Effective advocacy is grounded in strong research. Whether you’re analysing the political landscape, shaping persuasive narratives, or refining a campaign strategy, changemakers need skills to find, assess and apply the right information to amplify their impact.
In partnership with the Commons Library, this webinar will equip you with practical tools to cut through information overload, access and interpret credible data, and uncover insights about decision-makers, communities and power structures that shape your work. We’ll also explore how to strengthen your messaging through research, collaborate effectively with researchers, and avoid common misinformation pitfalls. You’ll leave with practical tools you can apply immediately to strengthen your advocacy.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Strong research skills are foundational to effective advocacy. In this webinar, you will learn how to:
Cut through information overload with practical desktop research techniques that help you find credible and relevant sources
Navigate and utilise publicly available data to strengthen and ground your advocacy in evidence.
Access information about decision-makers and targets, including politicians, corporate actors, communities and supporters.
Understand the role of communications research in shaping compelling narratives and shifting public opinion.
Work effectively with researchers to strengthen your campaigns.
Avoid spreading misinformation, including common pitfalls when using AI tools and how to spot unreliable outputs.
DATE AND TIME
The webinar will take place on Tuesday, 19 May – 1:00PM to 3:00PM AEST via Zoom.
COST
This webinar will be a paid session offered at a tiered rate based on organisational size and capacity.
$25+GST: Small Nonprofit | Individual – For nonprofits with an annual revenue of less than $500K.
$50+GST: Regular Nonprofit – For nonprofits with an annual revenue between $500K and $3 million.
$75+GST: Large Nonprofit – For nonprofits with an annual revenue of more than $3 million
$100+GST: Full Price – For government, political offices, social enterprises, b-corps and businesses servicing the non-profit sector.
The webinar is offered at no cost to First Nations people, people with disability, people of colour, refugees and people with lived experience seeking asylum and unwaged activists.
SPEAKERS
Antje Dun
Antje is the designer and chief-librarian of The Commons Social Change Library, using her expertise in information management and graphic design to make thousands of educational resources accessible to those who need them. Antje is skilled at tracking needs and undertaking swift nitty-gritty research. She’ll share tips for getting the most of internet searches, avoiding misinformation, and using publicly available data to inform advocacy projects.
Iain McIntyre
Iain is a social movement historian, researcher, community broadcaster, and author of several books. Through The Commons he brings past social movements stories to present day change makers through social media posts, articles, podcasts, oral history, and campaign case studies. He’ll share tips for setting up research projects and developing research methodology.
Holly Hammond
Holly is the Director of the Commons Library and a specialist in activist education who has provided training and coaching for many leaders across Australian civil society. She’ll share insights from research projects including the Organising Models Mapping Project; Movement Monitor skills audit and focus groups; and Democracy in the Dark, a soon to be released report on the criminalisation of protest, presented in conjunction with Australian Democracy Network.
ACCESS INFORMATION:
Zoom: We will be meeting via Zoom. If you have access to a computer or laptop, we recommend you join the webinar by computer to make navigating the materials and content easier.
Resources: During the webinar we will use the screen share function to share slides.
Early access to slides: A view-only version of the slide deck can be supplied early if this supports your participation. Any copies of the slides provided will include alt-text / image descriptions. Some guest speaker slides cannot be provided in advance. If you need early access to materials, please mention this in the ‘access needs’ question when registering.
No breaks: There won’t be any breaks during the webinar. However we will share the webinar recording with everyone afterward, so feel free to step away if you need a break.
Captions: We will have live captioning during the webinar.
Auslan interpretation: If you need Auslan interpreters, please let us know when registering. Because of the high demand for interpreters, we cannot guarantee interpreters will be available, especially if registering less than a week before the training.
Chat: This training includes use of the chat and Q&A functions in Zoom. Participants will be asked to introduce themselves in chat, and to enter responses in the chat throughout the training.
Tech and access support: The Australian Progress team will be able to assist with any tech support, including Zoom, the slide deck, and access.
When you register for the event, we will ask if you have any access needs. If you need something in place that is not already arranged, or if you need more information about any part of the event, we will work with you to provide that.
You can also reach us directly about access by reaching out to us at info@australianprogress.org.au.