Animal Advocacy Strategy Forum 2023 summary (Rethink Priorities)

In July 2023, the Animal Advocacy Strategy Forum was held over three days to bring together key decision-makers in the animal advocacy community to connect, coordinate, and strategize. At the end of the forum, 35 out of 44 participants completed a survey to understand the future needs of effective animal advocacy groups and their perceptions of crucial focus areas.

Organizational Status:

• 66% (23/35) of respondents felt cost is always or often a practical limiting factor.
• 60% (21/35) felt they could hire outstanding candidates if chosen.
• 52% (18/35) were from organizations with 15 or fewer people.
• 66% (23/35) were from organizations with $5M or less in spending.

Resource Allocation:

• Geography: Participants suggested significant resources for Asia and the Pacific (23%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (18%), while maintaining allocations for Western European countries, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (30%). This largely aligns with last year's survey, focusing broadly over 50% on Western Europe-Anglosphere and Asia-Pacific.
• Animal Type: Farmed fish (15%) were seen as a priority alongside hens (18%) and broilers (16%). Farmed crustaceans (11%), farmed insects (9%), and farmed pigs (8%) formed a secondary priority cluster. Compared to last year, combining farmed crustaceans and insects (20%) is higher than last year's \"Farmed invertebrates\" (17%).
• Type of work: Participants desired more resources for Business (35%) and Government (26%) interventions, and relatively less for Movement (20%) and Public (19%) work, mirroring last year's trends.
• There was an average 56% probability (down from 60% last year) that an animal welfare sub-area ought to receive over 20% of EAA resources but currently receives less than 5%. Wild animals, invertebrates, and aquatic animals were commonly suggested as potentially under-resourced issues.

Talent Gaps:

• The most pressing talent gaps were: experts on the developing world/neglected populous countries (71%), fundraising (69%), and government and policy/lobbying experts (66%). Movement building (43%) and management (40%) were also significant.

High Priority Issues (identified via S.W.O.T. session):

• Reliant on a small number of donors.
• Countries outside of Western Europe and the Anglosphere are not getting enough funding.
• The number of farmed animals used and killed keeps growing.
• Lack of explicit theories of change/victory and testable roadmaps.
• Little funding for exploring interventions beyond those already successful.
• A generally lacking evidence base for effective animal advocacy.
• Donors and others with power are hard to influence.
• The movement is still relatively fringe.
• Misallocation of resources per area.
• Gaps in knowledge in certain regions and markets.
• Insufficient resources (funding, expertise) for policy change.
• Talent constraints: government, policy, or lobbying expertise; management skills; economics and social sciences expertise; entrepreneurship talent.