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Building capacity and connecting a movement
The Impact of the Compassionate Choices Network
How five years of collaboration through the Compassionate Choices Network has helped organisations across Asia strengthen their work for animals, people and the environment.
Creating lasting change requires more than good ideas. It takes skilled organisations, strong partnerships and the confidence to turn shared ambitions into action. Since 2021, ACTAsia’s Compassionate Choices Network (CCN) has been bringing together organisations across Asia to advance animal welfare, sustainable food systems and compassionate, plant-based lifestyles. Through shared campaigns – such as Plant Forward – practical learning, leadership development and regional collaboration, the CCN aims to strengthen individual organisations while building a more connected movement for change.
Evaluating the power of the CCN
To ensure that the CCN continues to deliver against its goals, ACTAsia carried out an impact survey in August 2026 and asked its members three key questions:
- Has being a member of the CCN strengthened your organisation
- How and why has organisational change occurred
- Where can the CCN improve
The survey results have now been analysed and the numbers offer encouraging evidence of the impact and
reach of the CCN.
Shared action leads to meaningful organisational strengthening
Ten member organisations from eight different countries completed the survey. All 10 reported that participation in CCN had strengthened their organisation. Four members reported a great extent of organisational strengthening and six described this contribution as moderate.
The findings suggest that CCN’s contribution is particularly strong in areas that help organisations engage with the wider world. Communications and digital engagement, alongside advocacy and public engagement, received the highest organisational capacity ratings. Programme and campaign planning and partnership development were also areas of reported progress.
These gains reflect the CCN’s emphasis on learning by doing. Rather than relying solely on formal training, members have opportunities to develop skills, test approaches, build relationships and learn from the experience of working together. As the survey findings show, this collaborative approach is helping members translate their learning into practical organisational change.
The Plant Forward campaign has been central to this process. Over five years, it has provided a shared platform through which organisations with different strengths and local contexts can contribute to a common goal: encouraging more compassionate and sustainable food and lifestyle choices.
From new skills to meaningful change
All 10 organisations surveyed reported at least one organisational change associated with their participation in the CCN and how the value of capacity building becomes clearest when learning leads to action.
For Redefining Ahimsa Foundation in India, the Plant Forward Culinary Competition helped bring new partners, including hospitality colleges, into its work and generated support for its vegan culinary advancement programme. The collaboration created opportunities to connect plant-based food with professional education and the development of future culinary talent.
In the Philippines, PAWS (The Philippine Animals Welfare Society) expanded its volunteer learning and student engagement beyond dogs and cats to include farmed animal welfare and compassionate consumption choices. This illustrates how shared learning can help organisations broaden their understanding of animal welfare and engage new audiences.
Meanwhile, Good Food Fund in China reported that the CCN support helped it deliver livestream events more consistently, invite expert speakers and share case studies with a wider network of Asian organisations.
These examples demonstrate that organisational capacity is not simply about acquiring knowledge. It is about applying that knowledge to strengthen programmes, reach new audiences, develop partnerships and create new opportunities for change.
The power of connection
Capacity building is also about relationships. For organisations working towards long-term social and environmental change, having trusted peers provides valuable opportunities to exchange ideas, gain perspective and sustain motivation. The survey found that 80% of respondents valued the CCN for its collaboration opportunities, increased visibility and credibility, and supportive regional community. Meanwhile, 70% reported stronger relationships with fellow members, and the same proportion had built relationships beyond their existing networks.
Members highlighted the importance of regional meetings, leadership development and opportunities to connect with people facing similar challenges.
- Vive in Vietnam, described regional meetings as a valuable space for authentic discussions about campaigning and effective communications, with benefits for staff across the organisation. “The regional meetings have provided a great space for authentic discussions around campaigning and effective communications. These spaces are immensely beneficial for our staff.”
- Animal Empathy Philippines reflected on the Leadership Summit as an opportunity to connect with other leaders working through similar challenges. “The Leadership Summit helped us realise how much we needed to be in the same room with other leaders doing the same work, pushing through the same challenges and still showing up.”
- Good Food Fund highlighted the practical experience gained: “The most valuable takeaway has been gaining practical experience in cross-national, cross-regional and cross-cultural communication projects.”
These experiences point to an important dimension of movement building: organisations become better equipped not only through what they learn individually, but also through the relationships that enable them to share experience, support one another and work towards common goals.
A collaborative model for capacity building
The survey also highlighted the value of different forms of support. Opportunities for intensive collaboration can offer particular value, while a shared campaign can provide a platform for broad participation and practical experience. Plant Forward was rated by all 10 organisations with seven rating its contribution as great or transformative.
This combination of approaches is central to the CCN’s role as a network: providing opportunities for members to develop their own capabilities while contributing to a collective effort that extends beyond any single organisation.
At the same time, building a strong regional network is an ongoing process. The survey identified peer-to-peer learning as an area for further development. Members expressed interest in more structured opportunities to exchange case studies, share practical expertise and collaborate on initiatives beyond Plant Forward.
Recognising these priorities is part of effective capacity building: understanding what is working, identifying where additional support is needed and adapting the approach as the CCN develops.
Looking ahead: building a more connected movement
The 2026 survey provides an excellent baseline for understanding the CCN’s contribution and tracking its development over time. Its findings offer encouraging evidence of stronger organisational capacity, practical changes in members’ work and valuable regional relationships.
The next phase will build on these foundations. The CCN aims to retain the relational support that members value while creating more deliberate opportunities for peer learning, shared expertise and collaboration across different initiatives. Continued monitoring will help the CCN to understand members’ evolving needs and guide future investment in capacity building.
What this means for ACTAsia
For ACTAsia, this work reflects a wider commitment to long-term, sustainable change through education and collaboration. Advancing the well-being of animals, people and the environment requires organisations that can learn, adapt and work together across sectors and borders.
The experience of the Compassionate Choices Network illustrates the potential of that approach. By combining practical action with shared learning and lasting relationships, the CCN is helping its members strengthen their work and contribute to a more connected regional movement for compassionate choices.
The task ahead is to build on that momentum: turning stronger organisations and deeper connections into sustained collective action for animals, people and the environment.
