PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS

The development of sound public policy requires the efforts of stakeholders from both the non-profit and corporate sectors. Citizens benefit from public policy entrepreneurs and advocates from outside of government bringing invaluable expertise, evidence, and perspective to the policy table.

In the expansive and complex network of interrelationships, non-profit organisations have an enormous role to play. Inevitably, many non-profit  organisations are so busy trying to stay afloat, or are so focused on their key services, that it can be challenging for them to find the time, energy, and support to contribute to the public policy debate. Perhaps an even bigger challenge is determining how to affect public policy.  Training to build the public policy advocacy capacity of non-profits is both essential and lacking.

It appears that only a small percentage (25%) of organizations engage directly in public policy. Many small and medium organisations do not have the capacity (time or expertise) to engage in public policy, but they are ready to contribute to the effort and want to remain connected to policy work in their field.

In order to increase non-profit organisations' capacity to engage in public policy, the topics here below should be addressed:

• The realm of public policy and policy development as it relates to nonprofits.
• Current events of importance to planners and strategists
• The orders of government, and operational and political cycles in government.
• The current environment for developing and advancing policy alternatives.
• A range of approaches to advocating for change.
• How do you assess the quality and usefulness of evidence?
• Where can you find it?
• To what extent does evidence matter?
• Is the work of your nonprofit based on current best practice?
• Is the focus of your organisation appropriate to the identified need and supported by research in the field?
• How does your knowledge of the field inform your policy project?
• What role does your organization have in the translation of research (knowledge) for its staff and volunteers, clients, the public, or government?
• Who does government listen to?
• How does the non-governmental sector take the information generated in formal and informal ways and use it to influence how government makes decisions?
• The environment in which policy issues are discussed.
• How to frame an issue.
• Deciding how to use research evidence.
• Getting input into policy alternatives.
• Assessing the views of other interested parties.
• The role of public opinion.
• The conditions that will lead to policy advocacy success.
• Why engage decision makers? What can you hope to achieve?
• How to set realistic and useful objectives for influencing decision makers.
• Understanding the objectives of decision-makers and how to align your objectives with theirs.
• the most effective methods of engagement: who to engage, when, how to create a compelling message, how to use third parties effectively, and pitfalls to avoid.
• Legal restrictions and ethical considerations.
• The key issues, challenges, and critical success factors for successful implementation of a new policy idea or programme.
• Assessing whether you are ready to roll because government and funders both want to know that you are.
• Responding to acceptance of your proposal on a smaller or larger scale or with other significant changes.