Twenty years ago, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) resisted the word 'strategy,' which is now commonplace in NGO language and planning. Strategic planning has helped human rights organizations and other NGOs become more effective. We believe the human rights community will also benefit from incorporating 'tactics' and tactical thinking into its language.

What we know how to do influences what we think is possible to do; the
tactics we have available to us can determine the strategy we choose. [more]

Tactics have different effects on different targets. [more]

Tactics consist of how to make a change, while strategy is deciding what change
to make. Tactics are about 'the how,' and strategies are about 'the what.' In
other words, a strategy is an approach that makes the best use of resources and
other factors to secure advantage for an organization's goal. Tactics are the

A strategy answers the question "What?" What do you hope to accomplish? What is the goal? A strategy involves a gathering many ideas and making decisions toward a plan. Factors considered in developing a strategy include:

A tactic is a specific action taken to address a specific situation. A tactic is part of a specific plan or strategy. Tactics take different shapes and forms. A tactic can be as simple as wearing a particular color, or as involved as bringing formal charges against government officials in an attempt to remove them from office.