MININUM STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCATES
Submitted by christian on Tue, 01/03/2017 - 16:47
- Public Policy Advocates need to routinely recognize, understand and meet their obligations to their clients/employers, stakeholders, and especially those decision makers in the public policy institutions where they practice.
- Develop, maintain and widely communicate an ethics code or standards of ethical practice for public policy advocates to adhere. Such guidelines should explain the professional’s obligations in his/her dealings with others and the responsibilities inherent in these relationships.
- Empower those representing the profession, i.e. individuals acting in its governance, in using the codes of ethics or practice as adjudicatory guidelines for standards of acceptable conduct. In this manner, any “bad apples” can be formally removed from the profession and its practice. Obviously, groups that do not self-police their members’ activities will thereby either diminish themselves in public’s view of the occupation or abdicate their governance to others outside the occupation. These are typically government groups/agents who will be asked or compelled by the public-at-large, particularly when it perceives harm being done to them in order to rein these unruly practitioners and practices.
- Meet formalized standards or preparation and competencies, like holding a particular degree showing evidence of mastering agreed-upon concepts and principles of the practice, passing an “entry” exam, or gaining some form of licensure or certification through examination or similar arms-length assessment mechanisms.
- Use their unique knowledge, skills and abilities (aka, competencies) to influence matters of public importance.
- Gain competence, new abilities, and additional experience performing the profession’s roles and responsibilities. These become useful in achieving ever-higher levels of competence as the profession evolves to meet its changing responsibilities to the public over time.
- Gain mastery of the body of knowledge by undergoing rigorous preparation, which for most professions occur at the graduate level of recognized, leading universities. Most professions also have numerous venues for providing education and training in its required abstract knowledge areas. Practitioners can have their knowledge and learning measured by assessing them against existing standards derived from the body of knowledge.
- Undertake continuous in-service training (i.e. through self-learning, mentoring, coaching or internships) and personal growth after completing one’s formal education. Many professions require regular assessments of updated and growing knowledge. These are commonly accomplished through its professionals documenting how they are meeting 3-5 years continuing education requirements.
- Pursue ongoing awareness of emerging developments that are significant to the public policy advocacy practice typically by attending professional meetings/conferences/events, reading scholarship about the practice, and/or engaging in regular, formalized networking channels. Top professionals will do more than just maintaining awareness, but will also make contributions back to their fellow professionals by participating in meetings as presenters, working with researchers to push the field’s boundaries forward, or sharing articles they write about their views and experiences. In this way, new, best and/or leading practices can be widely and regularly disseminated. Recognize these top professionals through competitive selections in annual award or recognition programs, or “Fellows”-types of events.
- Have regular access to developments in the practice of adjacent fields. This education is typically offered through advanced educational institutions, although it does not necessarily have to come from a university. The generalized knowledge held by professionals enables them to efficiently and effectively utilize their specialized knowledge in a way that makes the profession relevant to recipients of these professionals’ services.
- Engage in regular exchange of ideas with adjacent professionals and occupations in their value chains, usually done via means of formalized networking, reading the adjacent field’s publications, or attending significant professional development meetings or events sponsored by/for the adjacent profession.
- Providing for a means of informing and regulating member behavior (e.g. limiting access into the profession, issuing sanctions to individuals who abridge standards of practice or ethics)
- Updating and upgrading member knowledge and skills; providing networking opportunities to allow professionals to share knowledge and practices.
- Serving as a central means for documenting and transmitting the body of knowledge and the standards for measuring performance against it.
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