This topic guide will help readers looking for resources on how nonprofit and charitable organizations can contribute to public policy development and their role as advocates for social change. You will find general works in print and electronic formats on a variety of advocacy and policy topics, including:

• Community relations and advocacy
• Public policy participation
• Planning communications for social advocacy
• Participating in policy research networks
• Legal definition of advocacy in the context of charitable registration

Look also for materials on special topics such as media relations, social advocacy, lobbying, policy networks, e-advocacy, advocacy advertising and more!

Other Resources:

For a broader selection of resources on issues related to the political activities of registered charities, see our Topic guide on legal and regulatory resources or visit Imagine Canada's website and find out about its Public Policy and Government Relations program.

Independent searching tips:

To search the full Library Catalogue for additional records, use keywords or keyword phrases such as: Advocacy (capturing both Advocacy advertising and Social advocacy), Politic* (capturing Politics, Political activity, Political planning, and Political participation) or Communications.

Other useful keywords to use in combination with Advocacy, Politic* or Communications: policy (which includes the terms Policy networks, Social policy, Medical policy, Government policy, etc.), public interest, lobbying, public relations, marketing, public opinion, democracy, social change, etc.

Use Handbooks to focus on practical tools and resources, and Statistics to focus on quantitative data.

You can also use these keywords in searching the catalogues of other academic and public libraries.