DEFINING GLOBAL TRAINING AND PRACTICE STANDARDS IN PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY

Our vision is to help to foster global training standards (knowledge, skills and competence for the practice of public policy advocacy). This entails the following:

• Training standards and curricula
• Training exchanges and programmes
• Dissemination of training expertise
• Accreditation and assessment of qualifications
• Enabling exchanges of best practices, experiences and expertise
• Promoting the development of the public policy advocacy profession
• Continuing education and development

Admittedly the content and form of training in public policy advocacy in each country will inevitably reflect its own legal, educational and professional traditions. However, to encourage international cooperation among professional associations (e.g. lobbyist's societies) in their efforts to develop professional training and practice in their countries, optimal standards for training need to be collectively defined. A standard refers to a pointer towards something distinctive or an ideal, a degree of excellence required for a particular purpose.

Professional training should cover the theoretical knowledge, skills, competencies and research abilities required in the field of public policy advocacy.

Global standards for education and training in public policy advocacy

1. Definition of public policy advocacy
2. Core purposes of the public policy advocacy profession
3. Standards regarding programme objectives and outcomes

In respect of programme objectives and expected outcomes:

•  A specification of the programme’s objectives and expected education outcomes.
•  A reflection of the values and ethical principles of the profession in its programme design and implementation.
•  Identification of the programme’s instructional methods.
•  An indication of how the programme reflects the core knowledge, processes, values and skills of the public policy advocacy profession, as applied in context-specific realities.
•  An indication of how an initial level of proficiency with regard to public policy advocacy’s values, knowledge and skills is to be attained by students.
•  An indication of how the programme meets the requirements of nationally and/or regionally/internationally defined professional goals, and how the programme addresses local, national and/or regional/international developmental needs and priorities.
• As public policy advocacy’s work does not operate in a vacuum, the programme should take account of the impact of interacting cultural, economic, communication, social, political and psychological global factors.
• Provision of an educational preparation that is relevant to beginning public policy advocacy professional practice in any given context.
• Self-evaluation to assess the extent to which programme objectives and expected outcomes are being achieved.
• External peer evaluation as far as is reasonable and financially viable. This may be in the form of external peer moderation of assignments and/or written examinations and dissertations, and external peer review and assessment of curricula.
• The conferring of a distinctive public policy advocacy qualification at the certificate, diploma, or post-graduate level as approved by national and/or regional qualification authorities, where such authorities exist.

4. Standards with regard to programme curricula

With regard to standards regarding programme curricula, :

• The curricula and methods of instruction being consistent with the  programme objectives, its expected outcomes and its mission statement.
• Clear plans for the organisation, implementation and evaluation of the theory and the educational components of the programme.
• Involvement of service users in the planning and delivery of programmes.
• Specific attention to the constant review and development of the curricula.
• Ensuring that the curricula help students to develop skills of critical thinking and attitudes of reasoning, openness to new experiences and paradigms, and commitment to life-long learning.

4. Standards with regard to core curricula

In respect core curricula, :

• An identification of and selection for inclusion in the programme curricula, as determined by local, national and/or regional/international needs and priorities.
• Domain of the Public Policy Advocacy Profession
• Domain of the Professional Public Policy Advocate
• Methods of Public Policy Advocacy Practice
• Paradigm of the Public Policy Advocacy Profession

The document to be created would be used as a guideline to develop national standards with regard to public policy advocacy education and training. Such a document should reflect some consensus around key issues, roles and purposes of public policy advocacy. The document should be sufficiently flexible to be applicable to any context. Such flexibility should allow for interpretations of locally specific public policy advocacy education and practice, and take into account each country’s or region’s socio-political, cultural, economic and historical contexts while adhering to common standards.

The main reasons for the development of global standards are (stated in no particular order of priority):

• Protect the ‘consumers’, ‘clients’ or ‘service users’ of public policy advocacy ;
• Take account of the impact of globalisation on public policy advocacy curricula and public policy advocacy practice;
• Facilitate articulation across universities and training centres on a global level;
• Facilitate the movement of public policy advocates from one country to another;
• Benchmark national standards against international standards;
• Facilitate partnerships and international student and staff exchange programmes;

If we accept the premise that such standards do not represent a finite or static product, but a dynamic process through which we continue building a framework that we aspire towards, then we accept that such an endeavour would involve a global-regional-national-local dialectical interaction. This must involve cross-national and cross-regional dialogue.

The following should be considered  in relation to the articulation of the global standards:

• Ensuring representation from different countries in the formulation of the standards.
• Facilitating as much consultation and inclusion in the process as possible.
• Ensuring that the global  standards take into account a country’s unique historical, political, cultural, social and economic contexts.
• Ensuring that the unique developmental needs of countries are considered in relation to the standards.
• Ensuring that the profession’s developmental status and needs in any given country are considered
• Facilitating open dialogue across national and regional boundaries.

As much as common standards may be used to benchmark national norms and standards, as far as possible, national and regional experiences and practices (even where formal standards do not exist) should be incorporated into the formulation of the standards. Where national or regional standards do not exist, AALEP would collaborate to facilitate the development of such standards.

The extent to which training in public policy advocacy meets the global standards will depend on the developmental needs of any given country/region and the developmental status of the profession in any given context, as determined by unique historical, socio-political, economic and cultural contexts. It is accepted that, while some training entities might have surpassed the standards contained in the base document, other training entities  might be in the process of beginning public policy advocacy programmes.  A training entity may engage in self-assessment to determine the extent to which its programme is consistent with the standards elucidated in the base document. Quality assurance and accreditation criteria and procedures will have to be determined at national and/or regional levels.

The formulation of the standards represents the attempt to uphold the best possible standards for the public policy advocacy profession on a global level, and to facilitate dialogue and debate within and across national and regional boundaries. The intention is to enhance academic freedom and promote the development of locally specific theory and practice, rather than inhibit or constrain such development. In formulating global standards for the education and training of the public policy advocacy profession, AALEP will not play any monitoring, control or accreditation function at the national level. The base document is not intended to be a fixed, timeless product; it is a dynamic entity subject to review and revision as and when the need arises. This can only be achieved with continued critical debate and dialogue within the profession on local, national, regional and global levels.