Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course in Naivasha, Kenya
Classroom training in Naivasha · next cohort Nov 2, 2026 · from USD 1,500
Policy change rarely comes from a single report or meeting; it comes from organisations whose leaders set clear influence goals, build credible alliances and hold teams to account for progress that is hard to measure. Five days equip senior staff to direct that work. You use political economy analysis, power and stakeholder mapping and theory of change to choose where to push, then translate priorities into advocacy plans, team objectives and coalition roles. Sessions cover leading campaigns across government, parliament, regulators and regional bodies, managing reputational and political risk, and negotiating with partners who share goals but not methods.
Performance gets equal attention. You set influence indicators, apply outcome harvesting, contribution analysis and policy tracking, design partnership scorecards and memoranda of understanding, and report results to boards and funders with honesty about attribution. Executive directors, heads of advocacy and policy, programme directors, partnership managers, government relations leads and coalition coordinators in NGOs, development agencies, associations and the public sector will gain most. Delivery is in the classroom, online or in-house, with a CPD-accredited certificate. Afterwards you can lead an advocacy portfolio, review team and partner performance and present a defensible account of influence achieved.
At a Glance
Training in Naivasha, Kenya
Naivasha is a lakeside Rift Valley town about 90 km from Nairobi, popular for residential training.
More about training in Naivasha →- Format
- Classroom, in Naivasha
- Duration
- Mon - Fri (5 Days)
- Fee
- USD 1,500 (KES 115,000)
- Next start dates
- Nov 2, 2026, Nov 30, 2026, Dec 28, 2026
- Certificate
- Certificate of Completion
- Nearest international airport
- Jomo Kenyatta International (NBO), about two hours by road
- From Nairobi
- About 90 km, roughly 1.5 to 2 hours by road
- Time zone
- East Africa Time (UTC+3)
- Currency
- Kenyan shilling (KES). Fees are listed in USD and KES.
About this course
Advocacy and partnership work has become central to how NGOs, development agencies, business associations and public bodies pursue their missions, yet it is often led by people promoted for their technical or campaigning ability rather than their management experience. Senior leaders are expected to show funders and boards that influence work is focused, well run and producing change, even though policy outcomes are slow, shared with others and shaped by politics outside anyone's control.
The Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course addresses that leadership gap. It begins with setting an influence agenda grounded in evidence and political context, then turns to building and leading high-performing advocacy teams, steering coalitions and multi-stakeholder partnerships, and handling the ethical, legal and reputational questions that arise when organisations engage with government. The second half concentrates on performance: choosing meaningful indicators, monitoring progress towards policy change, reviewing partner contributions, learning from setbacks and communicating results credibly.
Teaching relies on leadership case discussions, a simulated coalition negotiation and practical work on the advocacy portfolios participants manage. Each participant leaves with a leadership action plan and a performance framework for the influence and partnership work they oversee.
Training Objectives
On completing the programme, participants will be able to:
- Set an organisational influence agenda using political economy analysis and stakeholder power mapping.
- Translate advocacy strategy into team objectives, workplans and individual performance expectations.
- Lead coalitions and multi-stakeholder partnerships with clear governance, roles and decision rules.
- Negotiate shared positions with partners, allies and government counterparts while protecting organisational independence.
- Manage the political, reputational and ethical risks of advocacy and lobbying activity.
- Design indicators and monitoring routines that capture progress towards policy change.
- Evaluate advocacy and partnership performance using outcome harvesting and contribution analysis.
- Communicate influence results credibly to boards, funders and partners.
What you'll learn
Key Takeaways
By the close of the week, each participant holds:
- A one-page influence agenda that ranks policy priorities by importance and winnability.
- A power and stakeholder map for a live advocacy issue in their organisation.
- A team performance framework linking advocacy objectives to individual roles.
- A coalition charter template covering governance, decision-making and exit terms.
- A partnership scorecard for reviewing contributions and relationship health.
- An advocacy risk register with mitigation steps for political and reputational exposure.
- A board-ready reporting format that presents influence results and attribution honestly.
- A personal leadership development plan for the next twelve months.
Training Methodology
The programme runs as a senior leadership forum in which participants test ideas against their own portfolios. It draws on:
- Facilitated case discussions of advocacy campaigns and partnerships from Africa and elsewhere
- A coalition negotiation simulation with conflicting partner interests
- Peer consulting sessions on live leadership challenges that participants bring
- Practical workshops on power mapping, performance frameworks and partner scorecards
- Structured reflection and individual leadership feedback
- Short inputs from facilitators with senior advocacy and partnership experience
Day 1: Leading Influence: Agenda, Context and Strategy
- The role of senior leaders in advocacy, policy influence and partnerships
- Political economy analysis and reading the policy environment
- Power mapping, stakeholder analysis and identifying the real decision-makers
- Theory of change for policy influence
- Prioritising issues by importance, opportunity and organisational fit
- Insider and outsider strategies and when to combine them
- Workshop: drafting an organisational influence agenda
Day 2: Building and Leading High-Performing Advocacy Teams
- Structures for advocacy, policy and campaigns functions
- Translating strategy into team objectives and workplans
- Recruiting and developing policy analysts, campaigners and lobbyists
- Performance conversations, feedback and coaching
- Balancing rapid response with long-term campaigns
- Managing pressure and burnout in campaigning teams
- Case discussion: turning around an underperforming policy unit
Day 3: Leading Coalitions and Strategic Partnerships
- Coalitions, networks, alliances and public-private partnerships compared
- Partner selection, due diligence and shared value
- Coalition governance, decision rules and memoranda of understanding
- Leading without authority: building influence within a coalition
- Managing conflict, competition for credit and funding tensions
- Engaging parliaments, regulators and regional bodies such as the East African Community and African Union
- Simulation: negotiating a joint coalition position
Day 4: Risk, Ethics and Accountability in Influence Work
- Political, legal and reputational risks of advocacy
- Lobbying ethics, transparency and conflicts of interest
- Maintaining independence when funded by or partnering with government
- Protecting partners and activists in restricted civic space
- Leading the response when a campaign attracts backlash
- Building an advocacy risk register
- Board oversight of influence and partnership activity
Day 5: Measuring and Reporting Advocacy Performance
- Why advocacy is hard to measure and what can still be tracked
- Interim outcomes: agenda setting, policy adoption, implementation and changed practice
- Outcome harvesting, contribution analysis and policy tracking logs
- Partnership health checks and scorecards
- Reporting influence results to boards and funders
- Learning reviews after policy wins and losses
- Leadership action plan and course review
This programme is intended for senior people who direct, or are accountable for, influence work, such as:
- Executive directors and country directors of NGOs and civil society organisations
- Heads of advocacy, policy and campaigns
- Partnership and alliance managers in development agencies and foundations
- Government relations and public affairs directors in the private sector
- Chief executives and policy leads of business and professional associations
- Coalition and network coordinators
- Senior programme directors in UN agencies and international NGOs
- Public sector officials leading intergovernmental or stakeholder engagement
- Board members of advocacy-focused organisations
A CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion issued by Vision Reach Global Consultancy is awarded to each participant who attends the full programme and contributes to the simulation, peer consulting and workshop exercises.
The influence agenda, performance framework and leadership plan developed during the week can be presented to boards or line managers as evidence of applied professional development.
Choose Where You Want to Learn
Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course Venues
KenyaNaivashaNext Nov 2· 13 dates$1,500Viewing- KenyaNairobiNext Nov 9· 13 dates$1,500
- KenyaMombasaNext Oct 26· 13 dates$1,600
- KenyaKisumuNext Oct 26· 13 dates$1,500
- KenyaMachakosNext Nov 2· 13 dates$1,600
UgandaKampalaNext Nov 2· 13 dates$1,900
RwandaKigaliNext Oct 26· 13 dates$1,900
TanzaniaArushaNext Nov 9· 13 dates$1,900- TanzaniaDodomaNext Oct 26· 13 dates$1,800
- TanzaniaDar es SalaamNext Oct 26· 13 dates$2,000
- TanzaniaZanzibarNext Nov 16· 13 dates$2,600
NigeriaLagosNext Nov 16· 13 dates$2,800- NigeriaAbujaNext Nov 9· 13 dates$2,800
South AfricaPretoriaNext Nov 2· 13 dates$3,200- South AfricaJohannesburgNext Nov 2· 13 dates$3,400
- South AfricaCape TownNext Oct 26· 13 dates$3,800
UAEDubaiNext Oct 26· 13 dates$3,800
GhanaAccraNext Nov 16· 13 dates$4,500
Scroll sideways to see all 18 cities →
Frequently Asked Questions About Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course in Naivasha
Everything you need to know about this course before you register.
Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course runs as classroom training in Naivasha, Kenya, in Monday-to-Friday cohorts that start every four weeks. The venue, daily timings and joining details are sent in your Joining Instructions email ahead of the start date.
The next Naivasha cohort starts on November 2, 2026, and a new intake follows every four weeks. Pick a date under "Upcoming sessions in Naivasha" above and click Register; your seat is confirmed once payment or a signed purchase order is received.
The classroom fee for Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course in Naivasha is USD 1,500 per delegate, covering tuition and course materials. Register 3 or more delegates together and a 5% team discount is applied automatically.
Yes. Besides Naivasha, Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course runs as classroom training in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Machakos. It also runs as live online training you can join from anywhere in Kenya, and in-house at your organisation's own premises.
Yes — Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course can be delivered at your offices in Naivasha or at a venue you choose, on dates that suit your team, with case studies tailored to your sector. Message our training advisors to request a proposal.
By the end of the Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships programme, you'll be able to set an organisational influence agenda using political economy analysis and stakeholder power mapping, translate advocacy strategy into team objectives, workplans and individual performance expectations, lead coalitions and multi-stakeholder partnerships with clear governance, roles and decision rules, and negotiate shared positions with partners, allies and government counterparts while protecting organisational independence. The full breakdown of topics is covered session by session in the Course Outline tab above.
This programme is intended for senior people who direct, or are accountable for, influence work, such as: Executive directors and country directors of NGOs and civil society organisations, Heads of advocacy, policy and campaigns, Partnership and alliance managers in development agencies and foundations, Government relations and public affairs directors in the private sector, Chief executives and policy leads of business and professional associations, Coalition and network coordinators, Senior programme directors in UN agencies and international NGOs, Public sector officials leading intergovernmental or stakeholder engagement, and Board members of advocacy-focused organisations.
Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course typically runs as 5 Days. It's available as in-person classroom, live virtual, and in-house corporate training — every course can also be delivered on-site for your team on dates that suit you.
Yes — delegates who meet the attendance requirement receive a Certificate of Completion for Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course from Vision Reach Global Consultancy, issued in the name you register with, so double-check the spelling at checkout.
Leadership and Performance in Advocacy, Policy Influence & Partnerships Training Course is pitched at advanced professionals. If you're unsure whether it's the right fit for your current role or background, message our training advisors before you register and they'll help you confirm.
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What Our Clients Say
VRG brings strategic discipline to complex organizational challenges. Their approach is structured, data-driven, and outcome-focused.
Levis Wabwire
Managing Director
They facilitated our strategy review, we improved departmental KPI alignment by 35% and reduced operational bottlenecks significantly.
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Strategy Lead
Employee engagement scores increased following the leadership training program. The difference in accountability culture is evident.
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Program Manager
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