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To increase the planning and
strategic thinking skills of candidates
and
campaign Officers in the lead up
to a
potential national election
in Lebanon in 2013.
To create a space whereby men and women from different class, political and religious backgrounds could come together to learn through interactive sessions. PCDD overturned the conventional wisdom that suggested that it would be impossible to bring together such a diverse group of participants, given social norms regarding women's participation and political enmities.
To address the crucial need for such an intervention, as decision making and planning in Lebanon are often spontaneous rather than a product of structural and well-defined electoral campaign approaches. |
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| Our approach, funded by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, was a nationwide call to skill
any candidate or their campaign O cers (regardless of political a liation) or
independent running for o ce with the skills to run an e ective and engaged
electoral campaign. This took shape as the 'Plan and Win' series of workshops
conducted nationwide to equip candidates and their campaigns with the
knowledge, tools and skills needed to plan for elections in a more systematic
and technical way. |
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We trained candidates on successful electoral campaign structures, strategic
communications and articulating a mission and vision in all governorates in
Lebanon. PCDD approached this through practical exercises for building a
structured campaign, focussing on tactics and issues rather than personalities
and parochial politics. Some topics of the sessions included:
1) The role and responsibilities of an MP (legislative, follow-up and monitoring,
executive) |
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2) The strategic thinking process - Why do I want to run? Why would voters choose
me? What am I striving to achieve/accomplish during these four years? What is my
vision for my country?)
3) Managing campaign resources - people/volunteers,money, time, information/data)
4) Elements of strategic planning - Research, strategy, target audiences, outreach
plan, human and financial resources, timing, campaign messaging, electoral platform
5) Analysis of the current electoral campaigns of some candidates to better
understand the practical implications of strategic thinking and planning skills
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1. More than 120 participants representing most political parties in Lebanon
attended workshops conducted nationwide, this was notable given the critical
security situation in Lebanon at the time
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2. Participants from often adversarial backgrounds worked together e ectively in our
participatory workshop sessions, which was unique given the complex context of
Lebanon
3. The turnout of registered participants was high despite a general lack of
confidence in the likelihood of their being an election and a further reluctance to
engage on potentially sensitive topics
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