Communications Tools for Advocacy

MIA Policy Skills II Core. This course builds on the writing and presentation skills developed in the first part of the SIPA Skills Course by exploring how these skills may be deployed in the broader context of organizational communications, with a focus on policy advocacy.

It will introduce students to a set of key communications tools that can drive effective policy advocacy by turning well-crafted, focused messages into impact. It will focus on the practical tactics that form part of an effective strategic communications plan, from handling one-to-one broadcast interviews to utilizing advocacy reports and publications targeting policymakers, to organizing events, media stunts, and leveraging celebrity spokespeople.

Students will produce and workshop their own video interviews, and conclude the course by developing a communications campaign plan, both in support of the policy memo/issue developed at the end of Policy Skills Part One. The objective is to introduce students to the scope of Comms work, both to develop their own skills and their understanding of how a Comms department approaches its mission.