Public Policy Advocacy for
Social Change
© Statewide Parent
Advocacy Network
35 Halsey Street
Newark, NJ 07042
973-642-8100
www.spannj.org
Empowered Parents:
Educated, Engaged,
Effective!
Public Policy Advocacy for
Social Change
“Never doubt that a
small group of
thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the
world. Indeed, it is
the only thing that
ever has.”
Margaret Mead
What is Advocacy?
• Speaking, writing, or
acting in support of a
cause
• Using a variety of
organized tactics to
achieve a public
policy goal
• Demanding a change
to benefit the lives of
many
Advocacy:
• Asks something of
others
• Puts the demands of
people into systems
• Deals with issues and
conflicts
• Involves people
• Creates a space for
public discussion
• Finds solutions to
problems
Focus for Advocacy
• The Legislature
• The Executive
• Regulatory Agencies
• The Judiciary
Social Justice Advocacy
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Challenging power
Assuming risks
Telling stories
Involving those
affected
Offering alternatives
Principles vs.
compromise
Balancing the scales of
justice and equity
Holding ourselves
accountable
Vision, Mission, and Goals
• Vision - Your picture
of the ideal situation
• Mission – What your
organization will do to
get there
• Goals – Significant
steps toward the vision
• Objectives – The
means to accomplish
the goals
• Action Steps –
Concrete steps to
achieve the objectives
How Change Happens
“Power concedes
nothing without a
demand. It never has
and it never will.”
-Frederick Douglas
Stages of Change
• Denial of the need for
change
• Resistance to change
• Exploration of the
change
• Managing the change
• Collaboration
• Compromise
• Maintaining
momentum
Change Agents
• Understand context,
barriers to change, and
stages of change
• Listen
• Respond
• Advocate
• Pursue change
• Intervene at the
systems level
• Team with others
• Facilitate
Strategic Planning Process
• Set ground rules
• Ask all questions
• Share experiences and
opinions
• Leave space for others
• Be informal and relax
• All opinions count
• Keep it simple
• Brainstorm
• Small group
• Accept all ideas without
debate
• Facilitate if necessary
Strategic Planning Questions
• What do you want?
– Process goals
– Content goals
• Who can deliver it?
– Formal authority
– Influence
• What message(s) do
they need to hear?
– Public interest
– Self-interest
Strategic Planning Questions
• Who do they need to
hear it from?
– Expert voices
– Authentic voices
• How do we get them
to hear it?
– Persuasion
– Pressure
Strategic Planning Questions
• What do we have to
build on?
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Leadership
Supporters
Information
Resources
Tools
Access
Messages
• What do we need to
develop?
Strategic Planning Questions
• How do we begin?
– Big enough to matter
– Small enough to win
• How do we know it’s
working?
– Implemented plan?
– Increased engagement?
– Improvements?
• Where do we go from
here?
Information and Research
• Knowledge will forever
govern ignorance
• Know the most about your
issue
• Find as many sources of
information as possible
• Research arguments for
and against
• Know who supports and
who opposes
• Conduct surveys and
opinion polls
• Use a survey to inform
and educate
Why do people get involved?
• They believe the issue is
important to them and
their family
• They believe they have
something to contribute
• They believe that they
will be listened to and
their contributions
respected
• They believe that their
participation will make a
difference
How do people stay involved?
• Multiple opportunities for
participation, from a small
contribution of time to
progressively larger
contributions of time and
effort
• The level of participation
varies depending on life
circumstances.
Staying Involved
• Constituent receive
sufficient advance notice.
• Constituent participation
is facilitated:
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Child care
Transportation
Dinner
Education & information
Staying Involved
• Constituents are
listened to; their ideas
are supported and
respected.
• Constituents do not
experience retribution
as a result of their
participation.
Staying Involved
• Their participation has
an impact – it makes
an appreciable
difference.
• Their participation is
appreciated; that
appreciation is
acknowledged.
Opportunities to Participate in
Advocacy
• Tell their stories verbally
to an advocate & give
permission to share
• Tell their stories verbally
within a small group
(focus group)
• Tell their stories verbally
to policymakers (at public
hearing, meeting with
monitors, at their school
or district forum, etc.)
Participation Opportunities
• Share their stories in
writing through:
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Letter to the state
Letter to the editor
Letter to the monitors
Letter to an advocate
with permission to
disclose
Participation Opportunities
• Reach out to encourage
other constituent
participation
• Assist in collection of
documentation
• Assist in analysis of
information
• Assist in information
dissemination
Participation Opportunities
• Serve as co-trainers
• Serve as members of
task forces and
committees
• Facilitate public
forums
• Serve as members of
monitoring teams
Preparation for Participation
• Offer trainings, developed
jointly with constituents &
advocates
• Develop & disseminate
informative, useful
materials
• Meet and talk with
constituents, sharing
information, listening
carefully to their strengths,
needs & concerns
Demonstrate constituent independence &
contribution.
• Develop a plan to identify
a diverse, representative
group of constituents
• During & after meetings,
specifically recognize the
value of the constituent’s
participation
• Recognize individual
constituent strengths
while respecting differing
methods of coping &
adjustment
Provide constituent-identified supports
to assist participation.
• Provide convenient
meeting times &
locations.
• Compensate constituents
for time, expertise &
expenses.
• Clearly identify someone
to be the primary contact
for reimbursement &
other issues; timely
reimbursement & contacts
are essential
Provide constituent-identified
supports
• Provide direct staff
support, stipends, travel
expenses, & childcare
• Identify these supports in
RFPs, grants, & policies
• Provide complete,
appropriate information
prior to meetings in a
timely manner
• Match veteran members
with inexperienced ones
to support new members
& share ideas
Provide constituent-identified
supports
• Recognize that some
constituents may
require more and
different kinds of
support than others
• Encourage and
facilitate constituentto-constituent support
and networking
Provide formal orientation &
information
• Provide orientations about
the issues, participants &
process.
• Provide informational
support for constituents to
participate as equal
partners on a “level
playing field”
• Provide technical
assistance, leadership
mentoring, training, &
other leadership training
Ensure diversity among
constituents
• Honor the racial,
ethnic, cultural, &
socioeconomic
diversity of families.
• Provide all materials
in the constituent’s
preferred language.
• Recruit broadly from
the community and
the target population.
• Bring in new
constituents.
Ensure diversity
• Adapt collaborative
models to diverse
cultures. Manage
changing distribution
of power &
responsibility.
• Incorporate principles
of collaboration into
professional
education.
Ensure diversity
• Ensure broad
representation among
groups based on the
communities in
question.
• Be particularly careful
to include members of
traditionally
underserved groups.
• Avoid any appearance
of tokenism.
Be ready to hear what
constituents say.
• Encourage and support
constituents to find their
voice.
• Ensure that member
perspectives are not
considered a separate
component of the policymaking process, but are
infused throughout.
• Always consider an
individual constituent’s
story as valid.
Respect the passion constituents
have for change.
• Support staff in
developing an
understanding of the value
of constituent
participation.
• Provide clear information
about your goals and how
constituent input and
participation fits in.
• Balance membership
between constituents and
advocates.
• Consider shared
leadership – co-chairs
Remember:
• Empowering families to
participate in advocacy
for their children, their
community, the larger
society, is its own victory,
regardless of the specific
outcome of any
particular effort.
• Democracy is not a
spectator sport!
Outreach Strategies
• Door-knocking
• Welfare office, food
pantry, school
• Organizational media
• Community media
• Mass media
• “Mediating
institutions”
• Public forums
Mobilization
• Moving from
spectators to
participants
• Turning opinions into
actions
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Making a phone call
Sending a fax or e-mail
Writing a letter
Visiting a policymaker
Demonstration, march,
sit-in
Mobilization Steps
• Present information:
– Your cause
– The activity or event
– Why it’s important
• Outreach to constituents &
allies
– Phone, fax, e-mail, mail
– One-on-one
– Other organizations
• Orientation
• Needed supports for
participation
Action Alert Network
• Develop & maintain
Action Alert list
• Monitor key policy
developments
• Summarize key points,
pros and cons, actions
• Mail, e-mail, fax, call
to alert network
• Maintain copies of
action responses
Organizing vs. Mobilizing
• Mobilizing
– Shorter-term
– For particular action
– Less time commitment
• Organizing
– Longer-term, for the
long haul
– More involved in
decision-making
– Greater time
commitment
Leadership
• Inspire and help people
work toward a goal
• Can be shared
• Differing roles:
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Visionaries
Strategists
Historians
Resource mobilizers
Statespersons
Communicators
Outside sparkplugs
Inside negotiators
Generalists
Key Leadership Qualities
• Effective communicators
• Good listeners
• Develop team spirit &
cohesiveness
• Understanding & aware
• Recognize accomplishments
• Constructive criticism
• Encourage & motivate
• Facilitate resolution of disputes
• Delegate & build others
• Accept responsibility, take
initiative
• Offer help, information
• Ask for help
• Make things happen, but don’t
have to be the center of
attention
Leaders Problem-Solve
• State problem simply
& clearly
• Gather & organize
relevant info &
resources
• List potential solutions
• Evaluate each one
• Select the best one
• Design a plan to use
• Evaluate outcomes &
readjust when needed
Leaders Know Themselves
• Who am I?
• What am I doing here
• What are my:
– Goals, purposes
– Expectations
– Motivations?
• What strengths &
challenges do I bring?
• How can I best use my
leadership skills?
• How can I make space
for others?
Leadership Development
• Individual advocacy
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• Peer advocacy
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• Public policy
advocacy
Advocacy Leadership Knowledge
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Laws & regulations
How institutions work
Key decision-makers
Formal & informal
decision-making
Facts; current status
Barriers & solutions
Qualities of effective
systems
Existing resources
Advocacy Leadership Skills
• Empathy
• Listening
• Written & oral
communication
• Critical reading &
thinking
• Collaboration
• Consensus-building
• Problem-solving
• Conflict resolution
• Strategic planning
• Growing leadership
How Policies are Made
• Legislature/laws:
– Introduced
– Referred to committee
– Considered by
committee
– Hearing/public
comment
– Reported out with
amendments/changes
– Passed by one house
– Referred to next house
– Passed by 2nd house
– Goes to Governor
How Policies Are Made
• Executive/Governor:
– Signs into law as is
– Conditionally veto
(return for specific
changes)
– Veto (overridden by
supermajority of both
houses)
– Pocket veto within last
45 days of session
How Policies Are Made
• Regulations:
– Draft regulations based
on law
– Publish in Federal or
State Register
– Public comment/public
hearing
– Respond to comments
– Make revisions
– Publish in Register
– Go into effect
– Implemented by
agency
Reaching Policymakers
• Call * Write * Visit
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Brief and to the point
Stick to one subject
Identify yourself
How will you and
others be affected?
Be clear about what
you want
Be accurate & specific
Be polite & positive
Offer your help
Follow up!
Reaching the Grassroots
• Call * Write * Visit
– Letter sent to a
legislator can be a
letter to the editor
– Message on a
legislator’s message
machine can be called
in to radio talk show
– Testimony at hearing
can be presented at
church, PTA,
community group
meeting
Phone Calls, E-Mail, Faxes
• Ask to speak to the
legislator or aide
• Note your legislative
district
• Give bill # & name
• Explain why the issue is
important to you
• Jot down speaking points
in advance
• Write notes on your
conversation
• Follow up!
Letters and Postcards
• Handwritten neatly or
typed
• Use own words
• Personalize
• Be brief
• Stick to key point(s)
• Avoid form letters
• Develop sample letters
with messages
• Identify yourself
• Use bill # & title
• Be timely
• Follow up!
Effective Advocacy Writing
• Be clear about what
you want to say and
how it will be heard
• Be careful about your
tone
• Understand that
communication is
filtered and may be
blocked
• Communication is
never value-free
Purpose of Advocacy Writing
• Share facts
• Guide reader to a clear
understanding of issue
• Persuade/convince
reader to think the way
you do
• Persuade/convince
reader to act the way
you want them to
Types of Advocacy Writing
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Op-Ed piece
Letter to editor
Press advisory/release
Letter to policymaker
Letter of complaint
Public testimony
Investigative report
Letters to inform &
mobilize others
• Activity notices
Questions of Advocacy Writing
• Who is the audience?
• What is the issue &
message?
• When can you convey
the message?
• Where can you convey
the message?
• Why are you writing?
• How can you most
effectively convey
your message?
Advocacy Writing “Tricks”
• Challenge with a
thought-provoking
question
• Open with quotation
• Offer a sip of your
conclusion
• List all main points
• Dramatic or eyeopening statement
• Use an angle your
readers haven’t seen
Advocacy Writing Tips
• Keep it short & simple
• Watch punctuation, spelling
& organization Know
intended recipients
• Have a clear goal
• Understand the context
• Catch them in the beginning
• Summarize/introduce,
explain, summarize/conclude
• Communication is a process
• Have someone review your
work
Testifying – In advance
• Monitor Federal and
State Register
• Mobilize authentic &
expert voices
• Mobilize diverse
constituencies
• Call to request time
• Find out how much
time and how many
copies to bring
Writing Testimony
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Be brief & concise
Written is longer than oral
Have a purpose
Identify yourself
State position, reasoning,
and request
Personalize
Use your own words
Be substantive & give
examples
Single space for them,
double space for you
Make extra copies
Practice presentation &
rehearse questions!
Presenting Testimony
• Dress properly
• Arrive early
• Be prepared to shorten
testimony
• Relax
• Speak slowly & clearly
• Avoid monotone
• Look up, make eye
contact
• No disparaging remarks
• Thank them for the
opportunity
Speaking in Public
• Prepare content and
delivery
• Know your audience
and tailor to them
• Emphasize key points
• Establish eye contact
• Use visual aids
• Be brief
• Leave your opponent
with dignity intact
Meeting with Elected Officials
• Speak up
• Be part of a group
• Go with someone who has
experience
• Don’t be afraid
• Don’t lie if you don’t
know
• Practice helps; role play
beforehand!
• Be yourself
Preparing for Legislative Visits
• Decide who you will
visit.
• Establish agenda &
goals.
• Plan your visit.
• Determine group
composition.
• Listen well.
Preparing for Legislative Visits
• Be prepared, but don’t
feel everyone has to be
an expert.
• Don’t get intimidated
or frustrated.
• Be on time, and don’t
stay too long.
• Build a relationship.
• Follow up!
IRS Rules for Non-Profits
• No supporting or opposing
candidates
– Can do candidate surveys &
disseminate results
• Limits on lobbying
– No appreciable amount
– IRS election: 20%
– Funder restrictions
• Lobbying involves
specific legislation
• Regulatory advocacy is
not lobbying
Regulatory Advocacy
• Determine agency
with jurisdiction
• Identify responsible
party within agency
• Develop relationships
• Know relevant law
governing regulations
(Administrative
Procedures Act)
• Monitor media, State
& Federal Registers
Regulatory Advocacy
• Develop a plan
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Comments on draft
Responsibilities
Potential opposition
Compromises
• Develop coalitions
• Get broad
endorsement
• Use legislative
oversight
• Mobilize grassroots
Grassroots & Media Advocacy
• Communicate
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Own constituency
Own supporters
Potential Allies
General public
• Use media
– Your media
– Grassroots media
– Community papers,
radio, & public access
TV
– Mass media
Coalition Advocacy
• Builds support
• Combines power &
resources
• Reduces competition for
funding & support
• More efficient
• Provides support &
expertise to smaller
groups
• Strength in numbers
• Strength in diversity
• Broadened skills &
expertise
Coalition Advocacy
• Need clarity of goals and
how they fit with each
organization
• Clear decision-making
processes
• Strong communications
plans
• Ensure all contribute, have
a say, and get credit
• Conflict resolution
mechanisms
Questions for Coalitions
• Temporary or
permanent?
• Agreed on issues?
• Differences among
groups?
• Gifts of each?
• Stuff to give up?
• Stuff to gain?
• Anticipated conflicts
& compromises?
• Strategies to address?
Leadership/
Maintaining a Strong Organization
• Intense dedication to
improving outcomes for
substantial numbers
• High commitment to
maintenance activities:
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Define responsibilities
Good communication
Clear decision-making
Sufficient funding
Effective Strategies Shape Action
• Ongoing:
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Planning
Implementation
Evaluation
Revision of plan
• Persistent focus on key
systems & central issues
• Understand specific changes
needed
• Bring about changes
• Monitor implementation to
make sure improvements take
place
Information
• Document problems
and solutions
• Develop accurate
“map” of systems –
how they work, who’s
important,
relationships
– Formal
– Informal
• Know how other
groups have solved
problems
Building Support
• Use media to
communicate views
and mobilize others
• Develop support
networks
• Build well-organized,
committed
constituency capable
of mobilizing
substantial political
power
Intervention
• Multiple levels
• Multiple tactics
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Negotiations
Demonstrations
Filing complaints
Testifying
Writing, calling,
visiting
• Continue direct
pressure
• Persistence!