THE CASE FOR LICENSURE OF PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCATES

Over the past 10 years, the field of public policy advocacy (PPA) (including lobbying, government relations, public affairs and related terms)  has experienced extraordinary growth in the number of practitioners as well as those seeking their services. One potential  downside of the increased recognition of the practice of public policy advocacy is an influx of individuals seeking to prosper from this opportunity who may have little or no training or experience in public policy advocacy placing both the consumers of their services and the field at large at risk.

What can and should the field of public policy advocacy do to protect the consumers of these services? The first step in this process is AALEP’s  development of an Executive course  for the certification of persons deemed competent in public policy advocacy and the creation of a Code of Ethics and practice.

As the field of public policy advocacy grows into a true profession, continued dependence on AALEP’s private certification process is not adequate to protect consumers. AALEP does not have the money, staff, time, or legal authority to provide the necessary ethical oversight, especially with the literally thousands of members who practice throughout Europe and around the world.

Currently, there is no requirement, either by law or policy of any agency in the world  requiring a public policy advocate to be certified. There is no limitation on using the title of Public policy Advocate,  conducting assessments , or providing services generally considered within the scope of the public policy advocacy practice. Practitioners without formal training or certification continue to advertise their claims to provide public policy advocacy services to the general public.

AALEP certification is designed to provide credentialing and  issue a certificate of proficiency that distinguishes between basic training and more advanced levels of competency.

The concept of licensing public policy advocacy only recently emerged as a potential reality. The tradition in other professions is that independently licensed professionals are those who are sanctioned by their respective state boards of professional licensure to advertise their services to the public for a fee

Licensing of public policy advocacy is important for many reasons. However, one reason stands out well beyond any of the others – the ability of the state licensure system to provide a mechanism for protecting consumers of public policy advocacy services. Services provided by  public policy advocates (most especially, by those who are not adequately trained in public policy advocacy include an inherent risk to those served. Therefore, consumer protection is vital. The process of licensure would result in the requirement that only those licensed by the state board could advertise themselves to the public as “public policy advocate  ” or could provide services defined within the law as the “scope of practice” of a licensed public policy advocate . Some consumers may not be able to discriminate between adequately and inadequately trained providers, and they may trust providers who insist that they are “just as well trained” and have “many years of experience” in public policy advocacy. Aside from allowing consumers to easily identify practitioners with training from those without, licensure also allows for consumer protection from unethical practices. A state board of professional licensure has the staff and legal authority to respond to complaints by the general public or professionals of unethical practices by those who are licensed. The investigation of such complaints would be conducted at the local level through interviews with those involved and through the collection and review of supporting documentation from the complainant, the accused, and any witnesses. Investigators from the state board would be on-site throughout the investigation. Additionally, once an investigation was completed, a formal hearing might be needed (which can take several days and include legal representation for both sides). The plaintiff, the accused, and investigator would all present their cases to a hearing panel comprised of licensed public policy advocates . State licensing boards typically conduct this time- and staff-intensive process.

Other benefits of licensing public policy advocates include protection of the profession, and the ability within state laws to define the scope of the public policy advocacy practice.

Conclusions

As public policy advocatess, we are facing a very difficult time in the development of our profession. Licensure will benefit the consumers of our services by improving their ability to choose between appropriately trained professionals and those who are not. Having a formal licensing system will hold those who practice public policy advocacy to enforceable ethical standards and give individual state boards of registration the discretion to establish educational standards commensurate with other service professions. The requirement for public policy advocates to be licensed by their respective states is one of the critical steps in the evolution and ownership of our field.