Policy writing skills series: What is internal advocacy and why should I do it?

Image: @brett_jordan

Much of the time when people talk about advocacy, they mean the act of trying to get someone outside your organization or coalition to take or support a policy or political decision.

But today I want to talk about an element of advocacy that is just as important -internal advocacy. Internal advocacy focuses on steering your own organization, or the coalition or network you are part of, towards support for a particular policy action.

Sometimes advocacy is presented as something that’s only done in political spaces occupied by others -legislatures, government agencies, governors’ offices, or city hall. But this view of advocacy as purely external can sometimes give people the wrong expectations about what advocacy is, how it works, and when it is or is not successful.

Often beginning advocates (and a lot of academic researchers) write a brief statement outlining a policy problem or potential solution and immediately push it out into those external spaces. When nothing happens as a consequence, they become dispondent -why is no one listening? It can be hard to push past this feeling and some people give up because of it.

One way to address this and increase the impact of your idea is by developing better relationships with potential allies. Internal advocacy is one form of this strategy. When attempts to highlight a policy problem fall flat, it can be valuable to step back and examine your existing relationships with others in your own organization or network. Would your framing of the problem or potential solutions reach more people if your organization or network backed it fully or provided you with resources? Are there others in your organization who might add weight to your argument because of their seniority, expertise, life experiences or access to relevant data? Could building relationships internally help to minimize opposition to the change you are proposing?

If you decide that internal advocacy will benefit your overall efforts, here are some things to keep in mind (but by no means a comprehensive list):

Successful internal advocacy takes time.

All advocacy is long-term activity, and internal advocacy is no different. It centers on building strong, two-way relationships with others through repeated interactions. Other people within your organization or coalition have to be given time to process your ideas and requests. Your have to take time to listen carefully to them. It might take some time for potential allies to trust you or your position. And even among a group of strong allies, it can take a lot of time to form a clear consensus. On top of that, most advocates have plenty of professional and / or personal work to do and need to carefully manage their advocacy efforts to avoid burnout. All of these factors take on additional significance when you are lobbying an organization that you are part of and may want to stay with long-term.

Interrogate your own assumptions, values and goals as part of your advocacy.

A good first step, and a key part of building good relationships with others is understanding your own values and motivations for change. What are the key values that govern your behavior and decision making? What is your positionality, in terms of identity and power, relative to others in the organization? What can you learn from others who may have been engaged in internal advocacy for longer than you?

A further part of this exploration is understanding both your and your allies’ priorities and capacity for reaching consensus with others. What would be ‘dealbreakers’ for you -what behaviors, practices, policies or arguments do you find unacceptable? Given that you can’t act on every issue at once, what are your priorities for change? Can you identify a starting point that will help you to push for your agenda and develop better relationships within the organization at the same time?

Internal advocacy carries risks but not all people carry the same risk.

In formulating a strategy for internal advocacy, it is important to acknowledge that some people within an organization or group have more power, standing or resources than others. An action that is low risk for one person may have significant consequences for someone else. Building an understanding of this among your allies is important.

Build outwards from your support and allies.

For those reasons, focussing on building alliances and support before engaging others who are less likely to agree can be central. Pushing for change as an individual -which some people are forced to do out of necessity- is often hard on that person and they may feel isolated, frustrated or excluded. But in partnership with others the risks and personal costs to that individual could be distributed differently. Someone who has no problem being vocal about the issue in public may partner with someone else who wants to contribute but faces greater risks by speaking up, for example. In those circumstances, taking the time to build equal partnerships where all parties feel that their different contributions are valued is key.

Look for opportunities to demonstrate the value of your group and position.

Sometimes, being confrontational or disruptive is necessary and important (see ‘what are your dealbreakers?’ above). But confrontation shouldn’t be the only tool in your internal advocacy toolkit. In trying to find common ground with others in your organization who hold a different view, it can be helpful to try to understand the specific value of your proposed position to your organization. By supporting dialogue on the issue and dedicating time to discussing it, what might the organization gain? If the organization adopts your position, what benefits will result? And further to that, what benefits accrue to the organization by having your group of allies ‘in the room’ when key decisions are made? Once you have identified some of these benefits, are there opportunities to demonstrate them to others in the organization beyond your allies?

Think about both sides of the window.

Ultimately, internal advocacy is one part of a strategy for creating policy change. Imagine a situation where a decision maker in a room is confronted by an advocate asking them to make a change. How much stronger might that advocate’s argument be if they are able to point to a large crowd of people outside the window that are showing support for the change. And how much it might help the crowd of people outside the window to know that someone inside the room is pushing for the same changes they want to see. What might that look like for your cause?

There’s much more to internal advocacy than just these tips, but hopefully you feel inspired to give it a try for yourselves!