Three legs of lobbying in your advocacy efforts

Application Assignment 2: Part 2 - Developing an Advocacy Campaign

The following application, Part 2, will be due in Week 7.

To prepare:

· Review Chapter 3 of Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide.

· In the first assignment, you reflected on whether the policy you would like to promote could best be achieved through the development of new legislation, or a change in an existing law or regulation. Refine as necessary using any feedback from your first paper.

· Contemplate how existing laws or regulations may affect how you proceed in advocating for your proposed policy.

· Consider how you could influence legislators or other policymakers to enact the policy you propose.

· Think about the obstacles of the legislative process that may prevent your proposed policy from being implemented as intended.

·

To complete:

Part Two will have approximately 3–4 pages of content plus a title page and references. Part Two will address the following:

· Explain whether your proposed policy could be enacted through a modification of existing law or regulation or the creation of new legislation/regulation.

· Explain how existing laws or regulations could affect your advocacy efforts. Be sure to cite and reference the laws and regulations using primary sources.

· Provide an analysis of the methods you could use to influence legislators or other policymakers to support your policy. In particular, explain how you would use the “three legs” of lobbying in your advocacy efforts.

· Summarize obstacles that could arise in the legislative process and how to overcome these hurdles.

Milstead: 3 Legs of Lobbying

“According to Milstead (2013), Leg One of the Three-Legged Stool consists of lobbying which is the act of influencing – the art of persuading-a government entity. “Legislators often rely on lobbyists’ expertise to help them understand what they are voting for or against.” (Milstead, 2013, p. 53). Local State Representatives should be targeted as a champion for the bill and that’s likely where an average voter can begin for their voice to be heard at the local and state levels.Leg Two of the Three-Legged Stool also includes the grassroots lobbyists. The AmericanNurses Association often spear-heads lobbying efforts in the best interest of the public on healthcare related issues and has a strong history of working with Congress on these important issues. “Grassroots lobbyists are constituents who have the power to elect officials through their vote and have expertise and knowledge about a particular issue (such as nurses in healthcare reform debates)” (Milstead, 2013, p. 54). Nurses can become a member of the American Nurses Association or other associations to ensure nurses have a voice on these important issues”