Competency Category:
Competency Series:

24.2 – Develop Advocacy Strategies

Purpose & Context

Career Development Professional (CDPs) advocate for policy-based solutions to achieve economic development and social progress.

Effective Performance

Competent career development professionals must be able to:

  • P1. Set measurable advocacy goals, considering:
    • Organizational vision and mission statement
    • National policy on the issue
    • Political environment
    • Current public opinion
    • Identify audiences, for example:
    • Allies
    • Opponents
    • Decision makers,
    • Influencers, for example:
      • Family
      • Community leaders
      • International community
      • Policy makers
      • Media
      • Academics
      • Experts
  • P2. Identify strategies to raise awareness, for example:
    • Hold press conference
    • Launch social media campaign
    • Develop informational websites
    • Organize coalition events
  • P3. Develop action plan, for example:
    • Prioritize activities
    • Identify resources needed, e.g. human, technology, financial, equipment
    • Set timelines
  • P4. Implement action plan

Knowledge & Understanding

Competent career development professionals must know and understand:

  • K1. Current social, political and economic context of the field of career development

Contextual Variables

Competent career development professionals must be able to perform this competency in the following range of contexts:

CDPs may need to develop advocacy strategies in challenging situations, including having limited resources and funding, inadequate risk management, non-established network of stakeholders etc.

Glossary & Key References

Terms

Industry-specific terms contained in the standard defined here, where applicable.

None

Information Sources and Resources for Consideration

Cohen, D. et al. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Advocacy Toolkit: a guide to influencing decisions that improve children’s lives. First edition. New York, 2010

Context Rating Scales

Criticality

Q: What is the consequence of a professional being unable to perform this skill according to the standard?

Minimal risk: SOMEWHAT CRITICAL

Frequency

Q: How frequent and under what conditions is this skill performed?

Circumstantially, e.g. per project, when a specific event arises

Level of Difficulty

Q: Under routine circumstances, how would you rate the level of difficulty in performing this skill?

Very hard or challenging

Time Required to Gain Proficiency

Q: What is the average length of time or number of repeated events that are minimally necessary for an individual to become proficient in performing the skill to the standard?

A career development professional must have participated in a supporting role in the development of an advocacy strategy. A career development professional must also have recognized expertise in the field of career development, hold a position of authority in an organization and nurture a network of relationships (personal, public, professional and organizational).

Autonomy

Practitioners typically perform this competency without supervision, and alone.

Automation

It is unlikely that this competency will automate.

Requisite Work Aids, Tools, Equipment or Materials

None