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2020 | Book

Nonprofit Policy Advocacy in the United States Read chapter Read first chapter

Nonprofits in Policy Advocacy

Their Strategies and Stories

Authors: Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

Policy advocacy is an increasingly important function of many nonprofit organizations, as they seek broad social changes in their concerning issues. Their advocacy practices, however, have often been guided by their own past experiences, anecdotes from peer networks, and consultant advice. Most of their practices have largely escaped empirical and theoretical grounding that could better root their work in established theories of policy change. The first book of its kind, Nonprofits in Policy Advocacy bridges this gap by connecting real practices of on-the-ground policy advocates with the burgeoning academic literature in policy studies. In the process, it empirically identifies six distinct policy advocacy strategies, and their accompanying tactics, used by nonprofits. Case studies tell the stories of how advocates apply these strategies in a wide variety of issues including civil rights, criminal justice, education, energy, environment, public health, public infrastructure, and youth. This book will appeal to both practitioners and academicians, as each gains insights into the other’s views of policy change and the actions that produce it.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Nonprofit Policy Advocacy in the United States
Abstract
The policy advocacy efforts by the National Center for Lesbian Rights raise pertinent questions about the practice of policy advocacy. Those questions lead to a discussion of policy advocacy within the American political system, highlighting the following important concepts: the separation of power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government; the division of governance between the federal and state levels through federalism; and trends toward devolution of policy making to the state and local levels. An overview of policy advocacy by nonprofit organizations within the United States is next presented, highlighting the scope of policy advocacy by describing the major causes championed by advocacy organizations, and the scale of nonprofit advocacy organizations.
Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright
Chapter 2. Tactics and Strategies
Abstract
The chapter defines the menu of tactics for policy advocacy, drawing upon practitioner literature and policy studies theory. The empirical basis for the book is presented, including a survey of 811 nonprofit organizations and 31 case studies that included interviews employing Q-methodology. Q-methodology is a research method to systematically and quantitatively analyze viewpoints on subjective topics, employing factor analysis to identify underlying structures of viewpoints collected from structured surveys. A set of six factors best fit the underlying data, explaining the greatest amount of variation among the nonprofits. A survey conducted with a representative sample of US nonprofit organizations found support for use of these tactics and strategies. Each strategy includes multiple tactics of advocacy activities, as well as short-term and long-term outcomes that the policy advocacy organizations associated with the strategy are seeking. The strengths and limitations of the research approach are briefly summarized.
Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright
Chapter 3. Public Lobbying
Abstract
Nonprofit organizations using the public lobbying strategy view themselves as champions of public interest, though they generally determine these interests themselves rather through direct community engagement. They use lobbying as a primary tactic, building relationships with legislators and government administrators and working with them in non-confrontational ways. This strategy echoes the theory of institutionalism, which emphasizes formal representatives of government as the direct conduit to policy change. It also connects with the research literature on lobbying and Walker’s (1991) inside strategy, which suggests that advocates often rely on relationships with policy makers to influence change. The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights used the public lobbying strategy to reform the juvenile justice system by seeking closure of state prison facilities, fighting on behalf of a group with little political voice. And the Utility Reform Network used the strategy to fight a complex power-grab by investor-owned utilities, on behalf of the public.
Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright
Chapter 4. Institutional Partnership
Abstract
Nonprofit organizations using the institutional partnership strategy seek collaboration with government institutions to influence policy change. They use tactics to partner with policy makers, including providing organized public support through coalitions, research, messaging, and sometimes pilot programs. This expectation that public involvement results in better policies is supported by the descriptive literature on public participation, and also relates to the concept of co-production, in which beneficiaries participate in the delivery of public services. The American Friends Service Committee demonstrates how they used the strategy’s tactic of producing supportive research for legislators and agency administrators, and amicus curiae briefs for the courts, to influence criminal justice policy in states around the country. California Youth Connection, focused on state foster care, used the institutional partnership strategy to organize a shadowing day and a lobbying day to help legislators learn about the experiences of foster youth.
Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright
Chapter 5. Inside-Outside
Abstract
Nonprofits using the inside-outside strategy view policy change as the outcome of a two-pronged approach to advocacy. In the first, advocates develop a relationship with an issue champion on the inside of the policymaking body, who lobbies their peers and ushers the issue through the decision-making process. In the second, advocates solidify public support for the issue through information campaigning and media work. The outside support for the issue provides pressure inside the policymaking body to act. The strategy combines Walker’s (1991) inside strategy with his outside strategy. It also echoes Kingdon’s (1984) streams theory, which suggests that organizations can create environments conducive to policy change by increasing the political will to act, and by providing information for a policy entrepreneur who can usher the change. Three diverse cases illustrate how the strategy has been used to reform teacher evaluations, promote a tobacco tax, and pass local plastic bag bans.
Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright
Chapter 6. Direct Reform
Abstract
In the direct reform strategy, policy advocates bypass legislative processes to directly influence policy change through judicial or administrative processes. At the same time, they deploy information campaigns to build public awareness and support for their causes. Common tactics in this strategy include litigation, pilot studies or demonstration projects, and monitoring policy implementation. These different tactics are supported by different policy theories: Incrementalism supports the use of pilots as a low-risk way to demonstrate alternative policy approaches, while adversarial legalism supports a path to policy change by using the courts. Two case studies illustrate how the strategy has been used by extremely different nonprofits. In the first, a one-person advocacy organization called Ban Transfats promoted a policy change that is encapsulated in its name. The second case highlights efforts by two large environmental advocacy organizations, the Environmental Integrity Project and the Sierra Club, to close down coal-fired power plants.
Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright
Chapter 7. Indirect Pressure
Abstract
Nonprofit organizations using the indirect pressure strategy affect policy change by influencing policymakers, but they do so indirectly rather than through lobbying or other direct tactics. They choose to convey public opinion, use the media, and implement pilot programs to apply pressure on policymakers to act. These advocates believe that with these pressures, policymakers will affect their desired policy changes. This strategy reflects an underlying acceptance of institutionalism, and is consonant with the outsider approach identified by Walker (1991): Advocates focus on the policy makers’ power to change policy, but influence them indirectly through public pressure. Two case studies demonstrate how this strategy can be used at the national and local policy levels. Our Children’s Earth Foundation creatively applied the strategy to enforce federal environmental policies through “citizen supervision.” The San Francisco Parks Alliance used the strategy to mobilize the public to pass local park bonds.
Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright
Chapter 8. Popular Power
Abstract
Nonprofits using the popular power strategy are populists who believe in the public’s ultimate authority in democracies. In this view, policies change when the public demands it, so the tactics they use focus on building and mobilizing public support for their issues. These include coalition building, information campaigning, framing and messaging, and defensive tactics. This strategy reflects the basic tenets of resource mobilization theory, which suggests that social causes seek adherents through mobilizations and media work, and the advocacy coalition framework, which highlights the role of coalitions and learning in policy change. Codepink demonstrates how they used this strategy to build nationwide support for the diversion of war expenditures toward domestic priorities. And Parents for Public Schools used the strategy to empower parents to lead their children’s schools.
Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright
Chapter 9. Considerations for Strategic Policy Advocacy
Abstract
The book concludes by summarizing key points and offering considerations for evaluating advocacy efforts. There is a brief recapitulation of the six strategies and discussion of the use of different strategies depending on the organization’s size, scope, issue area, and targeted level of government. A discussion of the challenges of policy advocacy acknowledges that a policy “win” may take significant time, with success or failure often due to forces outside the advocates’ control. These challenges make evaluating advocacy difficult and require a flexible approach. Developing a logic model can assist with strategic planning as well as monitoring and evaluation of an advocacy effort. Methods used in advocacy evaluation often draw on key stakeholder perspectives to identify if and how advocacy campaigns contributed to outcomes. Popular methods in advocacy evaluation are reviewed, including systems mapping, bellwether methodology, policy maker ratings, intense period debriefs, contribution analysis, and process tracing.
Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright
Correction to: Nonprofits in Policy Advocacy
Sheldon Gen, Amy Conley Wright
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Nonprofits in Policy Advocacy
Authors
Sheldon Gen
Amy Conley Wright
Copyright Year
2020
Electronic ISBN
978-3-030-43696-4
Print ISBN
978-3-030-43695-7
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43696-4