21881 Advocacy and Social Change

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Business: Management
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Postgraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Description

This subject explores the theoretical frameworks related to advocacy and activism in the context of not-for-profit and social enterprise management. One of the defining features of not-for-profit and social enterprise is that they have a social purpose. In order to achieve this social purpose, not-for-profit and social enterprises must engage in forms of advocacy in order to achieve social change. The subject explores the context of advocacy for not-for-profit and social enterprises both in Australia and internationally. It examines a variety of useful advocacy strategies for engaging with businesses, government, the public, indigenous peoples, and individuals in and beyond the third sector. The alignment of different advocacy strategies with an organisation’s mission is explored, as are legal and ethical issues related to advocacy. Students develop a tailored advocacy strategy, including consideration of appropriate tactics and development and application of communication skills for effective and empathetic advocacy with a range of stakeholders.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1.	Critically analyse issues facing advocacy in the third sector contexts in Australia
2.	Critically reflect on the relationship between not-for-profits and social enterprise, and government, business, Indigenous peoples, and the public
3.	Create targeted advocacy strategies and plans to address equity and intersecting social and organisational issues
4.	Communicate information effectively to engage a targeted audience when advocating for groups and parties’

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

This subject is aligned with the graduate attributes of communication and collaboration, intellectual rigour and innovative problem solving, social responsibility and cultural awareness, and professional and technical competence. This subject helps students develop the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in advocacy and activism activities creatively and effectively on behalf of a particular group or organization. Communication is an important part of advocacy, so this subject develops a range of interpersonal skills which support the student in engaging with a variety of stakeholders across local community, indigenous, and professional groups. The subject also provides students with a variety of strategies to integrate empathetic and equitable attitudes and values into their organizational practice.

This subject also contributes specifically to develop the following Program Learning Objectives for the Masters of Not-for-Profit and Social Enterprise Management courses:

Communicate information clearly, effectively and persuasively to a diverse range of stakeholders (2.1)
Evaluate and apply principles of law, ethics, sustainability and Indigenous values as advocates and not-for-profit managers (3.1)

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject is presented in seminar format. Essential principles are presented and analyzed. There are readings assigned as pre-class activities. The face-to-face seminar allows students to discuss interpretations of learning tasks, theoretical issues, and responses to various readings. Learning involves a combination of workshops, case study discussions, video analysis, role-plays, and simulation exercises. Such approaches will improve student’s ability to work independently and as part of a team and students will also be encouraged to employ these skills outside of the classroom through assessment and industry engagement.

Students are lead through practical application exercises. An important element of the seminar is group work where learning partnerships are formed. Additionally, this subject includes a group assessment which is designed to encourage students to work collectively and critically, furnishing them with the skills to conduct their own academic research through engagement with key research on advocacy. In class-feedback on group activities and prescribed pre-work will be provided. Students will also receive written feedback on each of their assessments no more than two weeks after the assessment has been submitted.

Content (topics)

Third sector organizations, social enterprise, and social and political change: organizing for social purpose in the contemporary third sector context
Theories of civil society, democracy, and collective action
Advocacy strategies and campaigning (including examination of case studies of successful campaigns) including: social media, consultation, public education, protest, primary intervention, lobbying elected officials, petitions, media partnerships, public events, and letter campaigns
The relationship between government, social enterprise, and third sector in relation to advocacy
The relationship between business, social enterprise and third sector in relation to advocacy
The relationship between individual and systemic advocacy including the role of social entrepreneurs
Institutional and non-institutional forms of advocacy
Indigenous rights movement in Australia and advocacy with indigenous peoples

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Written Assignment (Individual)

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1 and 2
Weight:	30%
Length:	1500 words, not including footnotes and references.
Criteria:	Critical analysis of advocacy issues facing the third sector Evidence of evaluation of relationships between the third sector and government, business, indigenous peoples and the public where relevant Convincing justification of the conclusions expressed in written form

Assessment task 2: Presentation (Group)*

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 2, 3 and 4
Weight:	30%
Length:	12-15 minute presentation and up to 10 minutes of facilitated discussion, delivered live in class.
Criteria:	Ability to identify advocacy strategies for an advocacy campaign in the third sector and consideration of how these apply to other issues Critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the campaign in relation the organizational, political, and social context, as well as the response of the campaign to issues relevant to indigenous people Evidence of evaluation of ethical, legal and other considerations in advocacy campaigns Clarity and professional management of the presentation *Note: Late submission of the assessment task will not be marked and awarded a mark of zero.

Assessment task 3: Written report (Individual)

Objective(s):	This addresses subject learning objective(s): 1, 2, 3 and 4
Weight:	40%
Length:	2500 words, not including the Executive Summary, Footnotes or Bibliography.
Criteria:	Quality of analysis and appropriateness of the advocacy plan proposed Evaluation of ethical, legal and other considerations in developing an advocacy plan Professional written presentation of the advocacy plan

Minimum requirements

Students must achieve at least 50% of the subject’s total marks.

Recommended texts

The following texts are the required reading for the subject:

Cameron, S. (2020). Government performance and dissatisfaction with democracy in Australia. Australian Journal of Political Science, 55(2), 170–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2020.1755221

Cardarelli, K. M., Ickes, M., Huntington-Moskos, L., Wilmhoff, C., Larck, A., Pinney, S. M., & Hahn, E. J. (2021). Authentic Youth Engagement in Environmental Health Research and Advocacy. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 2154. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042154

Evershed, N., & Knaus, C. (n.d.). Lobbying in Australia: How big business connects to government. The Guardian. Retrieved December 15, 2023, from http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2018/sep/19/lobbying-in-australia-how-big-business-connects-to-government

Fraser, N. (1995). From Redistribution to Recognition? Dilemmas of Justice in a “Post-Socialist” Age. New Left Review, I/212, 68–93.

Fung, A. (2005). Deliberation before the Revolution: Toward an Ethics of Deliberative Democracy in an Unjust World. Political Theory, 33(3), 397–419. https://doi.org/10.1177/0090591704271990

Gen, S., & Wright, A. C. (2020). Considerations for Strategic Policy Advocacy. In S. Gen & A. C. Wright, Nonprofits in Policy Advocacy (pp. 191–211). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43696-4_9

Han, H. (2014). How organizations develop activists: Civic associations and leadership in the 21st century. Oxford University Press. (Chapter 1)

Hill, J. (2023, December 1). How to change a bad law [Text]. The Monthly; The Monthly. https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2023/december/jess-hill/how-change-bad-law

Izumi, B. T., Schulz, A. J., Israel, B. A., Reyes, A. G., Martin, J., Richard L. Lichtenstein, Christine Wilson, & Sharon L. Sand. (2010). The One-Pager: A Practical Policy Advocacy Tool for Translating Community-Based Participatory Research Into Action. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 4(2), 141–147. https://doi.org/10.1353/cpr.0.0114

Kania, J., & Kramer, M. (2011). Collective Impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter, 36–41.

Kania, J., Kramer, M., & Senge, P. (2018). The Water of Systems Change (p. 20). FSG: Reimagining Social Change.

Lakoff, G. (2014). The all-new don’t think of an elephant! Know your values and frame the debate. Chelsea Green Publishing. (Chapter 1)

Merlan, F. (2005). Indigenous Movements in Australia. Annual Review of Anthropology, 34(1), 473–494. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.34.081804.120643

Mogus, J., & Liacus, T. (2016). Networked Change: How progressive campaigns are won in the 21st Century. NetChange Consulting.

Murthy, D. (2018). Introduction to Social Media, Activism, and Organizations. Social Media + Society, 4(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305117750716

Phillips, R., & Murray, I. (2023). The third sector and democracy in Australia: Neoliberal governance and the repression of advocacy. Australian Journal of Political Science, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2023.2213215

Schneider, A., & Ingram, H. (1993). Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy. American Political Science Review, 87(02), 334–347. https://doi.org/10.2307/2939044

Stone, D. A. (1989). Causal Stories and the Formation of Policy Agendas. Political Science Quarterly, 104(2), 281–300.

Whelan, J. (2012). Community organising for climate action. Social Alternatives, 31(1), 1–7.

Williamson, A. K., & Luke, B. (2020). Agenda-setting and Public Policy in Private Foundations. Nonprofit Policy Forum, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1515/npf-2019-0049

More information, and extra readings, will be provided in class and via Canvas: