Advocacy and policy change: Theory and practice

This book provides an evidence-based guide, toolkit and collection of evaluation cases for conducting effective advocacy and policy change evaluations.

It integrates insights from different disciplines and offers recommendations for developing appropriate evaluation designs and working with unique advocacy and policy change-oriented instruments.

This resource and the following information were contributed by Annette L Gardner.

Authors and their affiliation

Annette L Gardner, PhD, MPH (Associate Professor – retired, University of California, San Francisco). Currently the principal of ALGardner Consulting.

Claire D Brindis, DrPH, Professor Emeritus, University of California, San Francisco.

Key features of Advocacy and policy change evaluation

This is the first book-length treatment of the concepts, designs, methods, and tools needed to conduct effective advocacy and policy change evaluations. By integrating insights from different disciplines, Part I provides a conceptual foundation for navigating advocacy tactics within today's turbulent policy landscape. Part II offers recommendations for developing appropriate evaluation designs and working with unique advocacy and policy change–oriented instruments. Part III turns toward opportunities and challenges in this growing field. In addition to describing actual designs and measures, the chapters include suggestions for addressing the specific challenges of working in a policy setting, such as a long time horizon for achieving meaningful change.

To illuminate and advance this area of evaluation practice, the authors draw on over 30 years of evaluation experience; collective wisdom based on a new, large-scale survey of evaluators in the field; and in-depth case studies on diverse issues—from the environment to public health to human rights. Ideal for evaluators, change makers, and funders, this book is the definitive guide to advocacy and policy change evaluation.

How have you used or intend to use this resource?

I have used the book as an educator and as a resource for workshops on advocacy and policy change evaluation that I have conducted at the EES and AEA pre-conference professional development workshops and The Evaluator's Institute 1-day workshop.

Why would you recommend it to other people?

So far, it is the only textbook on advocacy and policy change evaluation and continues to be the most in-depth repository of relevant constructs, methods, and cases. Also, it is the only resource that provides a detailed discussion on ‘advocacy,’ ‘policy,’ and ‘policymaking.’