Analysing the external environment

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Understanding the external policy environment is an essential component of effective policy work. It involves, among other things: analysing the wider social, political and economic context in order to identify the factors that may help or hinder policy change; establishing who the key decision-makers are and where they stand on a particular issue; considering the long-term trends that may impact on your ability to influence the policy process.

This group aims to allow members to share tools and resources that help you analyse and understand the policy environment you are working in. It also provides a space in which to exchange insights on particular emerging issues.

The Forum for Change held an event on this issue in January 2009.

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In Focus: Making sense of the external environment 2 Replies

Started by Nicola Gilbert. Last reply by Kathryn Sep. 29, 2009.

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Comment by Amelia Gudgion on January 7, 2010 at 3:39pm: We have just pulled all our resources for this area onto this page http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/externalenvironment including the new free guide from Third Sector Foresight What will campaigning be like in 5 years' time? which looks at key emerging trends such as the professionalisation of campaigning, the growth of consumer activism and new technologies.

Comment by Kathryn on November 27, 2008 at 9:53am: I should probably add, as I'm not sure it's clear, that this training is for leaders of infrastructure and umbrella organisations, as opposed to frontline organisations. If you've got questions, do get in touch!

Comment by Kathryn on November 26, 2008 at 1:28pm: The NCVO Third Sector Foresight team are running some training, tailored for chief executives and chairs, on building awareness of the external environment and thinking through the implications of this for their organisation. Called 'Making sense of your environment:training for leaders', it's in two bite-sized sessions to fit around busy schedules! At the moment we're running it in Yorkshire and the Humber region but will be running it in other places next year.
You can see more about it on the events pages of this website or on the NCVO website events pages.

Comment by Megan Griffith Gray on November 19, 2008 at 5:59pm: NCVO Third Sector Foresight helps organisations to understand how the world is changing around them and use this knowledge to make better decisions (eg analysing the external environment!) On our website you can access our free bank of 'drivers' (trends and forces in the external environment) and a short guide to analysing your external environment.