Advocacy in Action Course

Over the course of the past 20 years, the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) has trained more than 2,000 advocates at an annual Advocacy Summit.  Using this expertise, SOPHE has developed an online advocacy course that covers advocacy skills and other topic areas such as policy and systems change and working with partnerships and coalitions that are critical to public health advocacy. 

SOPHE is excited to introduce the Advocacy in Action online course. The course consists of four modules:

• Introduction to Health Policy and Advocacy

• Setting an Advocacy Agenda for Policymakers

• Introduction to Coalition Building 

• Developing & Implementing an Advocacy Day at the State and Local Level

This course will develop your advocacy skills by teaching you how to build broad support for your advocacy campaigns among community stakeholders and policymakers. Key topic areas and skills are covered in the four modules; they are approximately 30-60 minutes each using a combination of presentations, examples, videos, and self-examinations.

This course is available for 7.5 CHES.

Module 1: Introduction to Advocacy

This module should differentiate the terms policy, advocacy, and lobbying and show how they are inextricably linked. From there we should discuss why they are an important competency for HES (Area 7 of NCHEC). Case studies can be utilized to illustrate how policy is made. A case study where policy emanates from science; a case study where policy emanates from advocacy/community action can illustrate the linkages. And a final policy where compromise entered into play should be highlighted.

Upon the completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Explain the difference between policy, advocacy, and lobbying
• Define some of the more common terms used in advocacy
• Identify the functions of governmental branches
• Explore the legislative process and diverse methods of influencing the legislative process
• Apply the role of advocacy in public health
• Explore the linkages between public health policy and other areas of public health (epidemiology, research, etc.)

Module 2: Setting an Advocacy Agenda for Policy Makers

Developing an agenda should be discussing prioritization of issues and reliance on mission statements, resolutions, policy databases, etc. Are we just covering messaging/communication with elected officials? Should we cover the health communication theory at all? Obviously, the standard items we have taught about putting a face to an ask, adding emotion, concise and focused ask – but in terms of social media perhaps some of the more modern campaigns that have been successful and have failed could be used as case studies. Examples include San Francisco’s messaging around HPC funding for API community “Which One Should Die” (successful) and NYC failed “Getting Old with HIV is Ugly”. These campaigns had a great impact on elected leaders but fell outside of traditional elected leader communication. 

Upon the completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Explain the policy agenda and agenda-setting process
• Identify how to prioritize potential advocacy issues (internal and external)
• Explore how communication/messaging can determine success or failure in agenda-setting
• Apply health communication theory to health policy agenda-setting
• Identify appropriate communication channels for the policy message
• Articulate successful communications strategies in meetings with policymakers

Module 3: Introduction to Coalition Building

This module provides an overview of the six major steps in building and sustaining a coalition and, in particular, its role in changing policy: 1. Assess the need for a coalition.; 2. Clarify vision and mission.; 3. Organize the partnership.; 4. Involve stakeholders in creating an action plan for the coalition.; 5. Build the coalition and train its members.; 6. Implement and evaluate the action plan.; 7. Sustain and improve the coalition.

A strong base of support is the active ingredient that can move an issue from the backburner to the front of a community, eventually leading to policy change.

Upon the completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Discuss the role of coalitions in grassroots advocacy strategies
• Identify five characteristics of effective coalitions
• Explore the potential benefits and challenges of working in coalitions
• Identify action steps from coalition-building through coalition actionable activities

Module 4: Developing & Implementing an Advocacy Day at the State/Local Level

My suggestion is to take this right out of the playbook of AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) and/or HIV Prevention Justice Alliance. They have “mastered” the techniques and essentially we can boil it down to a recipe. In a previous year, SOPHE's advocacy day was borrowed from AFC with modification.

Upon the completion of this module, you will be able to:

• Identify appropriate local targets for advocacy
• Identify appropriate messaging techniques for advocacy
• Articulate advocacy asks in the appropriate messaging format