Advocacy

Advocacy is a political process by an individual or group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an asset of interest. Advocacy can include many activities that a person or organization undertakes including media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and publishing research or poll or the 'filing of friend of the court briefs'. Lobbying (often by lobby groups) is a form of advocacy where a direct approach is made to legislators on an issue which plays a significant role in modern politics.^[1]

Forms of advocacy

There are several forms of advocacy, which each represent a different approach in the way change is brought into society. One of the most popular forms is social justice advocacy.

Although it is true, the initial definition does not encompass the notions of power relations, people’s participation and a vision of a just society as promoted by social justice advocates. For them, advocacy represents the series of actions taken and issues highlighted to change the “what is” into a “what should be”, considering that this “what should be” is a more decent and a more just society (ib., 2001.) Those actions, which vary with the political, economic and social environment in which they are conducted, have several points in common (ib., 2001.) They:

Question the way policy is administered
Participate in the agenda setting as they raise significant issues
Target political systems “because those systems are not responding to people’s needs”
Are inclusive and engaging
Propose policy solutions
Open up space for public argumentation.

Some of the other forms of advocacy include:

Budget advocacy: Budget advocacy is another aspect of advocacy that ensures proactive engagement of Civil Society Organizations with the government budget to make the government more accountable to the people and promote transparency. Budget advocacy also enables citizens and social action groups to compel the government to be more alert to the needs and aspirations of people in general and the deprived sections of the community.
Bureaucratic advocacy: people considered “experts” have more chance to succeed at presenting their issues to decision-makers. They use bureaucratic advocacy to influence the agenda, however at a slower pace.
Health advocacy: Health advocacy supports and promotes patient's health care rights as well as enhance community health and policy initiatives that focus on the availability, safety and quality of care.
Ideological advocacy: in this approach, groups fight, sometimes during protests, to advance their ideas in the decision-making circles.
Interest-group advocacy: lobbying is the main tool used by interests groups doing mass advocacy. It is a form of action that does not always succeed at influencing political decision-makers as it requires resources and organisation to be effective.
Legislative advocacy: legislative advocacy is the “reliance on the state or federal legislative process” as part of a strategy to create change.(Loue, Lloyd and O’Shea, 2003)
Mass advocacy: is any type of action taken by large groups (petitions, demonstrations, etc.)
Media advocacy: is “the strategic use of the mass media as a resource to advance a social or public policy initiative” (Jernigan and Wright, 1996.) In Canada for example, the Manitoba Public Insurance campaigns illustrate how media advocacy was used to fight alcohol and tobacco-related health issues. We can also consider the role of health advocacy and the media in “the enactment of municipal smoking bylaws in Canada between 1970 and 1995.” (Asbridge, 2004)

Different contexts in which advocacy is used:

In a legal/law context: An 'advocate' is the title of a specific person who is authorized/appointed (in some way) to speak on behalf of a person in a legal process. See advocate.
In a political context: An 'advocacy group' is an organized collection of people who seek to influence political decisions and policy, without seeking election to public office. See Advocacy group and Lobbying.
In a social care context: Both terms (and more specific ones such as 'independent advocacy') are used in the UK in the context of a network of interconnected organisations and projects which seek to benefit people who are in difficulty (primarily in the context of disability and mental health).
In the context of inclusion: Citizen Advocacy organisations (citizen advocacy programmes) seek to cause benefit by reconnecting people who have become isolated. Their practice was defined in two key documents: CAPE, and Learning from Citizen Advocacy Programs. See Citizen Advocacy organisations.

Advocacy groups

Advocacy is led by advocates or, when they are organized in groups as is the case most of the time, advocacy groups. Advocacy groups as defined by Young and Everritt (2004, 5) are different from political parties which "seek to influence government policy by governing." They are "any organization that seeks to influence government policy, but not to govern." This definition includes social movements, sometimes network of organizations which are also focused on encouraging social change. Social movements try to either influence governments or, like the environmental movement, to influence people’s ideas or actions.

Today, advocacy groups contribute to democracy in many ways (ib., 2004.) They have five key functions:

Assist in the development of better public policy
Ensure governments’ accountability to citizens.
Give a voice to (misrepresented) citizen interests
Mobilize citizens to participate in the democratic process
Support the development of a culture of democracy

In comparison to other countries and other the last thirty years, an increasing number (40 percent) of the Canadian population is member of an organization which has had an advocacy role and has tried to achieve political change. Such a level of participation is a positive indicator of the health of the democracy in Canada (ib., 2004.)

Transnational advocacy

Advocates and advocacy groups represent a wide range of categories and support several issues as listed on WorldAdvocacy.com. The Advocacy Institute,^[2] a US-based global organization, is dedicated to strengthening the capacity of political, social, and economic justice advocates to influence and change public policy.^[3]

The phenomenon of globalization draws a special attention to advocacy beyond countries’ borders. The core existence of networks such as World Advocacy or the Advocacy Institute demonstrates the increasing importance of transnational advocacy and international advocacy. Transnational advocacy networks are more likely to emerge around issues where external influence is necessary to ease the communication between internal groups and their own government. Groups of advocates willing to further their mission also tend to promote networks and to meet with their internal counterparts to exchange ideas.^[4]

References

^ "Lobbying Versus Advocacy: Legal Definitions". NP Action. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
^ Advocacyinstitute.org
^ (Cohen, de la Vega & Watson, 2001.)
^ (Keck and Sikkink, 1998.)

External links

Advocacy & Policy Center The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center was established to help transform education in America.
Public Affairs World The world's first global news and information site on the subject of lobbying.
Public place restrictions on smoking in Canada: assessing the role of the state, media, science and public health advocacy.

[1] "Lobbying Versus Advocacy: Legal Definitions". NP Action. Retrieved 2010-03-02.

[2] Advocacyinstitute.org

[3] (Cohen, de la Vega & Watson, 2001.)

[4] (Keck and Sikkink, 1998.)

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