Once the campaign issue (the problem) has been defined, the following questions should be asked to determine how best to frame it:

• Is the problem new or old? Is it increasing or decreasing? (Identification of trends)

• How has the problem been addressed so far, in what ways, to what success? (Identification of existing approaches)

• What other possible solutions are there to this specific problem, or this type of problem? Building on the results of the previous research steps, a mind-map can be drawn to generate and visualize ideas of possible solutions. (Brainstorming on solutions)

Additional research may be necessary to frame the campaign issue more precisely – or change it altogether, if it is found that the initially identified issue was imprecise or ill-chosen. Campaign impact evaluations suggest that campaigns which are based on sound formative research, i.e. preliminary and continuous research that is constantly fed back into the campaigning process, are more likely to develop a successful campaign strategy and generate impact.

See the Monitoring and Evaluation section in this module for specific research methods and approaches. Specific guidelines for research on legal issues are contained in the Legislation module.