# 2. Determining the stage of the policy cycle
**Type of tool:** Capacity development and Cooperation & networking.
**Purpose**
To determine the precise phase of the policy cycle that the dialogue seeks to influence, so that the recommendations and commitments agreed in the Roadmap fit into the actual windows of opportunity presented by the political context.
**Rationale**
The policy cycle provides a useful tool that can help civil and political society actors to better understand how and when they should advance their interests. In this respect, shifts between different stages of the policy cycle can be seen as specific entry points for multi-stakeholder dialogue. Each entry point implies a different focus, as well as a specific set of dialogue activities, as outlined in the section devoted to the Roadmaps for Reform.
**Outcomes**
* Shared vision of the purpose and likely outcomes of the dialogue.
* Political calendar factored into the dialogue process.
* Entry points for potential joint strategies identified.
* Dynamics of the policy process –and of the interests and constraints of other stakeholders along it – understood and factored into.
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