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Advocacy is a political process by an individual or group which aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions. Advocacy can include many activities that a person or organization undertakes including media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and publishing research or conducting exit poll or the filing of an amicus brief. Lobbying (often by lobby groups) is a form of advocacy where a direct approach is made to legislators on an issue which plays a significant role in modern politics. Research has started to address how advocacy groups in the U.S. and Canada are using social media to facilitate civic engagement and collective action.
Forms of advocacy
There are several forms of advocacy, each representing a different approach in a way to initiate changes in the society. One of the most popular forms is social justice advocacy.
Although it is true, the initial definition does not encompass the notions of power relations, people’s participation and a vision of a just society as promoted by social justice advocates. For them, advocacy represents the series of actions taken and issues highlighted to change the “what is” into a “what should be”, considering that this “what should be” is a more decent and a more just society (ib., 2001.)[full citation needed]. Those actions, which vary with the political, economic and social environment in which they are conducted, have several points in common (ib., 2001.)[full citation needed]. They:
- Question the way policy is administered
- Participate in the agenda setting as they raise significant issues
- Target political systems "because those systems are not responding to people’s needs"
- Are inclusive and engaging
- Propose policy solutions
- Open up space for public argumentation.
Some of the other forms of advocacy include:
- Budget advocacy: Budget advocacy is another aspect of advocacy that ensures proactive engagement of Civil Society Organizations with the government budget to make the government more accountable to the people and promote transparency. Budget advocacy also enables citizens and social action groups to compel the government to be more alert to the needs and aspirations of people in general and the deprived sections of the community.
- Bureaucratic advocacy: people considered "experts" have more chance to succeed at presenting their issues to decision-makers. They use bureaucratic advocacy to influence the agenda, however at a slower pace.
- Express versus issue advocacy: These two types of advocacy when grouped together usually refers to a debate in the United States whether a group is expressly making their desire known that voters should cast ballots in a particular way, or whether a group has a long term issue that isn't campaign and election season specific.
- Health advocacy: Health advocacy supports and promotes patient's health care rights as well as enhance community health and policy initiatives that focus on the availability, safety and quality of care.
- Ideological advocacy: in this approach, groups fight, sometimes during protests, to advance their ideas in the decision-making circles.
- Interest-group advocacy: lobbying is the main tool used by interest groups doing mass advocacy. It is a form of action that does not always succeed at influencing political decision-makers as it requires resources and organization to be effective.
- Legislative advocacy: legislative advocacy is the “reliance on the state or federal legislative process” as part of a strategy to create change.
- Mass advocacy: is any type of action taken by large groups (petitions, demonstrations, etc.)
- Media advocacy: is “the strategic use of the mass media as a resource to advance a social or public policy initiative” (Jernigan and Wright, 1996.) In Canada for example, the Manitoba Public Insurance campaigns illustrate how media advocacy was used to fight alcohol and tobacco-related health issues. We can also consider the role of health advocacy and the media in “the enactment of municipal smoking bylaws in Canada between 1970 and 1995.”
- Special Education Advocacy: is advocacy with a " specific focus on the educational rights of students with disabilities."
Different contexts in which advocacy is used:
- In a legal/law context: An 'advocate' is the title of a specific person who is authorized/appointed (in some way) to speak on behalf of a person in a legal process. See advocate.
- In a political context: An 'advocacy group' is an organized collection of people who seek to influence political decisions and policy, without seeking election to public office. See Advocacy group and Lobbying.
- In a social care context: Both terms (and more specific ones such as 'independent advocacy') are used in the UK in the context of a network of interconnected organisations and projects which seek to benefit people who are in difficulty (primarily in the context of disability and mental health).
- In the context of inclusion: Citizen Advocacy organisations (citizen advocacy programmes) seek to cause benefit by reconnecting people who have become isolated. Their practice was defined in two key documents: CAPE, and Learning from Citizen Advocacy Programs.
Advocates and advocacy groups represent a wide range of categories and support several issues as listed on WorldAdvocacy.com. The Advocacy Institute, a US-based global organization, is dedicated to strengthening the capacity of political, social, and economic justice advocates to influence and change public policy.
The phenomenon of globalization draws a special attention to advocacy beyond countries’ borders. The core existence of networks such as World Advocacy or the Advocacy Institute demonstrates the increasing importance of transnational advocacy and international advocacy. Transnational advocacy networks are more likely to emerge around issues where external influence is necessary to ease the communication between internal groups and their own government. Groups of advocates willing to further their mission also tend to promote networks and to meet with their internal counterparts to exchange ideas. Advocacy in all its forms seeks to ensure that people, particularly those who are most vulnerable in society, are able to:
Have their voice heard on issues that are important to them. Defend and safeguard their rights. Have their views and wishes genuinely considered when decisions are being made about their lives. Advocacy is a process of supporting and enabling people to:
Express their views and concerns. Access information and services. Defend and promote their rights and responsibilities. Explore choices and options An advocate is someone who provides advocacy support when you need it. An advocate might help you access information you need or go with you to meetings or interviews, in a supportive role. You may want your advocate to write letters on your behalf, or speak for you in situations where you don’t feel able to speak for yourself.
Transnational advocates spend time with a local interest groups in order to better understand their views and wishe.
Advocacy can be helpful in all kinds of situations where you:
Find it difficult to make your views known. Need other people listen to you and take your views into account.
Advocacy and the Internet
For more than ten years, groups involved in advocacy work have been using the Internet to accomplish organizational goals. It has been argued that the Internet helps to increase the speed, reach and effectiveness of advocacy-related communication as well as mobilization efforts, suggesting that social media are beneficial to the advocacy community.
- "Lobbying Versus Advocacy: Legal Definitions". NP Action. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
- Obar, Jonathan, et al (2012). "Advocacy 2.0: An Analysis of How Advocacy Groups in the United States Perceive and Use Social Media as Tools for Facilitating Civic Engagement and Collective Action". Journal of Information Policy.
- Obar, Jonathan. "Canadian Advocacy 2.0: A Study of Social Media Use by Social Movement Groups and Activists in Canada". Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- Loue, S.; Lloyd, L.S.; O'Shea, D.J. (2003). Community health advocacy. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.[page needed].
- Asbridge, M. (2004). "Public place restrictions on smoking in Canada: assessing the role of the state, media, science and public health advocacy". Social science & medicine 58 (1): 13–24. doi:10.1016/s0277-9536(03)00154-0. PMID 14572918.
- Cohen, D.; de la Vega, R.; Watson, G. (2001). Advocacy for social justice. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press.[page needed].
- Keck, M.E.; Sikkink, K. (1998). Activists beyond borders: advocacy networks in international politics. Baltimore, MD: Cornell University Press.[page needed].
- Ope;, J.A.M. (1999). "From the Streets to the Internet: The Cyber-Diffusion of Contention". Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 566: 132–143. doi:10.1177/0002716299566001011.
- Eaton, M. (2010). "Manufacturing Community in an Online Activity Organization: The Rhetoric of MoveOn.org’s E-mails". Information, Communication and Society 13 (2): 174–192. doi:10.1080/13691180902890125.
- Obar, J.A.; Zube, P.; Lampe, C. (2012). "Advocacy 2.0: An analysis of how advocacy groups in the United States perceive and use social media as tools for facilitating civic engagement and collective action". Journal of Information Policy 2: 1–25. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1956352.
- Jerningan, D.H.; Wright, P. (1996). "Media advocacy: lessons from community experiences". Journal of Public Health Policy 17 (3): 306–330.
- Young, L.; Everitt, J. (2004). Advocacy groups. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press.
- 'Those Who Suffer Much, Know Much' 5th 2010 edition, Cris Kerr, Advocate for the value of Patient Testimony http://www.ldnresearchtrustfiles.co.uk/docs/2010.pdf
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