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SW 460W – Social Policy and Policy Practice
README 2!
MODULE 3
The Advocacy Plan
LEARNING TASKS & GOALS This final Module unifies your work in an actual advocacy blueprint to promote your policy initiative. Module 3 helps you scan the proposal’s larger ecological context and identify stakeholders (Part 1). It helps you build an agenda that focuses stakeholders on your social problem (Part 2). It expands Module 2 discussions of power/politics by exploring policy advocates’ past and potential use of political power to promote policy solutions, and how you can use your power as a generalist practitioner to promote your policy idea (Part 3). It then helps you examine how poli- cy advocates develop political strategies/action plans from that power, and subsequently guides your development of a customized action plan specific to your proposal (Part 4). Thus, Module 3 pertains to Steps 5 & 6
of Jansson’s of the policy analysis framework.
Part 1-The Policy Ecology
WS #3 begins your study with a review of policy ecology in general, and the ecological significance of “stakeholders” in policy advocacy. You study stakeholders in legislative/governmental settings, and evaluate the American electoral system. You explore legislative processes and how to influence them. You survey the political/economic contexts of SW organizational settings, evaluate the role of public opinion in policy-making, and study how law, social policy, and policy ecol- ogy interact. You then identify key stakeholders relative to your social problem and policy proposal; and explore state and local legis- lative agendas relative to your initiative. This work positions you to develop an advocacy plan which is the final product of Module 3.
Part 2-Building Agendas
Here you learn the import of agenda building to policy practice. You learn that advocates actively promote social problems and solu- tions within the larger social system of activists, stakeholders, and policymakers. You explore agenda setting stages and how to move your problem through each. You study how politics/political processes affect agendas of stakeholders/decision makers. And you see how unique opportunities, policy entrepreneurs, and staff shape agendas, and learn about the challenges they face.
Part 3-Developing & Using Power
In Part 3 you will learn how political power is essential to and affects policy practice. You will study types of power resources and how to effectively use them to your advantage in policy advocacy. You will examine your own power resources and how to maximize them. And you will learn about power differentials and vantage points when making policy change.
Part 4-Creating Political Strategy & the Action Plan
This last segment helps you develop your political stratagem. You study how to develop policy change objectives and positions. You learn how to assess and work with policy proposal supporters, opponents, and bystanders. You learn the import of contextual fac- tors in policy work, and apply Jansson’s Political Model and seven-step strategy-building method to construct a political stratagem complete with alternative advocacy scenarios.
As before, this work requires time consulting various reference/source materials, and gathering web resources. These tasks require that you locate, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and cite appropriately primary/secondary print/electronic materials. As you write WS #3, use complete sentences and attend to writing fundamentals (syntax, diction, grammar, punctuation, spelling, organizational, flow, wordiness, technical voice). Given that you will expand initial WS #3 analyses in WA #3, I strongly recommend using your peer editing buddy and MSUM Write Site prior to WA #3 submission. Please feel free to let me know how I might help you in completing this SW460 assignment, and note once again the LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY on our class web page.
Preparing to write WA #3…
WS #3- The Advocacy Plan
1
PART 1-The Policy Ecology
1. To begin, I want you to go back to Chapter 3 and review Jansson’s message about stakeholders. Who are they in
the policy practice context? And what is their ecological significance as we proceed to build our advocacy plan?
Recommended content :
o Adequately describes stakeholders consistent with Jansson’s interpretation; o Places stakeholders in an ecological context; o Provides adequate examples of stakeholders; and o Uses technical terms in the narrative.
2. As you have learned, there are major players in the policy process that will impact our advocacy success. So go
back to Chapter 3 to help explain the similarities and differences between stakeholders and policy advocates.
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o Adequately describes the goals of stakeholders; o Adequately describes the goals of policy advocates; o Adequately summarizes their similarities and differences ; and o Adequately uses technical terms in the narrative.
3. Also in Chapter 3 Jansson discusses the idea of patterns of participation , and how it is highly significant to policy
practice. How does Jansson define this concept and what is its significance to policy work?
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o Adequately describes the idea of patterns of participation ; o Provides adequate examples to support the narrative; and o Uses technical terms in the discussion.
4. Now go to Chapter 8 where Jansson explains stakeholders and their intersecting arenas. What does he mean?
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o Adequately describes the concept stakeholders’ intersecting arenas ; o Provides adequate examples to support the narrative; and o Uses technical terms in the discussion.
5. Now jump back to the Chapter 4, and please summarize Jansson’s thoughts on the roles of some key players in
the policy advocacy. Who are these and what is their interest policy advocacy / practice?
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Elected officials o Adequately describes heads of government ; o Adequately describes legislators ; o Adequately describes political parties ; o Adequately describes elected officials to special bodies ; Unelected officials or bureaucrats o Adequately describes political appointees ; o Adequately describes civil servants ; o Adequately describes lobbyists & interest groups ; and o Adequately describes advocacy groups.
6. Given your response to Question 5 above, what connects all these particular players?
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o Adequately describes linkages between the players listed in Question 5 above.
(^1) Item numbers correspond to specific WS questions.
16. Jansson presents his ideas on the effects of law on social policy. What is his main thesis? Then specifically, how
does litigation impact the policy and the policy making process?
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o Adequately summarizes Jansson’s thesis on the impact of law on social policy ; o Adequately describes litigation ; and o Adequately describes litigation’s impact on the policy process.
17. Next, how does legislation impact the policy process?
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o Adequately describes legislation ; and o Adequately describes legislation’s impact on the policy process.
18. Finally, how does administrative law impact the policy process?
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o Adequately describes administrative law ; and o Adequately describes administrative law’s impact on the policy process.
19. As generalist social workers who are also involved in policy practice in agency settings, the role of the social
agency becomes pivotal. So Jansson outlines his strategies for analyzing the policies of human service organiza-
tions. As you will see, this also helps us understand the agency’s power structures , knowledge that is indispensa-
ble to our advocacy planning. So what is his message about intra-agency policy mapping?
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o Adequately describes Jansson’s thoughts on intra-agency policy mapping.
20. Jansson discusses how advocates must understand the various players in organizations in order to understand
that organization’s inherent power structures. And understanding organizational power structure will be integral
to our advocacy plan/political strategy. I like to call this process “ Intra-agency Power Mapping .” What does
Jansson say about intra-agency power mapping? What are the various overlay of the power map?
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o Adequately describes the purpose of intra-agency power mapping ; o Adequately discusses OVERLAY 1: Organizational chart map overlay; o Adequately discusses OVERLAY 2: Budget priorities map overlay; o Adequately discusses OVERLAY 3: Boundary spanners and mission enhancers map overlay; and o Adequately discusses OVERLAY 4: Informal relationships map overlay.
21. As you recall, we already discussed the political economy of social work organization, so now let’s focus on the
political economy of communities. What does this mean?
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o Adequately describes Jansson’s thesis regarding the political economy of communities ; and o Discusses the import of this understanding to policy advocacy.
22. Now, what does Jansson mean by layers of government and policy?
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o Adequately describes Jansson’s thesis regarding layers of government and policy ; and o Discusses the import of understanding layers of government and policy to policy advocacy.
23. What are Jansson’s recommendations for maneuvering these ecological layers?
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o Adequately describes Jansson’s recommendations for maneuvering these ecological layers.
24. Now that we understand how to study stakeholders, let actually search for a few who we might include in our
policy advocacy plan. To begin, let’s go onto the web for this work; but of course you might already have some
entities/people in mind. To begin, please select two key organizations that might take a position regarding your
proposal- either for or against. This might be a non-profit, for-profit, governmental agency, community funder
(e.g., Bremer, United Way), professional organization (e.g., labor union), or some other human collective. Then
assess what you think their ideological orientation might be (e.g., liberal? Conservative?). On what do you base
this guess? What past work have they done, or positions have they taken, that would support your judgment?
Would these past/current actions suggest support or opposition to your policy proposal? Indeed you may be en-
tirely incorrect in your estimation of the group because you are unfamiliar with their work. Or, you may be cor-
rect because you already know the organization. But just remember, this is your first estimation.
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o Identifies one organization; o Adequately describes that organization’s mission ; o Adequately describes that organization’s core values ; o Adequately describes that organization’s ideological orientation ; o Adequately discusses past/current actions to support the choice; and o Provides adequate examples to support each position.
25. Now choose an individual in the FM area who either shares your view of the social problem, your solution, or
may oppose both. You might have read about this person in the paper, or know her/him from some volunteer
experience. This could be someone from your church, mosque, or synagogue. Or it might be a student, activist,
community organizer, even acquaintance. What’s your best guess about their ideological orientation? On what
do you base this guess?
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o Identifies an individual from the FM area; o Adequately describes that individual’s ideological orientation ; o Adequately discusses that individual’s past/current actions to support the choice; and o Provides adequate examples to support each position.
26. Now choose 2 legislators who you think might be interested in solving your social problem or solution, or might
oppose your efforts entirely. Use the government web sites we learned about in class and our text. And feel free
to search the web for other information sources that will help answer the required questions.
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o Adequately describes one federal-level elected official from either the House or Senate; o Provides an adequate overview of that federal official (per subset questions under Q26); o Adequately describes one state-level elected official from either Minnesota or North Dakota; and o Provides an adequate overview of that state official (per subset questions under Q26).
27. Using Thomas.gov or the state search engines (cite source as a WA #3 reference), located some pending legisla-
tion addressing your current social problem/policy solution. Then report pertinent information as required in
the question subset.
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o Adequately describes pending federal/state legislation on your social problem/proposed solution consistent with Q 27 on WS #3.
28. Then identify an FM issue, policy proposal, initiative, etc. related to your social problem/policy solution.
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o Adequately describes a local issue, policy proposal, initiative related to the problem/solution consistent with Q28.
36. How about direct and indirect power relationships? What are they? When are they used?
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o Adequately describes indirect power transactions and when they are used in policy advocacy; and o Adequately describes direct power transactions and when they are used in policy advocacy.
37. As a power sources, what about person-to-person power? What is it and when is it used?
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o Adequately describes person-to-person power and when it is used; and o Provides adequate examples of the concept.
38. And as another power source, what is policy maneuvering power? What are the types are when are they used?
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o Adequately describes policy maneuvering power types; o Adequately describes when each type of used; and o Provides adequate examples of the concept.
39. Next, discuss how advocates use their power and other resources to shape the advocacy context.
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o Adequately describes how advocates use their power resources to shape the advocacy context ; o Includes reference to external power sources ; and o Includes internet advocacy tools in the discussion.
40. Now, please define and provide scenarios for each power issue Jansson raises.
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o Adequately describes zones of discretion and provides examples; o Adequately describes compliance issues and provides examples; o Adequately describes whistle-blowing and provides examples; o Adequately describes power differentials and provides examples; and o Adequately describes other ethical issues and provides examples.
41. Next we want to study your key stakeholders’ past power use. For the individual and organization stakeholders
listed above, first assess their participation and commitment patterns. The latter commitment pattern is my
idea and assesses the relative strength and history of the organization’s / individual’s “commitment” to solving
your social problem using your solution. Therefore, this reflects your best guess with no right or wrong answer/
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o Adequately describes participation patters for each stakeholder; o Adequately describers commitment patterns for each stakeholder; and o Provides adequate examples for each to justify the choice.
42. Now we turn to their current power use. Given what you now know about this organization / these individuals,
what would you say are their person-to-person power sources? Why? And what are their policy maneuvering
power sources? Why? Remember, there is no correct answer but only your best estimate based on what you
have read or know about the organization / individual.
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o Adequately describes person-to-person power for each stakeholder; o Adequately describers policy maneuvering power source for each stakeholder; and o Provides adequate examples for each to justify the choice.
43. As a generalist practitioner, what are your main political power resources i n this advocacy project?
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o Adequately describes the author/policy advocate’s power resources.
- Given your response to the immediately preceding question, how might you build or expand your current level of power? What power resources could you nurture as the policy advocate in this project? How would you go about doing this?
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o Adequately describes a plan to expand the current level of power; and o Provides specific example as part of the plan.
PART 4-Creating the Political Strategy and Action Plan
45. We now need to consider your key stakeholder’s political ideology since it will affect how they will view your
identified social problem and its optimal resolution. We also need to consider your own personal political views.
Remember what we said about views of social welfare? To be sure, your and stakeholders’ ideology will affect
how you shape your policy advocacy strategy to the extent that they are included in our plan. So let’s get start-
ed. First, go back and study Jansson’s TABLE 2.1 (Chapter 2). Then, define several conservative ideological sys-
tems and discuss how you suspect people holding these views might see your social problem and proposed poli-
cy solution. Though not a complete list, these are some of the more common ideological groups in policy mak-
ing. Be creative in choosing resources (e.g., POL 120, the web, Karger & Stoesz text on Library Reserve, etc.).
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o Adequately describes classical conservatives ; o Adequately describes cultural conservatives ; o Adequately describes neoconservatives ; and o Adequately describes libertarians.
46. Now do the same for a couple of liberal views.
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o Adequately describes traditional liberals ; o Adequately describes neoliberals ; o Adequately describes green party members ; and o Adequately describes communitarians.
47. How does Jansson define political strategy? What is it? Who does it? Why is it done? What is involved? What is
its role in policy advocacy?
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o Adequately describes political strategy ; and o Adequately uses theoretical terms.
48. How does Jansson define political objectives? What are they? Who uses them? Why are they used in advocacy?
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o Adequately describes political objectives ; and o Adequately uses theoretical terms.
49. In this project, what exactly is your political objective?
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o Adequately describes the project’s political objective ; and o Adequately uses Jansson’s theoretical terms in the narrative.
50. What does Jansson say about extent of policy change? What are his recommendations?
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o Adequately describes Jansson’s message about the extent of policy change ; and o Adequately uses Jansson’s theoretical terms in the narrative.
51. What does Jansson say about the timing and time frame of the policy change? Why is timing important? What is
involved in timing? What are his recommendations?
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o Adequately describes the timing of the policy change;
o Adequately describes the time frame of the policy change; and
o Adequately uses Jansson’s theoretical terms in the narrative.
strategic political planning. What are some alternative scenarios you could follow for various stakeholder re-
sponses to your proposal/advocacy actions? For each of your stakeholders, think about what you would do if
they “support” or “oppose” your proposal; or respond somehow to your advocacy action.
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o Adequately describes Jansson’s notion of developing alternative scenarios ; o Adequately provides alternative scenario examples for this specific project ; and o Adequately uses technical terms in the narrative.
59. We now turn to our analysis of selected stakeholders’ ideological orientation. Once we have identified their
main ideology, let’s link that ideology with their past participation and commitment patterns, and vested in-
terests. Remember this from Chapter 3?
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o Adequately identifies the advocacy org’s main ideology , and links it with patterns and interests; o Adequately identifies the funding org’s main ideology , and links it with patterns and interests; o Adequately identifies the individual’s main ideology , and links it with patterns and interests; o Adequately identifies the federal legislator’s main ideology , and links it with patterns and interests; and o Adequately identifies the state legislator’s main ideology , and links it with patterns and interests.
60. Now we are going to implement Jansson’s Political Model introduced in Chapter 10. Please analyze each item in
his Model specific to your policy proposal. What is the distribution of power in this policy advocacy project?
What are the political stakes? How politically feasible is this proposal?
Recommended content :
o Adequately draws from Q 33-45 above to analyze the distribution of power among stakeholders; o Adequately draws from Q 33-45 above to analyze the political stakes among stakeholders; o Adequately draws from Q 33-45 above to analyze the political feasibility of the proposal; o Political strategy: see Q 59 below ; and o Revising strategy: see Q 59 below.
61. In this final task, we will study Jansson’s seven steps in formulating and implementing a political strategy ( Box
11.1 ). Here we will think about several key elements of our policy work. First, who will be in our coalition- on our
team? What are our policy goals? What is in our proposal and who are its early sponsors? What style do we
want to adopt- level of conflict? What power resources will we use and by whom? How will we implement this
political strategy? And when will revisions be needed? Of course these are all very complex questions, but our
learning goal here is to understand the basic focus of each step! So, your final task is to plan each of the above
steps using Jansson’s discussions as a guide.
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o Adequately describes how to develop a coalition and notes who will be coalesced in this project; o Adequately articulates the policy goals of this project; o Adequately articulates the proposal’s content and early sponsors ; o Adequately sets the style-level of conflict to be tolerated in the advocacy project; o Adequately discusses the power sources to be used and by whom in this project; o Adequately describes the implementation strategy ; and o Adequately discusses the project’s revision strategy.
Composing WA #3…
WA #3 – The Advocacy Plan
As you recall, all SW460 writing assignments build on basic Liberal Studies writ-
ing and other competencies to develop your use of policy research and policy
practice methods in order to propose, implement, then monitor, social poli-
cy/human service delivery, and advocate for policy/program change. Given this
purpose, our final writing assignment will reflect your application of steps 5 &
6 of Jansson’s policy practice framework- developing The Advocacy Plan.
Process
Now that you have completed worksheet WS #3, you can begin drafting WA
#3. Here you must again analyze, synthesize, and evaluate course content. You
must also locate, read, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, integrate, and cite ap-
propriately and ethically 7 primary/secondary literary sources. In developing
WA #3, follow our discipline's writing conventions and processes learned in
SW400 (Research) such as original invention, organization, drafting, revising, and editing. And please remember that
each of our papers this term must be in APA format (see the Owl at Purdue link on our class web page). Please use cor-
rect grammar and mechanics, and attend to paper focus, organization, development, clarity, and professional voice
(see cover sheet for WA #3 ). Finally, please consult with me and let me know if you have any questions (Please see
LATE ASSIGNMENT POLICY ).
Instructional notes for WA #3 Outline:
Core Paper
1. The title of this Module writing assignment is The Advocacy Plan. Please use the headings and subheadings in
exactly the order and format presented in the outline (e.g., bold, italics, & left justified ). I require this because
section ordering reflects a larger methodical thought process that organizes your thinking, and by extension
your paper and ultimately your learning. To be sure, in each assignment I have created a study logic that facili-
tates deeper learning of policy practice in social work. Besides, most technical professional documents impose
strict organization requirements so this is great practice. Also do not include an APA (6th ed.) title page since our
WA #3 Final Cover Sheet will serve as your “title page.”
2. Note: INCOMPLETE PAPERS ARE NOT REVIEWED, RECEIVE NO CREDIT, AND SUBJECT TO THE LATE SUBMISISON POLICY
3. This draft must be 10 pages with sequential page numbers (1-10) ( excluding the reference list-see below ).
4. Core draft sections are taken exactly from WS #3; so all WS #3 topics must be included and expanded herein.
5. So I can grade your technical writing, this paper draft must be in narrative format (i.e., no bullets , lists , etc.).
6. Your “professional/technical writing” score reflects the extent of basic writing problems observed
( syntax, diction, grammar, punctuation, spelling, organization, paragraph structure, flow, wordiness, voice ).
7. Since I use symbols to communicate my edits to you about ways to strength your work, see our Edit Notation
sheet located under Module 1 of our class web page- Notes.
8. Since I will be grading many assignments, this and indeed all submitted assignments must be printed in a single-
sided format if it is to be graded. This facilitates page-turning thereby making my grading more efficient; and ef-
ficient grading means I can return graded assignments to you more quickly! Papers printed in two-sided format
will be returned to the author for reprinting before grading.
9. No direct quotations in any WA. I only want to grade your words.
