Advocacy is any action that favourably supports an idea or cause on behalf of others.
There are a number of ways you can be involved in actively pursuing changes which help the community as a whole.
Advocacy usually takes the form of a campaign that is made up of organised activities with the specific purpose of obtaining support for the project, policy or program.
The City of Whittlesea is committed to supporting community led advocacy. We have developed a toolkit to support your advocacy on important causes within your community.
You can also raise awareness of your cause by contacting your local Member of Parliament.
Our Advocacy Toolkit is aimed at making it as easy as possible to develop and implement advocacy campaigns of any size, and includes:
- checklists
- templates
- tip sheets.
It’s important to understand what’s involved in creating a worthwhile campaign. You should be able to answer these questions:
- What do you want to secure (your goal)?
- Who are your supporters?
- What evidence exists to support the need?
- What counter arguments exist?
- Who is the target that can help you secure what you set out to do?
The advocacy toolkit contains:
- An activity checklist to track progress.
- Tips on dealing with media and journalists.
- A list of local media contacts.
- Tips on how to prepare a media release.
- Methods for community outreach.
- Advice on effective communication and public relations.
- Use of social media channels to promote your campaign.
- Writing advocacy letters to politicians.
- Advice on meeting with politicians.
- A list of stakeholders and their level of involvement in the campaign.
- A campaign calendar.
- Case studies to demonstrate past successful campaigns.