17 Data for Advocacy
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this chapter the learner will:
- Identify the role advocacy plays in the data collection
- Understand at which points in a project advocacy should be considered
- Possess a basic understanding of how to utilize data for effective OER advocacy
Introduction
Data is an invaluable tool for those campaigning for increased openness in education. Quantitative analysis can give your report persuasive metrics in the form of cost savings or enrollment impact. Meanwhile qualitative data can provide a compelling story of student behaviour, institutional landscape or general community perceptions. Used to generate numerical statistics and weave a compelling narrative, data can be used to drive decision-making and systematic change; however, data collected without a clear purpose can be a waste of time and resources.
First Steps
Prior to running any program or initiative, open educational advocates must clearly articulate the goals and critical questions underpinning their information seeking. Some firsts steps involve the following (Data Advocacy Guide, n.d.):
- Connecting the why or purpose of advocacy and data collection to a framework
- Understanding how to leverage and analyze data effectively to support efforts
- Knowing what data is needed to advocate successfully
An OER advocacy framework you could consider adopting is courtesy of The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) (n.d):
Figure 1. ‘OER Advocacy Process’ in the CAUL OER Advocacy Toolkit by CAUL, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Creating your advocacy strategy can be a part of your overall planning and included into your project management. In addition to the aforementioned framework, SPARC (n.d.) has created the OER Advocacy Plan Worksheet, a great step-by-step resource for shaping your “action plan” for advocacy. It includes identifying:
- Goals
- Processes
- Decisions-makers
- Time Frames
- Influencers
- Strategist
- Tactics
- Communication plans
You can read more about shaping an advocacy action plan in What is an OER Action Plan? by CAUL.
The “WHO” of Advocacy
Identifying key stakeholders is crucial in the early stages of the advocacy process. These can be many different types of people and groups such as: the people you are advocating for; the individuals or organizations who make decisions; and the ambassadors who can help influence others. As you classify the distinct group of stakeholders, questions will arise about their motivations, perceptions and needs in relation to OER. Refer to our section on Stakeholders to learn more.
Communicating your Data
The most challenging aspect of any project may be effectively synthesizing and communicating data to your key stakeholders.
Consider visualizing your data through a combination of text, charts and images in the form of an infographic. This method is a great way to quickly convey impact to a large audience, although it may generalize some of your findings. You do not have to be a desi