SAGE Journal Articles
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Article 1:
This article profiles a policy-influencing alliance of health and environmental non-governmental organizations and explores the role of social work in developing effective policy change for phasing out coal in Alberta. The development of this network, its strategies, challenges, and successes are highlighted with an analysis of the elements of effective policy advocacy as a key social work practice.
Questions to Consider:
1. What is the role of collaborating with other agencies when engaging in macro level policy advocacy? What are some examples of the author’s use of this strategy?
2. How can social workers build the capacity of policy-influencing politicians?
3. What are some communication skills that can be used to mobilize public opinion and action? How were they used by the author?
Article 2:
This article examines the potential use of persuasive policy practice for social workers, encouraging practitioners to move away from a value-neutral position of social work (where practitioners avoid using their influence to obtain specific outcomes) to exploring the strategic value of being as persuasive as possible, in order to advance social justice among policymakers. The goal is to identify motivators which have been shown to enlist support from power holders in social justice issues.
Questions to Consider:
1. How does persuasion have an influence on building consensus rather than focusing on a conflict-oriented approach?
2. Describe four of the categories of motivators that can be used to motivate people from privileged groups to support social justice
3. What are two drawbacks to utilizing the framework suggested by the authors, and how can they be addressed?