Positively influencing decision-making is essential for supporting programme participants and wider communities.

Perhaps you’ve marched in a protest, demanding government action on climate change. Maybe you’ve met your local authorities, urging them to build basketball courts so sports organisations can expand their work with refugees. Or you might have written an op-ed, publishing policy recommendations on gender inequality in sports leadership. You may have been involved in policy advocacy. But what exactly is policy advocacy? Let’s start with policy.

What is policy?

There’s no universal definition, but the Collins Dictionary describes a policy as “a set of ideas or plans that is used as a basis for making decisions, especially in politics, economics, or business.” At its core, a policy is a plan of action to solve a problem or achieve a goal. It is often seen as being about the allocation of resources – who gets what and how is it paid for?

Policies are not exclusive to large institutions. For instance, small non-profits usually have policies on salaries, hiring practices and other matters guiding how they are run. However, in global sport for development, the term “policy” most often describes plans made by local authorities, governments, inter-governmental organisations and sports federations. Advocacy usually targets these groups as they have the most influence over the sector.

National laws are examples of policies, as are international agreements such as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. But policies aren’t always legally binding. They can also be more general guidelines. For example, a municipality may invest in cycle lanes and walking paths as part of non-legal (but not illegal) policies to improve public health and local infrastructure.

What is policy advocacy?

Policy advocacy can be understood as a deliberate effort to influence policy in the interest of an organisation or the people it serves. It deploys a variety of tactics and comes in two forms: direct and indirect.

Direct advocacy seeks to influence policies by directly engaging with decision-makers. It involves approaches like face-to-face meetings, testifying at hearings, presenting policy briefs and submitting official recommendations.

Indirect advocacy, on the other hand, aims to shape public opinion. Tactics include social media campaigns, opinion articles, public rallies and educational events. Indirect advocacy doesn’t directly engage decision-makers, but it nonetheless aims to influence policy by creating an environment where change is more likely due to public pressure.

Researchers Sheldon Gen and Amy Conley Wright also distinguish between two types of outcomes. Proximal outcomes are short-term, for example shifting perceptions. Distal outcomes are more long-term, like policy adoption or implementation.

Policy advocacy in sport for development

Sport for development organisations’ efforts to influence policy have often focussed on ‘making the case for sport.’ In other words, demonstrating sport’s value for addressing various challenges and advocating for policies that drive public visibility, political support and financial resources towards the sector. This is self-interested advocacy because it supports the sustainability and growth of organisations.

A prominent example is the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Civil society organisations and the Olympic movement advocated for the United Nations to create the day from 2007 onwards. Due to these efforts, the first international day was in 2014.

It has taken place every year since on 6 April. The United Nations describes it as “an opportunity to recognize the positive role sport and physical activity play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe.”

But organisations also need to engage in progressive advocacy, pursuing policy goals that directly benefit the people they work with and broader communities. For example, if an organisation is using sport to support refugees, policies making processes for obtaining work permits easier and combatting discrimination will improve programme participants’ wellbeing.

In a PASS project survey, 38% of respondents reported advocating for policies related to their organisation’s programmes. These include topics such as health, education and inclusion. This shows sport for development organisations aren’t only advocating for funding and support for their organisations.

Policy Advocacy in Sport and Society (PASS) project partners are writing a report describing examples of policy advocacy in sport for development. We will publish it on the sportanddev website when it is finished.

Policy advocacy in a complex world: How do you know if you’ve been successful?

Advocates for the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace had a clear goal. And they knew they had been successful when, on 23 August 2013, the United Nations announced they would announce April 6th as the official annual date, starting the following year.

But measuring the success of advocacy is rarely that simple. Changes - such as shifts in perceptions - can be difficult to perceive and measure. Even if a policy is adopted, it is hard to assess. Were your efforts the thing that made the biggest difference or were other influences at play?

As journalist Ben Shephard wrote in the Guardian:

“There is no way of quantifying policy change; the policy-making process encompasses a vastly complex inter-related web of structural, bureaucratic and personal factors…In nearly every circumstance it is extremely difficult to say with certainty why any given decision was taken.”

You can track media coverage, social media engagement and opinion polls. And you can monitor the public statements, commitments and support of policymakers. But advocacy is a long and winding road. Success depends on different influences and the involvement of a range of actors.

Image credit: Fair Play Point

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