Do petitions really work?

It’s a fair question, and after years of working on different campaigns, we can say without a doubt that the answer is yes.

Here’s why:

1. The petition is just a piece of the puzzle.
Your petition signature is never the only thing in play. Along with working to demonstrate public support for an issue, we also do extensive lobbying and policy work to help politicians and decision makers see the positive impact of good development policy, and how big a difference a little effort can make on the lives of millions.

2. Politicians care about public opinion.
Development isn’t an issue like jobs or the economy that often raise a good deal of public ire, and it isn’t extensively polled. So our petitions are often the best indicator politicians will receive of where the public stands on the issue. Our elected officials are confronted by so many competing interests seeking their approval, and if we’re not there to stick up for international development, it may very well get sidelined.

Take, for example, an effort we ran in the UK during the 2010 General Election called ONE Vote 2010. Around 7,000 ONE members signed our petition asking political leaders in the UK to go On the Record with their plans for fighting extreme poverty. At the same time, our lobbying team presented them with our ONE Manifesto, explaining the positions we thought they should take and working to provide any easy way for them to give a response. Neither the lobbying nor the petition alone would likely have delivered the result we wanted. But as they knew 7,000 ONE members were waiting for a response and we worked to make sure they had all the facts, we were able to get robust responses from each party and party leader.

We take this same approach to all of our campaigns: combining smart lobbying with an effective mobilisation of public support. So whether your volunteering at a concert or passing on a ONE action to a friend, we hope that you approach others with the confidence that your action will really make a difference and so will theirs.