21603 Chap.5 Power Mapping a Campaign
Power Mapping a Campaign
From who has power to who can help
Week 2 introduces power mapping as the practical end of all the theory about power. Once a group knows its goal, it has to pin down the person who can grant it and then work out who that person pays attention to.
The map is how campaigners think through both questions with their whole team.
Two scales and a lot of question marks
Actors are placed by how strongly they back the cause and by how much weight they carry with the decision-maker.
Writing real names rather than organisations, and marking unknown positions honestly, turns a rough drawing into a list of research tasks.
Choosing a route and an ask
The finished map suggests a path through trusted allies to the target.
Two principles from the lecture help shape the request itself: decision-makers say yes more readily to changes that cost them little, and they act faster when doing nothing would clearly cost more.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Where mapping fits in a campaign
- 02
The support and influence scales
- 03
Naming people, not organisations
- 04
Unknowns as research questions
- 05
Theorising a path to the target
- 06
Cost of action and inaction
Worked example · free
Re-route the Kellmore path when an ally must wait
- 1Name what the delay breaks: the first hop of the planned path, group to nurses’ branch, is unavailable for three months.
- 1Look for a hop the group can make itself: the local MP is supportive, influential and reachable by constituents, so the path can start one step later.
- 1Weigh the cost: without the nurses’ evidence the group’s case to the MP is thinner, so it should gather its own record of who uses the route at night before the meeting.
- 1Keep the branch in the plan as a later messenger after its vote, and use the waiting time to settle the chamber of commerce’s position, the map’s open research question.
Key terms
- Cost of Action
- What a requested change would demand of a decision-maker in money, effort or political risk; the lower it is, the easier a yes becomes.
- Cost of Inaction
- The damage a decision-maker would face by refusing to act, which campaigns make visible to build pressure for change.
- Campaign Target
- The specific person with the authority to grant what a campaign wants, such as a named minister, mayor or chief executive.
- Potential Ally
- An actor who backs the cause and has some sway with the target, through whom a campaign can route its case.
Power Mapping a Campaign FAQ
What is a power map used for in an advocacy campaign?
It helps a group decide whom to work on and through whom. By placing every relevant actor according to their backing for the cause and their weight with the decision-maker, the map reveals likely allies, likely blockers and the gaps in what the group knows, before any tactics are chosen.
What do the two axes on a power map show?
One axis shows whether an actor agrees or disagrees with what the campaign wants. The other shows how much influence the actor has over the target, judged by how closely the decision-maker listens to them. The target usually sits high on influence and is often opposed or uncertain.
Why put names on a power map instead of organisations?
Campaigns do not lobby institutions in the abstract; they talk to particular ministers, advisers, councillors or editors. Naming people shows exactly whom to approach, and a box you cannot yet fill with a name becomes a clear piece of research for the team.
What does a question mark on a power map mean?
It means the campaign does not yet know something important, usually whether an actor supports the cause or who the right contact is. Each question mark becomes a research task, and settling it can change the route the campaign takes to its target.
Can I use a power map in my assessments?
Yes. For the group presentation it helps you explain whom the public event was trying to influence and through whom, and for the personal advocacy project it can underpin your strategy section. Name the decision-maker precisely and show the path you think change would travel.
Assessment move
Draw a power map this week for an issue you care about, on paper first. Write the decision-maker’s actual name at the top, then add at least six other people with their real roles, and place each on both scales. Circle every question mark and spend twenty minutes researching two of them. Finish by drawing one path to the target and writing a sentence on why the target would listen to the last person on it.
Keep the map: it can anchor your Assessment 3 strategy and help your group read the event in Assessment 2. If the path feels forced, ask Sia to question your placements one actor at a time.
Working through Power Mapping a Campaign in 21603? Sia is AskSia’s AI Management tutor — ask any 21603 Power Mapping a Campaign question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how 21603 is taught and assessed. Read this chapter free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.