Measuring child protection advocacy reach: Development of an Advocacy Reach Calculator

Policy advocacy has emerged as a vital strategy for advancing child protection, yet there are no standard approaches for quantifying the reach of policy advocacy wins. To measure the reach of its policy advocacy work as part of a comprehensive approach to advocacy monitoring and evaluation, ChildFund International engaged in a deliberative process to develop an easy-to-use Advocacy Reach Calculator. This novel tool estimates the number of children and family members reached due to the approval and implementation of child protection legislation. In this discussion paper, we present the systematic process undertaken to develop the Advocacy Reach Calculator from conceptualization, to operationalization, validation, and finally pilot testing. We then present pilot results from four countries – Brazil, Kenya, the Philippines, and Uganda – and discuss how the estimates generated by the Advocacy Reach Calculator can be used for monitoring, evaluation, and learning, forecasting and resource planning, and resource mobilization. This innovative measurement approach provides a practical method to demonstrate advocacy reach and optimize child protection strategies.