The document outlines a Policy Development Framework used by an organization to set advocacy and policy goals. It involves a multi-step process of:
1) Brainstorming issues at a transition conference to identify policy ideas.
2) Researching the ideas and creating briefing papers to refine them.
3) Discussing the briefs and prioritizing the top proposals through voting at a policy and strategy conference.
4) Assessing the priorities to determine which require further policy work and which opportunities exist to achieve them within a year.
5) Developing an advocacy work plan around the strategic priorities determined through the multi-step process.
2. INTRODUCTION
The Policy Development Framework exists to support the advo-
cacy and policy development goals of the organization. It is a stra-
tegic guide in setting goals and processes towards the mission and
vision of the organization.
It can be difficult for large, diverse groups to converge on a consen-
sus, given no two people share the same experience. The frame-
work exists as a solution to this problem, in a manner consistent
with the best practices of the government relations industry.
The policy and strategy conference is just one step in the frame-
work. Delegates, representing their home associations, will
BRAINSTORM, REFINE, PRIORITIZE and STRATEGIZE the
year’s advocacy. These crucial phases help us tie our story into a
broader, strategic narrative, to better the lives of students in Can-
ada.
4. BRAINSTORM
• Issue Identification
at transition
In order to assist in setting the priorities for the year, a brain- Introduction 5 minutes
storming workshop will take place at the transition conference
Open spaces 135 minutes
for delegates to share and rally support for their policy ideas. Staff
will assist delegates by guiding them towards a wide breadth of • Conducted at transition conference
ideas. • Results tabled with Home Office
The results of the brainstorm is summarized and then presented
to the Home Office staff for the creation of briefing notes during
the REFINE portion of the Policy Development Framework. The
intent of the briefs is to encourage a more considered debate in
the later phases of the framework.
5. REFINE
• Research and Briefing
at office + p&s
Delegates will be presented with a series of research papers, pro- Home Office research Prior
duced following the transition conferences. They provide back-
Introduction 5 minutes
ground to the various policy ideas raised during the brainstorm
session. These papers will also contain some suggested actions New ask introduction 60 minutes
CASA can take. Discussion/ballot submit 115 minutes
• Home Office research available
During Policy and Strategy, there will be an opportunity to dis- • Note the definition of initial ask
cuss the papers and extract from them ‘initial asks’ to be placed on
a prioritization ballot. Asks from the year prior will be automati-
cally reintroduced.
An initial ask is a specific action, policy initiative, legislative or
regulatory change. They are meant to be ambitious: they are raw
desires, which will be modified after research and strategic delib-
erations.
6. PRIORITIZE
• Subject Discussions
at p&s
• Priority Balloting
Each item submitted for the ballot will be clustered into similar Introduction 5 minutes
subjects, such as First Nations and the loans program, and each
Roundtable discussions 150 minutes
subject will be discussed at a number of roundtable discussions.
Delegates are free to roam to the subject discussion which inter- Balloting 120 minutes
ests them the most. • Delegates are free to roam between dis-
cussions
Following the discussions, balloting opens. Each full member as- • Priority voting: the most popular 24 pro-
sociation will be entitled to one approval ballot. They are to check posals carry on
those proposals which they believe should be priorities, and they
are to leave blank those which they think should not. The top pro-
posals will be declared as the priorities for the year.
7. STRATEGIZE
• Opportunity Assessment
at p&s
• Policy Assessment
Delegates will decide to attend one of two assessment sessions. Introduction 5 minutes
The policy assessment session will determine which of the twen-
Assessments 90 minutes
ty-four priorities requires more work at the policy committee
level. The opportunity assessment session will rank each of the • Delegates may attend either seesion, but
priorities for one-year achievability. not both.
The results from each session will be brought together to form
the policy development framework diamond, which dictates the
organization’s strategic work plan for the year.
8. AFTER P&S
Following P&S every priority for the year is tasked to working
groups and are all actively engaged in
Becomes the advocacy focus of
government relations and com-
munications Green
Substantial Opportunity
Sufficient Policy
Becomes the cultivation focus of
government relations and com-
munications Purple Blue
Substantial Opportunity Limited Opportunity
Insufficient Policy Sufficient Policy
Becomes the primary focus of the
policy committee Yellow
Limited Opportunity
Insufficient Policy
Becomes the long-term focus of
CASA
