CAP 112: CAP 112: All About AdvocacyAll About Advocacy

Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify the steps in the advocacy process • Distinguish advocacy from related concepts such as

information, education, social marketing, etc. • Set an advocacy objective for an advocacy campaign • Undertake a situation analysis by mapping power dynamics

and relationships • Identify a target audience and analyze their interest in an

advocacy issue • Tailor a message according to the interests of a target

audience

Agenda

Welcome and Introductions Overview of Advocacy Identifying the steps in the advocacy process Distinguishing advocacy from related

concepts Setting an advocacy objective Undertaking a situation analysis Identifying a target audience Tailoring a message according to the

interests of a target audience Summary, Reflection and Evaluation

What is Advocacy?

Brainstorm words associated with advocacy:

********

Sample Definitions of Advocacy

“Advocacy is the act or process of supporting a cause or issue. An advocacy campaign is a set of targeted actions in support of a cause or issue. We advocate a cause or issue because we want to:

build support for that cause or issue; influence others to support it; or try to influence or change legislation that

affects it.”

From International Planned Parenthood Federation: IPPF Advocacy Guide 1995

“Advocacy is, at its most basic, a process for changing the status quo — the way things are and the way things are done — and it is based on protecting the rights of individuals (Bateman, 1995).”

The Action Through Advocacy Guidebook: The How-to’s of Advocating for Cancer Control

Sample Definitions of Advocacy Cont’d …..

“Advocacy is a planned, deliberate, sustained effort to raise awareness of an issue. It's an ongoing process in which support and understanding are built incrementally over an extended period of time and using a wide variety of marketing and public relations tools. “

“Advocacy is about saying to decision-makers, potential partners, funders, any stakeholder, "Your agenda will be greatly assisted by what we have to offer.“

Canadian Association of Public Libraries

Sample Definitions of Advocacy Cont’d …..

“Advocacy groups give a voice to their constituents and clients.”

“Advocacy is about representing an organization to other organizations, and using the instruments of marketing and public relations to shape a broader debate about policy problems and solutions.”

Sample Definitions of Advocacy Cont’d …..

What is Policy?

A policy, a course of action or inaction chosen by public authorities to address a given problem or interrelated set of problems. (Leslie Pal)

Two Other Definitions:

Policy: anything a government chooses to do or not do (Thomas Dye)

Policy Development is the process of transforming information and ideas into advice and a course of action consistent with the government’s priorities (The Ontario Cabinet Decision-Making System: Procedures Guide)

Government often thinks of the entire process, from beginning to end, as policy development, and the non-government people who do it as practicing "government relations.”

Voluntary organizations often split the activity into two parts: policy developmentpolicy development and advocacy advocacy (moving the policy or interest forward).

Difference Between Policy and Advocacy

• Lobbying is a specific form of advocacy• Lobbying always involves advocacy but advocacy

does not always involve lobbying. • To lobby means to communicate with decision-

makers at any level of government in order to influence the introduction or enactment of legislation.

• It also includes all the activities designed to get constituents to put pressure on decision-makers.

Lobbying

The objective of lobbying is to have the legislation you support passed or the legislation you oppose defeated or modified.

Lobbying requires knowledge about the legislative process, elected representatives themselves as well as key influencers, and principles of effective persuasion.

Lobbying

Advocacy can become confrontational, but it is better if you assume that politics make strange bed fellows and look at everyone you encounter as a possible ally rather than an opponent

The most effective advocacy often occurs when you can get decision-makers involved in strategy building with you. They then understand the issue and will likely become your advocate at the government level.

Is Advocacy Always Adversarial?

KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE + NOISENOISE = POLICYPOLICY & POLITICALPOLITICAL CHANGE

Information Organization Facts Alliances Analysis Strategies/tactics

Engaged constituencies

Positions Arguments/Demands

Alternatives Messages

1. Issue2. Goal and Objectives3. Target Audience4. Message development5. Channel of communication6. Building Support7. Fundraising8. Implementation9. Ongoing data collection10. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation

Steps in the Advocacy Process

1. Identify a situation in which advocacy was involved2. Working alone or with a partner, review the list of

steps in the advocacy process (page 9 in the workbook)

3. For each item on the list, provide a definition, and an example from your own experience where this step was used

4. Share your list of definitions and experiences with your small group.

5. Be prepared to share key themes from your group’s discussion at ___ o’clock.

Exercise 1: Steps in the Advocacy Process

Key Definitions

Issue: “an important question that is in dispute and must be settled” (from wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn, accessed June 16, 2008)

Goal: An advocacy goal is a long-term (5-10 year) vision for change

Objective:

An advocacy objective is a specific, short-term, action-oriented target.

Target audience:

“the term usually used to describe groups in the community selected as being the most appropriate eg; primary purchasers, users or influencers ... “ (fromnewsmedianet.com.au/home/Glossary.jsp, accessed June 16, 2008)

Key Definitions Cont’d ….

Message development:

A message is a concise statement whose purpose is to prompt your audiences (the people you want to reach) to act in a way that supports the goals of your organization or its campaign…Usually one to four sentences long, a message captures the essence of your work and why it is relevant and worthy of attention and support. (from The Communications Network: Strengthening The Voice Of Philanthropy at http://www.comnetwork.org/verizon_resourcecenter/message_ch1.htmaccessed June 16, 2007

Channels of communication:

the media used to covey information from a sender (or transmitter) to a receiver (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_(communications) accessed June 16, 2008)

Building support:

increasing momentum for the change

Fundraising: raising revenues required for the campaign

Approach Actors/Organizers

TargetAudience

Objective Strategies Measuring Success

Information, Education,Social Marketing

Public Relations

Community Mobilization

Advocacy

Advocacy and Related Concepts

More Definitions…

Social Marketing:Social Marketing: “Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing along with other concepts and techniques to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good.” (accessed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_marketing, June 16, 2008)

Public Relations: Public Relations: “a form of communication primarily directed toward gaining public understanding and acceptance. Public relations usually deals with issues rather than products or services, and is used to build goodwill with the public or employees.”(from http://www.learnthat.com/define/view.asp?id=52, accessed June 16, 2008)

Community Mobilization:Community Mobilization: a process through which action is stimulated by a community itself, or by others, that is planned, carried out, and evaluated by a community's individuals, groups, and organizations on a participatory and sustained basis to improve the issue or problem in question (adapted from LUMS-McGill Social Development Center http://sedc.org.pk/portal/general/theme_desc.php?themeid=44, accessed June 16, 2008

An advocacy goalgoal is a long-term (5-10 year) vision for change.

An advocacy objectiveobjective is a specific, short-term, action-oriented target.

Setting an Advocacy Objective

Characteristics of SMART objectives:

S — specificM — measurableA — achievableR — realisticT — time-bound

Every advocacy objective must contain the 33 following elements:

Policy “actor” or decision-maker +

Policy “action” or decision +

Timeline and degree of change

Elements of an Advocacy Objective

1. Identify the policy actor or decision-maker who has the power to convert the advocacy objective into a reality (i.e., Minister of Health, Chair of a Parliamentary Subcommittee, etc.).

2. Identify the specific policy action or response required to fulfill the objective (i.e., adopt a certain policy or allocate funds to support an initiative).

3. Stipulate the time-frame and degree of change desired. Advocacy objectives usually focus on a 1-2 year period. Can the policy be formulated and adopted in a 1-2 year period? Also, some advocacy objectives—but not all—indicate a quantitative measure of change.

Elements of an Advocacy Objective Cont’d

You are an organization committed to improving the conditions in the educational system for children with special needs. Currently your school board only provides a full time attendant to those children who exhibit extreme behavioral problems. Children with physical difficulties are not provided with any attendant care by the school board. Some are eligible for provincial government funding, while others are dependent on their families or go without any assistance and ask teachers and other children help. Your organization has decided to develop an advocacy campaign to rectify this inequity.

Task:Develop an advocacy objective for this organization’s campaign.

Case Study:

CRITERIA OBJECTIVE: What would you change?

Do qualitative or quantitative data exist to show that the objective will improve the situation?

Is the objective achievable? Even with opposition?

Will the objective gain the support of many people?

Do people care about the objective deeply enough to take action?

Will you be able to raise money or other resources to support your work on the objective?

Can you clearly identify the target decision-makers?

What are their names or positions?

Is the objective easy to understand?

Checklist for Selecting an Advocacy Objective

CRITERIA OBJECTIVE: What would you change?

Does the advocacy objective have a clear time frame that is realistic?

Do you have the necessary alliances with key individuals or organizations to reach your advocacy objective?

How will the objective help build alliances with other non profit organizations, leaders, or stakeholders?

Will working on the advocacy objective provide people with opportunities to learn about and become involved with the decision-making process?

Checklist for Selecting an Advocacy Objective

Target Audience:

Advocacy Issue:

Evaluate the target audience’s: (1 = low; 5 = high)

Level of familiarity with your network/organization 1 2 3 4 5Level of knowledge about your advocacy issue 1 2 3 4 5Level of agreement with your position on the issue 1 2 3 4 5Level of previous, demonstrated support for your issue 1 2 3 4 5

Audience Analysis Form

Exercise 2: Developing a Power Map

List the following information to develop a power map for your advocacy campaign:

Advocacy objective

Key policy makers (titles only)

Key actors—institutions or individuals who have an interest on the advocacy issue

Symbols to depict each actor’s stance on the issue – positive, negative or neutral

Exercise 2: Developing a Power Map Cont’d

Now draw a map showing the location of power sources as well as:

1. Additional allies that belong on the map

2. Interconnection between the actors

Primary: Those with potential interests/benefits related to the issue

Influential: Secondary audiences who can exert influence over your target audience

Identify your Target Audiences

• Develop your messages (advertisements, speeches, scenarios for interpersonal exchanges, and so on) for each of your target audiences.

• Every message must involve some form of tangible action to answer the inevitable question: "Now what?"

• Remember to consider possible barriers to adopting action immediately. Solve the problem or show people how to overcome barriers!

Develop a Message Framework

• Be sure that your messages answer the other question that a number of people in your target audience will be sure to ask: "So what?"

Your answer will be crucial for showing the target audience that your message is relevant. Go beyond slogans.

• You may want to get "creative" minds (volunteers or suppliers) involved.

Develop a Message FrameworkCont’d

• Another approach would be to have members of the target audience participate in the message development process.

• Try not to involve people who know too much about your program or the issue. Find people who know the audience. The idea is not to please your committee members, but to reach an audience on its own terms.

Develop a Message FrameworkCont’d

After you have developed your messages, ask typical members of the target audience (who don't know you personally) to provide you with feedback.

Ask the following questions about your positioning statement: Is it attention-getting? Is it clear? Is it relevant? Is it persuasive? Is it credible? Is it generating the desired behaviour/action?

Adapted from Health Canada’s social marketing tutorial http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/marketingsocial/guide_service.html

Develop a Message FrameworkCont’d

1. What is our objective?2. Who is our listener?3. What is our approach?4. What am I talking about?5. Who is involved?6. Where is it?7. When is it?8. Why is it?9. How do I do it?10. What is our Hook to attract attention?

Develop your Subject

Do they reinforce/and or explain my objective? Do they relate to my listener? Do they correspond to my approach? What do I want from my listener?

Check Answers Against the Following

Who will be our messenger?

Time and place of delivery?

The Message:

• Thinks and plans systemically

• Knows how to use and access necessary resources

• Understands the environment of the decision-maker

• Knows how to contact key decision-makers

• Gets the information to the right decision-maker

An Effective Advocate

• Knows who can get to the key decision-makers

• Understands the importance of timing

• Acts always with a group -- never as a lone wolf

• Says thank you often and always keeps the lines of communication open -even with the opposition

An Effective Advocate Cont’d

Advocacy and Related ConceptsApproach Actors

/OrganizersTarget Audience Objective Strategies Measuring Success

Information, Education,Social Marketing

• Health promoters• Service providers

• Individuals• Segments of a

community

• Raise awareness and change behavior

• Sort by audience• Mass media campaigns• CommunityOutreach• Traditional media

• Measuring knowledge/skills acquired and behavior change

• Process indicators• Focus groups• Service delivery

statistics

Public Relations • Commercial institutions

• Consumers • Improve the company’s image and increase ales

• Large scale advertising (radio, TV, print, media)

• *Public events

• Improved public perception

• Increased sales• Increased market

share

Community Mobilization

• Community members and organizations

• Community members and leaders

• Build a community’s capacity to prioritize needs and take action

• *Door to door visits• *Town hall meetings• *Action research

• Issue specific process and outcome indicators

Advocacy • Non-profits • Advocacy

organizations• Professional

Associations• Research

institutions

• All levels of government

• Policy makers at all decision making levels

• Change polices, programs, allocations of funding

• Focus on policy makers with the power to affect advocacy objective

• One on one lobbying meetings

• Public events(press conferences, protests)

• Policy change• Process Indicators• Media scans• Key informant

interviews• Focus groups• Opinion surveys

Objectives

Having completed this workshop, you should now be able to:

• Identify the steps in the advocacy process • Distinguish advocacy from related concepts such as

information, education, social marketing, etc. • Set an advocacy objective for an advocacy campaign • Undertake a situation analysis by mapping power dynamics

and relationships • Identify a target audience and analyze their interest in an

advocacy issue • Tailor a message according to the interests of a target

audience

COURSE EVALUATIONS AND ……..

CAP 112: CAP 112: All About AdvocacyAll About Advocacy