Why Does One Need Public Advocacy?

Posted by PurviDalvi on December 20th, 2019

Advocacies encompass wide range of activities which influence the decision-makers. Advocacy involves traditional activities such as litigation, lobbying, and public education. It also includes capacity building, forming networks, and development of leadership. Lobbying means activities that are intended to influence a piece of legislation.

Why support public advocacy? NGOs play a vital role in the development and implementation of public policy. They do so for promoting informed, healthy, and strong democratic society. We see and respond to the impact of public policies on the people we serve. Very few institutions get close to real problems of the people. NGOs can bridge the gap between policymakers and their constituents.

Effective public advocacy can help to achieve the highest good for a significant number of people and communities. Engaging in public advocacy also raises awareness of the organisation’s mission, vision, and attracts media attention easily.

Lobbying and advocacy are not interchangeable. Typically, advocacies encompass a different kind of activities which are designed to promote an idea or a cause. Lobbying, on the other hand, is meant to influence legislations and some roles govern those activities. NGOs can engage in lobbying activities, although the rules are stringent. There is no limit on how much an NGO can spend on lobbying activities. However, there are federal laws which prohibit NGOs from spending lavishly on lobbying. Unless your NGO spends heavily on lobbying, you are unlikely to come close to financial limits.

Why do you need reputation management for public advocacy?

Brand value: The value of the business and its products depends on the perceptions that stakeholders and consumers hold about the same. Trust is essential for any brand to succeed in the market. At the same time, you need to build your potential customers without spending much on publicity. While running your advocacy campaign, a reputation management company generally picks a topic of concern and teach the idea through their products to attract potential customers. This not only creates goodwill in the market but also a string place long-term trust on the services.

A pool of loyal customers: Public Advocacy in corporate world is typically termed as corporate social responsibility. Here the organisations are associated with an NGO concerning a thriving topic such as women empowerment or malnourishment amongst children, and so forth. These activities are often highlighted by media, through print or otherwise, which grabs the eyeballs of the consumers. Potential consumers and stakeholders approach the brand and begin talks of association. The reputation management company ensures the activities are conducted without any malice and brings the company in good light.

System-level advocates: You also need to keep in mind the victims while conducting CSR activities or conducting public advocacy campaigns. You perform these activities with the hope to change the system and policy. Say you addressing girl child issue or women empowerment, and you should use both practical as well as traditional methods to bring a change to system through your CSR activities. Several reputation management companies ensure implementation of both.