Amnesty International’s next strategy, which will be adopted in 2020 for implementation in 2021, follows a development process consisting of four distinct phases:
- The Input Phase
- The Synthesis Phase
- The Prototyping Phase
- The Testing Phase
We have just concluded our input phase which included gathering as much data as possible from different sources on our five questions.
Our five big questions were developed to help us gather ideas from the public, from partners, from allies and critics alike, and from across the Amnesty movement to force us to think differently about how Amnesty International should operate to create and sustain a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. These five questions have pushed us to develop new ideas, to identify challenges and solutions, for Amnesty to become the biggest, the boldest and the most inclusive movement we can be moving forward. Our big questions fit into the following themes: 1) Power and Systemic Change, 2) Narratives & Attitudes, 3) Diversity & Inclusion, 4) Stronger Movements & Partnerships and 5) Amnesty’s Added Value.
You spoke – and we listened!
Throughout the input phase, we held discussion panels in various locations around the world including Lima, London and Johannesburg, featuring thought-leaders, experts and human rights professionals. We streamed these live on Facebook, and publicly debated along our five lines of inquiry. We held a public ideation survey where we asked you to start generating ideas for Amnesty’s next strategy. Finally, we asked each of Amnesty’s national/regional offices, global teams/networks, and key partners to submit an official contribution which answers each of our five questions. Each submission abridged various consultation processes – encapsulating the views of Amnesty members, partner organisations and rights-holders.
Then, it was time to distil the data!
The Global Strategy and Impact Programme at Amnesty has been busy digesting all of what you’ve communicated with us throughout the input phase, crunching the data, finding themes and putting this all into a synthesis report which will be ready to share in October. Our synthesis report will condense the outcomes of our ideation fora and will highlight key trends, drawing out areas of agreement and points of diversion.
From consultation to strategy!
After we have our synthesis report, we will start moving towards developing the first draft of Amnesty’s next strategy. In early October, Amnesty’s International Board will review the results of the consultation thus far and suggest a top-line direction of travel for the strategy, with a focus on proposing potential thematic priorities. This direction will be shared with the Amnesty movement for feedback before we begin our prototyping phase.
What does it mean to prototype a strategy?!
We have identified three important task forces to work collaboratively with the aim of producing the first draft of our strategy.
Their mandates are to propose strategic models that:
- Refresh Amnesty’s organisational influencing strategy, so that the organisation can be more effective at influencing power and achieving human rights impact
- Consider Amnesty’s internal investment and capabilities – both financially and operationally – to deliver the new vision
- Finally, with a clear understanding of what approaches and investment Amnesty will need to make in the short and long-term future, it will be time to identify realistic targets for the new thematic priorities.
| TARGET | The YOUTH Task Force | The INTERNAL CAPABILITIES Task Force | The THEMATIC Task Force |
| MISSION | Refresh and revitalise Amnesty’s external influencing strategy – determine what approaches to influencing and engaging others Amnesty should invest and innovate in | Determine what internal investments will be necessary to deliver Amnesty’s refreshed theory of change, and in particular the priority areas where the organization needs to build or improve capability | Set short-term and long-term global targets for key themes in the strategy |
| AGENTS | 16 youth leaders (aged 18-24) | 20 organisational development experts | 30 thematic experts |
| TIME | Oct – Dec 2019 | Nov – Dec 2019 | Nov – Dec 2019 |
Final phase: Testing and Confirmation
In the final phase, the Global Strategy and Impact Programme will share a draft strategy with the movement, for testing at the 2020 regional forums and with external stakeholders.
Feedback will be gathered and refined into a final iteration of the strategy for a decision by the 2020 Global Assembly. This is the final phase where Amnesty’s official decision-making body will form a consensus and adopt Amnesty’s next transformational strategy.
Amnesty’s next global strategy will be implemented in 2021. Stay tuned!