Introduction to Advocacy - Canadian Medical Association Holly Duggan, Strategic Advisor
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Introduction to Advocacy
Canadian Medical Association
October 19th 2018
Holly Duggan, Strategic Advisor
Kelsey Shein, Advisor
Political & Grassroots Advocacy
Mission:
The Canadian Medical Association Empowering and
caring for patients
Vision:
A vibrant profession
and a healthy
population
2
We’ll Explore
▪ What is Advocacy
▪ Who can we influence as advocates?
▪ How to advocate with tips/tools & resources
▪ Examine the 5-steps to effective Advocacy
3
What is Advocacy?
4
Advocacy is
an activity by an individual or group which aims to
influence decisions within political, economic, and social
systems and institutions.
5
But more importantly…
Advocacy requires
ACTION
6
Advocacy in Context
When it comes to getting involved, don’t
ask yourself “Why me”?
Ask yourself “Why not me”?
Together, our small efforts can have a big
impact.
-Dr. Osler, President, CMA
7
Lobbying vs. Advocacy
Organizations Individuals
Government
Relations
Communications & VS Physician Advocate
Marketing
Policy & Research
8Government & Political
Systems
Economic Systems
Who can we influence?
Social Systems
Institutions
9Government vs Politics
vs
10What is the role of the decision-maker?
▪ Authority or power either by position or election
▪ Responsibility or duty either to report or carry the weight of the decision
▪ Action either to carry out the final decision or say in who does
11Tips
How to advocate Tools
Resources
12Meetings with decision-makers
▪ Plan and share an agenda ahead of time
▪ Be prepared and practice
▪ Be punctual & respectful of time
▪ Value the staffers
▪ Honesty and credibility
▪ “I don’t know, but I will get back to you.”
And remember, they are regular people who are elected to represent you
13Communicating with Decision-Maker
▪ They’re politicians, they’ll start the conversation
▪ It’s a dialogue, not an argument or a debate
▪ listen to how they respond
▪ Ask questions
▪ Avoid using jargon
▪ If the conversations veers off course, bring it back on topic
▪ Use transition phrases
▪ You are the subject matter experts
14The most effective way to
communicate your issue is
through
storytelling
Stories and lived experiences
are powerful and have lasting
impact
15The most important advocacy
tool is
Relationships
16▸ Advocacy Tools
Any form of communication can be
employed as a way to engage:
▪ Face-to-face meeting
▪ Emails & phone calls
▪ Social media
▪ Traditional media
▪ Letter writing campaigns
▪ Networking events
▪ Invite the elected to your events
or campus
17Social Media as an Advocacy Tool
▪ Follow who you’re meeting
▪ Ask for a photo and share on social media
▪ Be cautious – if you aren’t sure, don’t tweet
▪ “views and opinions are my own”
18Parliament/Legislature/City
Council websites
Open Parliament
Resources
Twitter: follow influencers
Facebook
191
5-Steps to effective Advocacy 5 2
4 3
20Anatomy of Advocacy
1. GOAL
5. FOLLOW UP 2. DECISION-
& SUPPORT MAKERS
4. PROCESS &
PERSPECTIVE 3. KEY ASK
211. Define your Goal
▪ What is your overall goal for your issue or cause?
▪ What is realistic or achievable?
222. Identify your decision-maker
▪ Who can make your goal a reality?
▪ Who has the authority to make the change?
▪ Is your interaction with that individual?
233. Key Ask
▪ This isn’t the same as your goal
▪ In designing your key ask, what specifically can you ask that could be
achievable in this one interaction/communication?
*hint this should be in the form of a question
244. Understand their Process & Perspective
▪ Does your ask require legislation or laws or policies to change?
▪ Does it require financial support?
▪ Why hasn’t this been achieved yet?
255. Follow up & Support
▪ What specific tactics will you use to follow up?
▪ How can you support your initiative going forward?
26Want to get engaged?
▸ Very Involved Physicians
▸ CMA Member Proposals
▸ CMA Community of Interests
▸ Healthy Community Grants
▸ Ambassador Program
27You can also read
