Abstract
Jeff Unsicker discusses some of the most important policies that social sector organizations (SSOs) should monitor and seek to influence—policies that can enable or impede the work of SSOs in different national environments. He then addresses some of the reasons why SSOs do not engage in efforts to influence them. Next, as a resource for such organizations that wish to become (more) engaged, he provides an overview of some key concepts and practices of policy advocacy. In so doing, Unsicker draws on lessons that many SSOs have gained through decades of engagement in policy advocacy, including frameworks that are used in the School for International Training curriculum. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of one of the cutting edge issues facing the practice of policy advocacy: evaluation of outcomes and impact. At various places in the chapter, Unsicker illustrates points with relevant experiences from his own 40 plus year career doing and teaching advocacy.
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Notes
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The other three are: make markets work, master the art of adaptation, and shared leadership.
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The most recent rankings available were from 2012. See http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-public-affairs-schools/nonprofit-management-rankings?int=a95909&int=a06908 for rankings. Review by Ammar Mohammed, research assistant.
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The SIT Graduate Institute, established in 1964 as the School for International Training, offers practice-centered MA degrees and certificate programs focused around careers in social sector leadership and management, sustainable development, conflict transformation, international education, teaching English as a second language, and other social justice related fields. See www.sit.edu/graduate.
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See Court and Young (2004) for a concise overview of the limits of most policy research. Other and more recent publications of ODI’s Research and Policy in Development (RAPID) program can be found on their website: http://www.odi.org/programmes/rapid.
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Unsicker, J. (2017). Policy Advocacy and Social Sector Organizations. In: Tirmizi, S., Vogelsang, J. (eds) Leading and Managing in the Social Sector. Management for Professionals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47045-0_6
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