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 designer either to create an infographic as free programs like Canva and Piktochart simplify the process (Farrow et al., 2016).
You may be required to report on your OER project and/or program. The following are some principles that will help you effectively convey your work (Gallant, 2022):
Be as transparent as possible
- Most stakeholders will need a simple summary
- Consider including supplementary information such as data sets and methodologies in appendices
Keep it simple
- Balance out the information needed for transparency with up-front simplicity
- Avoid jargon and highly-technical data
- Consider offering a short version first in reports and communications, with links to full details
Provide a slow-moving metric
- Providing up-to-the minute data can show fluctuations in progress
- Instead opt for annual updates that can more accurately convey patterns and trends
- Grant access to more granular data for those who want a deep dive
Reach out with good news
- Reports are great but don’t be afraid to update stakeholders through other means to convey good news
- Consider email updates, web posts and newsletters to promote more current successes
- Opt for using visuals in these communications
Evaluating your Advocacy Work
Data is also an invaluable tool in evaluation. Advocacy work is often a marathon rather than a race, therefore needs to be regularly monitored over time (World Health Organization, 2008). Using data to measure changes or lack thereof, allows OER advocates to consider what is working and what isn’t. While not all achievements can be measured, assessment surveys, course evaluations, enrollment numbers and case studies reveal what critical questions have been answered and what new ones should be asked (CAUL, n.d.).
The OER Research Hub (Farrow et al., 2016) has utilized a framework that may be helpful in your own data evaluation. In the framework, they ask the following:
- What aspect(s) of the project should be evaluated?
- Who is the evaluation for?
- What is it they want to find out?
- What evaluation methods will be used?
- What changes will be made when the results are gathered?
- What are the evaluation criteria and what is their source?
- When will the evaluation take place?
- Who will be involved in the evaluation?
- What constraints will be placed upon the evaluation?
- How and when will the evaluation results be disseminated?
Conclusion
As much as data informs your advocacy, advocacy informs the nature of your data. Before you even begin the collection process, it is crucial you understand who will be engaged, impacted and persuaded by this information. Listed above are just a few of the many ways you can ensure your data is answering the right questions so you can tell the most compelling story.
Resources
Advocacy Step 8: Monitoring and Evaluation. (2008). In Cancer Control: Knowledge into Action: WHO Guide for Effective Programmes. World Health Organization. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK195428/
Blackstone, M. (2012). Principles of Sociological Inquiry – Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. Saylor Foundation. https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/principles-of-sociological-inquiry-qualitative-and-quantitative-methods
Butcher, N. (2015). A Basic Guide to Open Educational Resources (OER). Commonwealth of Learning (COL); http://hdl.handle.net/11599/36
College Library Ontario, Ontario Colleges Library Service, & Institute for the Study Knowledge and Management in Education. (n.d.). OER Toolkit: Advocacy. The Learning Portal. https://tlp-lpa.ca/oer-toolkit/advocacy
Council of Australian University Librarians. (n.d.). Open Educational Resources Advocacy Toolkit. Council of Australian University Librarians. https://caul.libguides.com/oer-advocacy-toolkit/home
Data Advocacy Guide. (n.d.). The Learning Accelerator. https://practices.learningaccelerator.org/guides/data-advocacy/introduction
Data Analysis Working Group. (n.d.). Data Analysis for Negotiation. SPARC. https://sparcopen.org/our-work/negotiation-resources/data-analysis/
Farrow, R., Perryman, L.-A., de los Arcos, B., & Weller, M. and P. (2016). OER Hub Researcher Pack. OER Hub. https://pressbooks.pub/oerhub/
Gallant, J. (2022). 22. Calculating and Reporting Student Savings. In A. K. Elder, S. Buck, J. Gallant, M. Seiferle-Valencia, & A. Ashok, The OER Starter Kit for Program Managers. Rebus Community. https://press.rebus.community/oerstarterkitpm/
OER Advocacy Plan (Worksheet). (n.d). SPARC. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jv_0JsunR4r501RXdj6qmOtiT4hjDSyR6X1dT9MnLXM/edit?usp=sharing
Plan for Impact Research. (2018, July 10). [Lumen Learning]. https://lumenlearning.com/plan-for-impact-research/
Thompson, S., Cross, W., Rigling, L. & Vickery J. (2017). Data-informed open education advocacy: A new approach to saving students money and backaches, Journal of Access Services, 14(3), 118 -125, https://doi.org/10.1080/15367967.2017.1333911
Wright, L., & Lambert, K. (2019). Working Group Guide. BCcampus. https://opentextbc.ca/workinggroupguide/
Woodward, K.M. (2017). Building a Path to College Success: Advocacy, Discovery and OER Adoption in Emerging Educational Models. Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 11(1-2), 206-212. https://doi-org.centennial.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/1533290X.2016.1232053