Advocacy & Public Policy: Considering Systemic Change in K-12 Education

1. Advocacy & Public Policy: Considering Systemic Change in K-12 Education MI-EPFP Learning Team Presentation April 25, 2005

2. What is Advocacy? • A change process: • “To argue for a cause, to plead on another’s behalf” (American Heritage Dictionary, 1994) • “Influencing change in political and bureaucratic processes on behalf of someone or some group” (Council for International Resource Development, 2003) • “Process of using information strategically to change policies that affect the lives of disadvantaged people” (BOND, 1999) • “Advocating on behalf of the voiceless” (Global Women in Politics, 1997)

3. Advocacy’s Theoretical Frame • Exit, Voice, and Loyalty (Albert Hirschman) • “Under any economic, social, or political system, individuals, business firms, and organizations in general are subject to lapses from efficient, rational, law-abiding, virtuous, or otherwise functional behavior.” • What are “customers” able to do about it? • Exit (i.e., substitute the good or service) • Voice (i.e., demand quality improvement)

4. Opportunities for “Exit” • Milton Friedman, the prominent economist, argued for school vouchers in 1955 • “Parents could express their views about schools directly … to a greater extent than now is possible.”

5. Opportunities for “Exit” • Examples in Public Schools • School vouchers • Schools of choice • Public schools academy (charter schools) • Private/parochial schools • Home school

6. Opportunity for “Voice” • “… Voice is just the opposite of exit.”(Albert Hirschman) • “It is a far more ‘messy’ concept because it can be graduated, all the way from faint grumbling to violent protest …” (pg 16)

7. Opportunity for “Voice” • Examples in Public Schools • Parent-teacher associations • School board meetings • Public elections • Organizing and lobbying • Ballot initiatives

8. “Loyalty” Gives Voice to Advocacy • Two “Loyalty” Principles Impact Voice: • The extent to which “customer-members” are willing to trade-off the certainty of exit for the uncertainties of possible improvement • The estimate of “customer-members” in their ability to influence improvement in the organization

9. “Loyalty” Gives Voice to Advocacy • People who have the most interest in quality stay and voice their concerns • Collaboration enhances customer-members ability to influence organizations • Unions • Professional Organizations • Political Action Committees • Alliances

10. Steps to Advocacy

11. Advocacy is Systemic • Targets different levels, in different systems • Targets different stages in the decision-making process • Who makes the decisions • What is decided • How it is decided • How it is enforced or implemented • Is dynamic: A learning process

12. Models of Advocacy Cooperation Education Persuasion Litigation A Guide to Advocacy, WaterAid, 2001 Contestation/Confrontation

13. So You Want to Be an Advocate • Research, analysis, and data gathering • Setting objectives • Identifying the key players • Communicating the message • Implementing an action plan

14. Step 1: Research, Analysis, Data Gathering a. Organizational analysis (SWOT) to: • Identify the critical issues to be addressed • Identify challenges and opportunities • Identify internal and external stakeholders’ differing expectations • Provide insights into past/current performance Technique: Brainstorming meeting with all stakeholders represented SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

15. SWOT Analysis Example

16. Step 1: Research, Analysis, Data Gathering b. Analyze the issue • Increase efficiency • Avoid embarrassing or politically damaging mistakes • Help target effort and resources Technique: Break the issue into its component parts and identify consequences, causes, solutions; or use a problem tree

17. Problem Tree Example • Problem: Inadequacies in K-12 funding (MI example) • Goal: Guarantee 5% annual increase in K-12 funding

18. Step 2: Set Objectives • SMART Objectives • Specific: What do you want to have happen? • Measurable: Will you know when you’ve achieved it? • Achievable: Is it possible to achieve given the resources and time? • Relevant: Is it relevant to all stakeholders and the real problem? • Time-bound: When do you want it to happen?

19. SMART Objectives Example

20. Step 3: Identify the Key Players • Allies • Beneficiaries • Adversaries • Internal Stakeholders • Influencers • Decision makers

21. Identify Targets • Where are the decisions made? (local, state, national) • How are the decisions made? (formally, informally) • Who are the influencers? (officials, friends, public) • Who makes the decisions? • Ideally, target each decision level to influence and inform the decision-maker

22. Step 4: Communicating the Message • Approaches • Policy analysis • Demonstrating solutions • Action research • Awareness raising • Campaigning • Building partnerships and networking • Media work • Mobilizing the general public • Creating ways for people to act themselves

23. Tools

24. Make the message simple Be accurate Target the individual Use as many different media as possible Where possible, let those for whom you are advocating speak, write, lobby, tell stories for themselves Be clear about what you want the audience to do as a result of hearing the message Be sure none of the members of your collaboration are surprised about the message Crafting the message

25. Applying Technology to Advocacy

26. Applying Technology to Advocacy High Level of Technology • Depends on the Internet to communicate and organize its members for advocacy • Depends on the Internet to organize dissidents and direct civil disobedience activities Conflict-based Consensus-based • Uses the Internet to augment traditional organization and civil disobedience activities • Uses the Internet to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of traditional advocacy methods “Advocacy, Activism, and the Internet,” page 14 Low Level of Technology

27. Applying Technology to Advocacy Gov’t Relations Predominately leg. advocacy with online petitions, email writing support, etc. Online Organizing Brings people and groups together to redistribute power Community Networking Locality-based with ways to communicate and network E-Democracy Consensus-based with space allocated to discussing issues Virtual Community Community exists only online that effectively leverage online communication Civil Dis-obedience Conflict-based involving interference with opponent’s operations

28. Applying Technology to Advocacy High Level of Technology Hack-tivism Virtual Community Electronic Gov’t Relations VirtualCoalition Consensus-based Conflict-based E-Democracy OnlineOrganizing CommunityNetworking Figure 1.1 - Electronic advocacy and activism matrix, “Advocacy, Activism, and the Internet,” page 14 Low Level of Technology

29. Applying Technology to Advocacy High Level of Technology theHacktivist.com NAIS.org / Homeschool.com Michigan.gov MoveOn.org Cooperation Confrontation MEA.org MichiganPTA.org Figure 1.1 - Electronic advocacy and activism matrix, “Advocacy, Activism, and the Internet,” page 14 Low Level of Technology

30. Mock Advocacy Activity • Develop an advocacy campaign • Objective (for pro side): Within one year, we will have 6 legislators who have sponsored a bill supporting 5% annual increase in K-12 funding • Each table is assigned: • Stakeholder group • Position (pro/con) • Amount of funding available

31. Mock Advocacy Activity • You need to decide: • Advocacy model • Message • Target(s) • Approaches • Tools (within your budget)