Over our 30-years of existence, the dRPC has been committed to expanding the technical capacity of indigenous Nigerian CSOs to conduct evidence-driven policy advocacy and lobbying-free legislative advocacy. In doing so, the dRPC has placed great emphasis on strengthening the capacity of CSOs to generate facts, figures, information and knowledge for data-driven advocacy. This has been a difficult task, since close to 60% of CSOs supported by the dRPC do not believe that policy makers respond positively to evidence and data. Given this perception, the dRPC uses participatory workshop sessions to train, mentor and support CSOs representing stakeholders and beneficiaries to conduct high-impact policy and legislative advocacy with messaging which blends data, human interest stories and moral suasion to trigger policy/legislative responses.

The data piece is handled by the dRPC’s technical team which trains CSOs to conduct budget analysis; policy analysis; and gender audits of policies, programs, projects, laws and annual budgets. Since formation, the dRPC technical team, has worked with stakeholders, especially women’s CSOs to conduct budget analyses of annual national and state budgets and to use this inform to advocate for adequate funding in key sectors such as health, education and economic empowerment.

As a learning organization, we also track and monitor the capacity of CSOs to conduct evidence informed policy and legislative advocacy. The dRPC is particularly diligent in monitoring CSO partner uptake and compliance with the dRPC’s guidelines and manuals on lobbying-free legislative advocacy. Since 2019, the dRPC’s technical health infographic charts and monitors the data generated and used by CSOs for advocacy as well as the number and effectiveness of policy advocacy engagements of  the 250 plus  health CSOs in the dRPC’s capacity strengthening network. Zuwaira Hashim produces the  well-accessed infographic series  – CSO Weeks By Numbers,  the dRPC’s infographics team excite the CSO health policy advocacy space.