are you visible and engaged when you’re not applying for something?
• Do your stakeholders see you as someone who brings value consistently?
• Are you ready to adapt your advocacy strategy as the environment changes?

If the answer is yes, you’re not just playing the grant game, you’re building genuine influence.