Homework: Presenting and Defending Policy Proposals
Changes are products of intensive efforts.
-Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
As a professional social worker and policy advocate, you will be called upon to make a difference in the lives of those who need assistance and can benefit from your expertise and experience. You will develop and defend policy proposals that must be creative and, ultimately, effective. Creating, presenting, and defending policy proposals can be challenging, sometimes frustrating, but also very rewarding when you have made a difference by persuading the policy makers to listen.
You will explore and analyze strategies for presenting policy proposals and strategies of persuasion to insure that your issues and items capture the attention of your targeted audience. Finally, you will produce a video presentation as a simulation for real-world policy leaders that summarizes a policy proposal you have created.
Learning Objectives
o Analyze strategies for presenting policy proposals.
o Analyze strategies for defending policy proposals.
o Present a policy proposal summary presentation.
Discussion: Presenting Policy Proposals
Policy practitioners should know that being forewarned is being forearmed. You should know how to diagnose an audience, develop a persuasive strategy, have a "tactics tool bag" for dealing with difficult or expert audiences, and know how to develop non-confrontational communication methods with audiences when necessary. In short, you need to know how to skillfully defend the creative policy proposal you are about to present and how to talk to policy makers who may not be interested in the issues you are presenting.
In this Small Group Discussion, you explore and analyze strategies and ideas for presenting policy proposals.
To Prepare: Think about strategies you can use to persuade others who might not share the same concerns about your issues or your policy proposals. Think about how you might defend your position on an issue or a policy and get them to agree with your perspective. Review Chapter 9 of your text, paying special attention to the section entitled "Combative Persuasion in Step 5 and Step 6" from pages 286-292.
Post your responses to the following question presented for your small group discussion:
Policy advocates sometimes find themselves discussing the needs of vulnerable populations with less-than-sympathetic groups of policy makers. Vulnerable populations might include families living in poverty, individuals with histories in the criminal justice system, or groups who have recently immigrated.
How might you communicate the needs of vulnerable populations to policy makers who may not share your views about the need for services?
Be sure to support your post with specific references to this week's resources. If you are using additional articles, be sure to provide full APA-formatted citations for your references.
Respond to your colleagues' responses within the small group discussion. Offer alternative strategies for presenting policy proposals to one or more colleagues.
Homework: Defending Your Policy Proposal
Once you have built an agenda for your policy, developed a policy proposal plan, and strategically analyzed the composition of the audience to which you will present your policy proposal, you must now be prepared to defend it.
In this Homework, you will submit a video presentation summary of the policy proposal you created from last week's Discussion. This is a simulation for a presentation summary you would make to policy leaders.
Submit a video presentation summary of the policy proposal you created from last week's Discussion. Be sure to incorporate feedback from your colleagues. Make sure that your summary presentation provides a solid rationale for the passage of your policy, using reputable sources from experts in the field. This should be a simulation of a summary presentation you would make to "real-world" policy leaders, so make sure you are succinct and informative. You can include any visual aids that you think help your presentation.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Required Readings
Webliography
These websites will be required throughout the semester. Become familiar with these websites, especially when doing research for your homeworks.
Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice (8th ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Series.
Chapter 9, "Presenting and Defending Policy Proposals in Step 5 and Step 6 of Policy Analysis" (pp. 284-326)
Jackson-Elmoore, C. (2005). Informing state policymakers: Opportunities for social workers. Social Work, 50(3), 251-261.
Optional Resources
MSW home page
Use this link to access the MSW home page, which provides resources for your social work program.