The rapidly changing economic scenario within India is creating new threats and opportunities for the handloom and handicraft sectors. These developments necessitate pro-active policy-support to enable craftworkers to increase their competitiveness and to take advantage of market opportunities created by economic and trade liberalization.
AIACA’s objectives in the policy research and advocacy program are to:

• Identify gaps in the policy regime relating to strengthening livelihood security and enhancing incomes of craftworkers and engage institutions, scholars and practitioners to contribute to research to address these gaps.
  
• Undertake follow-up interaction through workshops and meetings with policymakers to follow up on implementation of research recommendations.
  
• Increase organizational capacity to advocate on policy issues relating to crafts-based livelihoods in multiple policy forums

AIACA has made significant progress towards building itself as a national policy research and advocacy network for the handloom and handicraft sectors. AIACA carved out spaces for policy advocacy through commissioning research on topical issues affecting livelihoods in the crafts sector and holding workshops to discuss and disseminate these reports to policy makers. Currently, AIACA regularly interacts with and plays an advisory role in various policy arenas affecting the crafts sector including the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Textiles.