NCDPI

1
Blueprint on

• Advocacy for Policy Initiatives
• Kymm Ballard, MA
• NC Physical Education Consultant
• Healthful Living Section, NCDPI

2
Agenda

• Overview of advocacy vs lobbying
• Advocacy strategy development Nine key
  questions (Advocacy Institute in Washington, DC
  2001)
• Open discussion Next steps for NC to take

3
Advocacy consists of

• Organized efforts and actions based on what is
  to make what should be a reality.

4
Advocacy has purposeful results

• Gain access and voice in decision making
• Change power relationships
• Improve peoples lives. And in our case
  childrens lives

5
Advocates do this through.

• Grassroots organizing
• Strategy development
• Alliance/coalition building
• Media advocacy
• Lobbying

6
Education, Advocacy, or Lobbying?

• Whats the difference?

7
Education, Advocacy, or Lobbying? (cont.)

• Education
• Presenting data, information and examples
• Local health department
• This is what we know about obesity in NC.

8
Education, Advocacy, or Lobbying? (cont.)

• Advocacy
• Driving a particular idea, such as the need to
  establish a policy or law.
• Public advocates and citizens
• One of the most effective strategies for active
  adults is to have school policies on physical
  education.

9
Education, Advocacy, or Lobbying? (cont.)

• Lobbying
• Requesting a specific action
• We are here tonight to request that the school
  board mandate Health and Physical Education.

10
Developing an Advocacy Strategy

• An advocacy strategy is an assessment of where
  you are, where you want to go, and how you
  can get there.

11
Before you begin.

• Analyze the issue
• Define the problem
• Analyze current policy
• Structure and protocol to establish new policy
• Define challenges and barriers

12
Nine Key Questions for Policy Advocacy Goals
Objectives

• 1 What do you want?
• Define victory

13
Nine Key Questions for Policy Advocacy Key
Players

• 2 Who can give it to you?
• People/institutions with power and influence
• Actual authority
• Capacity to influence authority

14
Nine Key Questions for Policy Advocacy Key
players

• Know your policy makers
• Who they are
• What they believe about the issue
• Who should be responsible
• How can you influence them

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Nine Key Questions for Policy Advocacy The
message

• 3 What do they need to hear?
• Short, easy-to-understand
• Reflect hard work and research

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Nine Key Questions for Policy Advocacy The
message

• Meaningful information for policy-makers
• Highlight the science
• Credible and high quality research
• Organization and presentation important
• Testify at public hearings
• Work behind the scenes to educate - Daily

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Nine Key Questions for Policy Advocacy The
messenger

• 4 Who should they hear it from?
• Messengers should know..
• The issues / appropriate actions
• The problems / salient solutions
• The questions / adequate answers

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Strategy Development Nine Key Questions
Delivery

• 5 How can we get them to hear it?
• Range of delivery options
• Target message and delivery

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Strategy Development Nine Key Questions
Resources

• 6 What have we got?
• Organizational resources
• Coalition resources
• Community resources

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Strategy Development Nine Key Questions Gaps

• 7 What do we need to develop?
• Alliances
• Research
• Funds
• Staff/volunteers
• Skills and abilities
• Media contacts

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Strategy Development Nine Key Questions First
Steps

• 8 How do we begin?
• Flexible actions that engage community
• Early victories
• Lay groundwork for next steps with achievable
  short term goals

22
Strategy Development Nine Key Questions
Evaluation

• 9 How do we tell if it is working?
• Periodic review
• Make mid-course corrections
• Eliminate what is not working

23
Is That It?

• No. Youve only just begun.
• But by answering these questions you have laid a
  strong foundation to build a successful and
  effective policy advocacy initiative.

24
Whats Next?

• Community level education
• Grassroots organizing
• Leadership development
• Action plan development
• Public debate/media coverage
• Community mobilization
• Opposition push-back
• Achieve policy goals protect victories

25
Success Factors

• Make issue compelling
• Organized and educated base of support
• Effective and organized strategy
• Dynamic messengers
• Effectively expose and counter opposition tactics
• Adequate resources
• Timely and relevant data

26
Success Factors (continued)

• Educate decision-makers (Make them smart before
  you make them mad)
• Allies (Make friends before you need them)
• Be a personal advocate,
• Be a role model

27

• Kymm Ballard, NC Physical Education Consultant
• Healthful Living Section
• Kballard_at_dpi.state.nc.us
• [phone]