Skills Required of a Professional Public Policy Advocate

Abstract

It is a really a controversial topic that what kind of skills are needed for the public advocacy. Public Policy Advocacy is practice by many people and it has affected political parties and many other things also. Public Policy Advocacy is a huge international industry, where well-educated, highly-skilled, personable and persuasive individuals works. This is the same reason behind this research. The area of interest behind this topic is very large. It is needed to be studied thoroughly and minutely.

Introduction

You may be an advocate who is doing practice individually or in a group, your efforts will benefit from a little planning. Searching on internet to become a good advocate is very simple thing. You just have to you pick up your phone and type some keywords. You will get a lot of information on the internet. But the information is not enough one has to take actions who was a better person or better to say a better a advocate. You have to do things such as communicating with your allies, setting your goals, and developing an action plan. One has to keep in mind that there is the similarity between teaching and advocacy. The similarity is that in both of the profession ‘respect’ is the common thing. doing research and proper study of the information and issue is the key to advocacy. Elected officials always care about what their constituents have to say. If you want to be a good advocate , you should be informed and engaged. It is not needed to be a congressional expert, nor do you need to understand everything there is to know about all. What is important is that you must have the local insides of the issue thoroughly. After continuously putting your views in front of the the elected officials, you can help them understand which policies will you work effectively and which policies will create negative impact.

Many people have give one the answer of the question that is what is advocacy? Often described as a process of empowerment, advocacy is the act of speaking out for a cause or course of action. There are some factors which are important in advocacy. They are strategy, actions and solutions. The main aim of a advocacy is that to help the policy maker to create good policies that will affect the mass. The policies should be for the betterment of people. Advocacy can be done for oneself, another person, a group, or to change a system.

There is repetition of the word policy let's see what does it mean by the Policy? Policies means the rules that governs our life everywhere. They provide the framework used to address an issue, and guide our actions, decisions and responses. Policy development is actively creating, effecting or implementing policy. The affects of policies may transcend the globe and impact people economically, socially and/or environmentally. What we do and how we do it is all affected by policy.

Objectives

Advocacy research has a specific purpose: to influence the formal and informal policies established by policymakers and others in power. Thus, it is important to collect good information and present it in a compelling manner. Learn more about the connections between policy, advocacy, and direct practice in social work. Understand how to use direct practice skills to understand policy makers’ perspectives. Identify what first steps you can take to become involved in public policy advocacy.

Methodology

Research methodology: The proposed study is mainly descriptive in nature is based on secondary data & information which is collected from the concern sources and are as per the need of research. The relevant books document of various ministry department s &organizations, articles, paper & website are used in this study.

Skills Required Of A Professional Public Policy Advocate

• Effective Speaking- this is one of the important skills which every advocate must acquire to communicate with greater effect.

• Analyzing the data and researching the topic- it is it is one of the important skills to analyse the data and to see the same data from different point of views. Doing the analysis is very important. It needs critical and logical thinking. It also helps political parties to decide their views and policies regarding betterment of the public.

• All round Knowledge- knowledge of not only of 1 sector but of most of the concerned sector is very important. Here we can analyse the knowledge of legislature government and its implementation. A good advocate must have knowledge of industry also

• Need of Critical Thinking- need of critical thinking is the need of time now a days. Not getting emotional about the issue and thinking critically and logically is essential. By this way only we can come to the new facts and new solutions of the old problem

•Listening actively- if you want to summarise the whole communication skill in one word we can use the word ‘understanding'. For better understanding we have to listen in a good way. By listening only we can understand what the person wants to convey. Listening is as important as talking. In politics also talking is everything. Use of words precisely decides the greatness of advocate. It is needed to listen buy public policy advocate very neatly and keenly to understand what the policy makers want to say and wants to convey.

• Making influence: this point is crucial one. Here the advocate have to influence policy makers by his speech and communication skill. The advocate have to influence people by advertising or by media or by any other propaganda

• Comprehension of reading- the good advocate must know the art of reading. Reading is not mere reading it includes the comprehension also. The advocate must understand what he is reading about and grasp the main points immediately.

• Writing effectively- talking or speaking is important for the advocate. On the other hand writing effectively is also one of the important thing for good advocate. Advocate must write effectively to convey his message to the public.

• Social understanding- a good advocate must understand the society also. He should be concerned about the reaction of society. He must be aware of social perceptions of any issue

• Coordination with others- coordination with other people and different situations is very important. This quality must be possessed by a good advocate

•Management of time- managing time is really important thing for good advocate. One has to manage time so that he can manage people and their time also. This is one of the most important skills an advocate should acquire.

• Making the right Judgement and decision-making- watching the consequences and facts and giving the appropriate and accurate judgement or decision is very important.

· Solving the complex problems- to gather accurate information regarding the complex problem is important. It helps to solve the complex problem also. There maybe many solutions for one problem but one has to choose the right solution only.

• Monitoring- this quality includes monitoring actions of the others and self also. Gathering information and doing other activities within particular time is important.

• Observant- Learning about policymakers by observing their environment.

• Service Orientation- here one has always seek to help other peoples. Helping the needy people is important thing

• Persuasion- this quality includes persuading for changing the mind of the people. If one has to change the mind one has to change the thoughts. People only change their behaviour when they change their thoughts. Public Policy Advocates are effective only when they can explain the value of their points of view effectively to influence political leaders. The same qualities required to be successful in sales are needed in a successful Public Policy Advocate: cordiality and charm, persistence, understanding of the product (i.e. the position the “issue salesperson” is advocating), and the persuasiveness needed to make the “purchaser” (the public policy-maker) want to buy the “product”.

• Soft Sell- Policy makers always believe that their judgement is good. They face the public with confident and try to convince that their policy is the best one and for the betterment of people. They are trying to convince the people that their policy is the best one.

• Learning actively- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Negotiations- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

• Relationship Skills- Ability to form and develop solid relationships. A sense of and enjoyment in dealing with people. A confident but restrained personality. It is imperative not only to establish a direct and personal relationship with a policy maker but also to maintain the relationship over time. Effectiveness and reputation depend in large part on an ability to cultivate and nurture long term relationships. Charm, personality and interpersonal skills all help in this critical role. Understanding which political leaders are key influencers and focusing on those relationships first are major elements of success.

• Systems Analysis- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations and the environment will affect outcomes.

• Systems Evaluation- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance relative to the goals of the system.

• Management of Personnel Resources- Motivating, developing and directing people as they work, identify the best people for the job.

• Instructing- Teaching others how to do something.

• Educating- Educating government officials and corporate officers on important issues. Educating public officials about how science, technology, global trade, national security issues, market issues and other factors affect individuals, companies, nations and other constituencies; how current or proposed government proposals can help or hurt these various constituencies. Helping public officials strategize for upcoming public policy debates.Educating clients and the general public about how the political system works.

• Operations Analysis- Analyzing needs and requirements

• Personal Traits and Qualities- Well-spoken, Well-mannered, Sense of Humour, Courtesy, Pleasantness, Empathic, Honesty, Credibility, Integrity.

Honesty: It is important to make one’s position clear and to also deal with contrary arguments. A good Public Policy Advocate does not just present his own side of an argument. He also explains how the opposition see things but stresses that the policy maker should support his argument because it actually makes more sense in the long term. The most important point is to tell the truth. Telling the truth means acknowledging that there are other people involved in the debate who don’t necessarily share your point of view and presenting your case honestly. It is important not merely to be honest but also to be seen by policymakers to be honest.

Credibility: Public policy advocacy is about the communication of credible information. Credibility means accuracy, transparency and reliability. A Public Policy Advocate must be viewed as a credible source of reliable, up-to-date information. Credibility requires that the Public Policy Advocate establishes a reputation for being knowledgeable about relevant policy issues, for being reliable and honest in the provision of both information and opinion to policy makers, and for being consistent over time.

Integrity: Integrity suggests that the Public Policy Advocate adheres to any relevant codes of conduct or legislation regulating the conduct of public policy advocacy. There is a high standard of ethical behaviour expected of Public Policy Advocates. People who do not act ethically will quickly loose all credibility and access. It also implies that the individual Public Policy Advocate has a set of personal values which ensures that he or she will not engage in any public policy advocacy activities with which he or she is not comfortable.

Conclusion and suggestion

The advocacy process involves a number of interrelated actions strategically designed to effect change at various levels. These actions might include increasing community awareness of the issue, creating constituent pressure to push for reform, improving the state response to prevent and punish human rights violations, and influencing law and policy-making. Before initiating action, advocates for change should identify the purpose of the advocacy campaign. The purpose may range from solving a specific problem by changing a law or policy to raising general awareness

It has been suggested that a Public Policy Advocate needs the knowledge skills and abilities of the detective, diplomat, doctor, educator, entrepreneur, journalist, orchestra conductor, reporter, and salesperson, among others.

In summary, in this paper we have shared practical experience of creating and communicating research with policymakers. For academics wanting to increase the utility of research for policy, we recommend to make the research relevant to policymakers, invest time to develop and maintain relationships with policymakers, utilise ‘windows of opportunity’, and adapt presentation and communication styles to the audience. We consider that employing these recommendations will help to improve how evidence is communicated between academia and government, and the influence of evidence in decision-making processes.

References

1. CHRISTIAN, Skills Required of a Professional Public Policy Advocates, Association of Accredited Public Policy Advocates to European Union. http://www.aalep.eu/skills-required-professional-public-policy-advocate
2. Dr. RAJNI ARORA* & Manoj Chhadwani**- International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews Analysing the impact of skill India as a tool for reshaping Indian economy [ VOLUME 6 I ISSUE 1 I JAN.– MARCH 2019] E ISSN 2348 –1269, PRINT ISSN 2349-5138

 

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