Advocacy School: Customized Training

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Advocacy School provides a wide range of training / learning opportunities for organizations and individuals.

It is also prepared to develop and tailor curricula to meet the specific needs of individual associations, companies or NGOs. If Advocacy School does not currently have the appropriate faculty on hand, it will identify and recruit the personnel to provide instruction and / or, as required, mentoring /coaching.

A curriculum can be devised using a combination of the Specific Skill and General Knowledge fields, complemented by whatever other areas of interest are identified by the client organization.

Learning objectives, methodologies / pedagogies and  other details for each of the content areas listed below are available upon request.

General Knowledge:

-    decision-making process in government (federal. provincial, local)
-    structure of target government / ministry (e.g. Ontario or BC; Min of Education etc.))
-    policy formulation practices
-    policy priorities of target government / ministry  and related agencies / departments
-    “rules of advocacy” (laws, regulations, protocols etc. governing advocacy activity)
      o    Income Tax Act provisions
      o    lobbyists registration at federal, provincial and local levels
      o         political finance (Canada Elections Act etc.)
      o    contribution agreements  by government and foundation funders

Specific Skills:

-    Policy and political analysis
      o    discerning the political and public-policy environment
      o    developing an “ask”
      o    alternatives development
      o    evaluations
      o    policy development (general and issue-specific)

-    Intelligence gathering:
      o    strategic inquiry
      o    use of internet
      o    research practices
      o    access to, and use of, survey research

-    Relationship Building:
      o    coalition, partnership and strategic alliances
      o    stakeholder public  engagement
      o    key contact programs
      o    networking
      o    proxies and third-party advocates

-    Advocacy management
      o    board and executive management and oversight
      o    managing consultant lobbyists
      o    budgeting and planning advocacy campaigns

-    Communications:
      o    preparing documentation for governments (briefing notes, decks, cabinet submissions)
      o    developing compelling narrative
      o    writing and getting published op-ed opinion articles
      o    uses of social media
      o    news media relations (strategies, tactics, tools and practices)
      o    strategic communications (strategies, tactics, tools and practices)
      o    oral presentation (for speeches; legislative hearings, etc.)
      o    grass-roots communications and advocacy

-    Specific Advocacy Challenges
      o    legislative initiatives (for or against)
      o    regulatory change
      o    procurement / sales of goods and services to government
      o    obtaining (or renewing) government  grants / contributions
      o    policy change
      o    "lobby days"
      o    engagement in stakeholder consultations
      o    negotiating change
      o    dealing with City Hall and local government
      o    “family” advocacy (on behalf of family members etc.)