Welcome! Putting Advocacy to Work

1. Welcome!Putting Advocacy to Work November 15, 2013 Carol Kotacka Trillium Health Partners

2. Lobbying: Influencing decisions made by legislators and officials in government - ex: • Birth of Status of Women Canada Social Change: Change in the nature, social institutions, social behaviors or social relations of a society – ex: • Green Movement Common understanding

3. Social Justice Change the “what is” into a “what should be” • Improve public policy • Ensure governments’ accountability to citizens • Give a voice to citizen interests • Educate and engage people to participate on their own behalf Advocacy

4. Advocacy and the publicly funded organization ADVOCACY STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

5. Lobbying • Media relations • Public education • Research Tools

6. Foundational Cornerstones

7. Children have the right ……… • To live. Governments are responsible for making sure every child grows up healthy • To form and express an opinion • To a family • To quality health care, including access to safe and clean water, nutritious food…. Identify Vision

8. Identifyexactlywhat needs to change • Do the work to determine how that change must happen • Develop a strategy to achieve change Own the Vision

9. Founded in 1980 • Used visceral, emotional, gut-wrenching material • Resulted in mounds of traffic and victims rights legislation • Truly an example of societal change triggered by advocacy

10. – Road Map to Social Change Spring 1980 Fall 1980 1982 1982 2005 2000 1990 1992 1984 • President Clinton passes 0.8 across the country • Ronald Reagan announces Presidential Commission on drunk driving • Traffic fatalities drop to 30 year low • Four states lower legal blood alcohol levels to 0.8 • Candy Lightnerloses her daugther to a drunk driver • MADD holds first press conference • Uniform Drinking • Age Act passed (legal age now 21) • Est. 300,000 lives saved • 129 drunk driving laws passed across USA Growing MADD support 100 chapters- 330 chapters 2 million members “They are grassroots heroes really. They have helped change the climate of safety in America and tens of thousands of lives have been saved.” – Senator Dole

11. Who do you need to achieve the vision? Government? • Provincial / Federal / Municipal Specific demographic group • Youth / executives Identify Targets

12. Small Group / Small Target

13. Advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring equity in funding for social services in Peel • Factual approach - working with government • Twenty years of advocacy • Tools: • Public positions and policy papers • Public education • Joint advocacy • Government relations Fair Share Task Force

14. 20 Years and Three parties later…………..

15. Strategically incorporate champions to deliver messages to your target. • Business leaders • Policy Advisors • Sports figures • A representative Engage partners and champions based on those targets

16. Littering was a serious problem • Tried a variety of public education campaigns with little effect • Strategically profile targets to determine which messages would have impact Texas Environmental Group

17. Don’t Mess with Texas!

18. Child framework to advocacy Dogged Execution

19. Practical Application

20. Children have the right ……… • To live. Governments are responsible for making sure every child grows up healthy • To form and express an opinion • To a family • To quality health care, including access to safe and clean water, nutritious food…. Food For Thought:

21. What are the barriers? • What actions must happen to remove those barriers? • Who are the players? • How do you engage them? • Who will lead the initiative? • How will you measure success? Be specific. Guiding Questions

22. Thank you very much! Happy Advocating!