Assignment task:
One of the goals of advocacy is to have the advocacy issue placed as priority on the agenda and related laws implemented into practice. There exist contextual factors that can promote or hinder advocacy issues being placed as priority on the agenda.
Contextual Factors Promoting Advocacy
An example of a contextual factor that can promote advocacy is causing awareness of the issue. It is critical that advocates can present a convincing case on how a population have been underserved, how it is affected their wellbeing and proposals to fixing the problem. Glover (2023) speaks of how the awareness of untested sexual assault kits leading to delay or denial of justice led to policy that required the testing of backlogged kits. The advocate in this situation would have had to have strong evidence of this injustice such as presenting to the appropriate government official plenty cases that have been ignored and many cases of sexual assault unresolved.
An even stronger method to raise awareness is by attracting the attention of the media. Dawes (2020, p. 83) narrates a story of Esmin Green's plight showcased in the media that led to extensive public outcry for justice and urged several advocates to spur into action. Involving the media is another method to promote prioritizing an advocacy issue because it draws much attention of the issue to the public, thus causing the public to apply pressure to the political leaders for change.
Finally, having a favorable political climate promotes making an issue a priority in the agenda. Dawes states that although advocates had advocated severally for a universal healthcare plan, it was during the time of democratic rule, specifically President Barack Obama, were they successful and the comprehensive healthcare system was put in place (Dawes, 2020, p. 80). In other words, it is more favorable for advocates if the values of the issue aligns with the values of the political leaders or ruling party.
Contextual Factors Hindering Advocacy
Just as there are factors that promote prioritizing advocacy matters, there are factors that hinder them. One hindering factor to advocacy is time. Porsche (2023, p. 132) states that time impacts the diffusion process through which a prospective law goes from innovation to decision. This means it takes time between awareness of a problem, the appropriate people adopting the idea of the change and the actual change coming into effect. For example, if a proposed change does not have sufficient adopters, it will take much longer for the advocacy issue to be priority on the agenda. The advocates would have to wait for a favorable political climate to re-address the issue.
Another factor that can hinder prioritizing advocacy issues is insufficient support or stakeholders. Porshe (2023, p. 130) identifies constituents, stakeholders and support from sponsors or special interest groups as components of a policy communication plan. Having the right support will lead to prioritizing the issue, just so lack of support will hinder prioritizing the advocacy issue.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are contextual factors that promote or hinder prioritizing issues on the agenda. While factors like media and a favorable political climate promotes making issues a priority, time can be a hindrance to prioritizing advocacy issues. Presenting a strong, easily adoptable case will help spread awareness and begin the process of communicating the proposed change.
Respond by supporting or expanding on the ideas identified in the initial post or sharing additional perspectives on the analysis of contextual factors described in the initial post