CALL FOR THE CREATION OF A PLATFORM ON THE TRAINING STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCATES

The public policy advocate's occupation, as it currently stands, does not meet all the requirements of a profession. According to the Oxford English Dictionary a profession is: the occupation which one professes to be skilled in and to follow (a) a vocation in which a professed knowledge of some department of learning or science is used in its application to the affairs of others, or in the practice of an art found upon it. (b) in a wider sense: any calling or occupation by which a person habitually earns.

There are characteristics that are common to all professions:

1.  A commitment to serve in the interests of clients in particular and welfare of society in general.
2.  A body of theory or special knowledge with its own principles of growth and reorganization.
3.  A specialized set of professional skills, practices, and performances unique to the profession.
4. The developed capacity to render judgements with integrity under conditions of both technical and ethical uncertainty.
5. An organized approach to learning from experience both individually and collectively and thus, of growing new knowledge from the contexts of practice.
6. The development of a professional community responsible for the oversight and monitoring of quality in both practice and professional education.

Public policy advocacy (Lobbyists, government relations specialists, public affairs and communication pratitioners) has failed to adhere to the common elements of all professions. Although public policy advocacy is now a well –established occupation, it falls far short of having attained professional status.

Encouraging the public to regard public policy advocacy as a profession could go a long way toward combating the present negative perceptions. A professional image would lead to trust by the client or employer in the competence of someone calling himself/herself a public policy advocate, a government relations specialist, a public affairs practitioner, and trust by society that public policy advocacy is a legitimate activity in a democratic society. A possible reason that a lack of credibility and a negative perception continue to surround public policy advocates may be the absence of established concrete professional standards similar to those that are common in other occupations (e.g. lawyers and doctors). The creation of formal educational programmes as well as the establishment of a common set of knowledge, skills and necessary competences is of paramount importance to elevate the occupation of public policy advocacy to a profession.

The lack of required formal education or professional training in public policy advocacy as well as the lack of any solid accreditation process based on competency qualifications prevents public policy advocates from achieving professional status. While universities across the EU offer various programmmes (e.g., public administration or public affairs) that may discuss the role of advocacy in policy, no real formal and practical educational training exists for individuals interested in the occupation of public policy advocacy. Beside, courses are often taught by cadres of academics without public policy advocacy experience. Ideally, the academic study of public policy advocacy should be deeply integrated with practical activities, designed to provide hands-on experience with projects and organizations.

Regarding ethical standards and unlike doctors, lawyers, and other professionals, public policy advocates have no universal professional code of ethics that regulates the actions of members of the occupation. Not only can anyone practice as a public policy advocate without adhering to any code of conduct, but even if they do choose to subscribe to such a code and subsequently are found to have acted contrary to its provisions, they may be required to leave the relevant representative body, but can still continue to practice. Unlike doctors and lawyers who may have their license to practice revoked for unethical practices, public policy advocates  have no license to lose.

But something greater may be at stake. Society is the entity that grants organized interests their legitimacy and power, and those who use it irresponsibly tend to lose it. Therefore organized interests that seek to influence public policy must do so in an ethical and legitimate way. Otherwise, society may one day deny these organizations the ability to influence the legislative process .The need for the implementation of uniform ethical standards in public policy advocacy goes beyond helping public policy advocates succeed at their job. They are crucial to the efficient functioning of a democratic government. When ethical concerns are ignored, “contestants in the influence game see winning as the ultimate validation of tactics, with little concern paid to the damage these tactics may do to democratic institutions and ultimately to society.