Printer-friendly version

Public policy and advocacy guides for nonprofit organizations

The library has a useful set of guides to help organizations support public policy development or engage in public advocacy, as well as a wide variety of resources on the broader charitable and nonprofit sector in Canada.

Imagine Canada's Public Engagement Campaigns encourage dialogue between governments and the charitable and nonprofit sector, and has made numerous contributions to the emergence of a strong charitable and nonprofit sector in Canada. Please browse the Imagine Canada Publications Archive to review our contributions to public debate – and the literature – in this area.

For independent search tips, click here.

Selected online and print resources:

Advocacy : a presentation / Shauna Sylvester, Gordon Floyd. Ottawa : Voluntary Sector Forum, 2003.

Advocacy on the agenda : preparing voluntary boards for public policy participation / Annette Hegel. Ottawa : Volunteer Canada, c2003.

Advocacy : the sound of citizens’ voices : a position paper from the Advocacy Working Group / by Laurie Rektor. [Rev. ed.]. [Ottawa] : Voluntary Sector Secretariat, [2002].

Board handbook for community relations and advocacy. Version 1. [Ottawa] : Victorian Order of Nurses, 2002.

Building policy partnerships : making network governance work / by Laura Edgar. Ottawa : Institute on Governance, 2002.

Building relationships : using good practices as a catalyst : Joint Accord focus groups on the draft Codes of good practice / facilitated and reported by Sibyl Frei and Odette Langlais. [Ottawa : Voluntary Sector Initiative], 2002.

A code of good practice on policy dialogue : building on an Accord between the government of Canada and the voluntary sector / developed by the Joint Accord Table of the Voluntary Sector Initiative. [Ottawa] : Voluntary Sector Initiative, 2002.

Communicating with your MP : a how to kit for voluntary organizations / [produced by the Voluntary Sector Roundtable]. Toronto : Voluntary Sector Roundtable, [2000].

Equality-based public policy development : views from the field / prepared by Anne Webb. Halifax : Women in Public Policy Initiative, 2003.

A guide to government relations for directors of not-for-profit organizations / Huw Williams, Lou Riccoboni. Toronto : Canadian Society of Association Executives, 2003. 

Mapping the links : citizen involvement in policy processes / by Susan D. Phillips ; with Michael Orsini. Ottawa : Canadian Policy Research Networks, 2002.

Participating in federal public policy : a guide for the voluntary sector. Ottawa : Voluntary Sector Initiative, 2003.

Policy grass roots : consultant's report on eleven VSI policy workshops / Glen Milne. Ottawa : Voluntary Sector Initiative, 2002.

The rubber and the road : a workbook for implementing the Codes of Good Practice / prepared by Voluntary Sector Affairs Directorate, Canadian Heritage and the Voluntary Sector Forum. Ottawa : Voluntary Sector Initiative, 2003.

"Tell it to Ottawa" legislative workshop : the advocacy toolkit. Ottawa : Dawn Ontario, 2003.

Understanding and influencing the policy development process / by Heather Lunergan ; [with modifications by PolicyLink members]. Fredericton, N.B. : PolicyLink NB, 2002.

Independent search tips:

For a more comprehensive search on this  and related topics, please go to the library’s online catalogue. Try using keywords or keyword phrases such as Political (capturing Political participation, Political planning, Political activity, etc.), Policy or Advocacy. To further limit your search to works which discuss this in a practical manner, add the string & Handbooks to your initial search terms. If a title is marked below with "Full Text Available", you can view or download the whole document immediately; if the document is not available online, you can contact the Online Librarian about locating a copy of the desired item at a library near you, or making an appointment to visit the library.

We are able to respond to requests from our library users thanks to the generous support of our funders and to the support of Imagine Canada's membership of over 1,000 organizations. In addition to supporting Imagine Canada's leadership and research initiatives, our members have access to specialized information resources, networking opportunities and significant discounts on our many publications -- including the Canadian Directory to Foundations and Corporations. If you are not already a member of Imagine Canada, please consider joining today. You will find out more about membership at Imagine Canada.