Policy & advocacy tools

*Note: This resource page was developed for the Ohio Wellness and Prevention Network (OWPN), an information-sharing group led by HPIO from 2011 to July 2017. This page is no longer being updated. For more recent content related to prevention policy, see the Guide to Improving Health Value and the Ohio Health Value Review.

Ohio Policymaking Basics

Free online, self-study course that introduces participants to the process, structure, actions and decision-making bodies related to policy in Ohio. Developed by the Ohio State University College of Public Health and HPIO. Click Here for more information.

Ohio Wellness & Prevention Network* fact sheets

• What is advocacy? (full-color pdf, 2 pages)
• What is advocacy? (black & white pdf, 2 pages)
• What is lobbying? (full-color pdf, 2 pages)
• What is lobbying? (black & white pdf, 2 pages)
• Prevention policy and advocacy glossary (pdf, 4 pages)
• What is ‘Policy, System and Environmental Change’? (pdf, 2 pages)
• Policymakers as partners in prevention (pdf, 2 pages)

HPIO prevention resources

• Beyond Medical Care: Emerging policy opportunities to advance prevention and improve health value in Ohio 
• Guide to Improving Health Value
• Ohio Prevention Basics: A closer look at prevention spending (4 pages)
• Ohio Prevention Basics (full report, 28 pages)
• Ohio Prevention Basics (executive summary, 4 pages)
• Ohio Public Health Basics (full report, 29 pages)
• Ohio Public Health Basics (executive summary, 2 pages)

Advocacy tools

Understanding Lobbying Restrictions
(free publications)

For nonprofit organizations

• Being a Player: A guide to the IRS lobbying regulations for Advocacy Charities (Alliance for Justice, 2010)
• Give me your 990!: Public disclosure requirements for tax-exempt organizations (Alliance for Justice, 2008)

For organizations receiving federal funding

• Anti-Lobbying Restrictions for CDC Grantees (July 2012) – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fact sheet
• Anti-Lobbying Restrictions for CDC Grantees (July 2012) – NACCHO fact sheet 
• Change Lab Solutions archived webinar and briefing documents on federal lobbying restrictions for federal grantees

Advocacy “How To” Guides (free publications)

• Answering the Three Key Questions for Advocacy Campaigns (worksheet from M+R Strategic Services) 
• Choosing an Advocacy Campaign Goal (worksheet from M+R Strategic Services) 
• American Academy of Pediatrics Advocacy Guide
• American Public Health Association (APHA) 2012 PHACT Campaign Toolkit (federal legislative priorities, plus general advocacy tips)
• American Public Health Association (APHA) Advocacy Tips
• Be Our Voice: Advocacy Resource Guide – Mobilizing healthcare professionals as community leaders in the fight against childhood obesity
• Be Our Voice: Advocacy Toolbox
• Beyond the Cause: The Art and Science of Advocacy, Independent Sector
• Wisconsin Public Health Association Legislative Toolkit for the Public Health Professional
• Make a difference for your cause in three hours a week (fact sheet from Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest)
• Mental Health American Advocacy Guide
• National Association of County and City Health Officials Online Advocacy Guide

Advocacy “How To” Training and Technical Assistance

• Ohio Public Health Association (OPHA) legislative liaison training program
• Advocacy 101 (County Health Rankings archived webinar)
• Advocacy 201 (County Health Rankings archived webinar)
• Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio (UHCAN) – Advocacy training
• Ohio Association of Nonprofit Organizations: Public policy resources (technical assistance, legislator bios, advocacy tips)
• Shaping Policy for Health (in-person training series)
• Health ExChange Academy (in-person training program from The California Endowment)
• Be Our Voice: Online Training Course
• Alliance for Justice: Bolder Advocacy (website with multiple resources and technical assistance)
• Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (training provider and website with multiple resources)
• Midwest Training Academy (workshops, training manual, and technical assistance)
• Berkeley Media Studies Group (in-person training on media advocacy and message framing)
• Health ExChange Academy (training manuals from The California Endowment) 

Communications and Message Framing Tools (free publications)

• Messaging Research Findings (public polling results on prevention and public health from Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) 
• Effective Strategies for Communicating Public Health Findings with the Media and Policymakers (AcademyHealth archived webinar)
• A new way to talk about the social determinants of health (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report)
• Framing public issues (toolkit by Frameworks Institute)
• Talking with the public about community prevention (guidance on effective messaging from the Herndon Alliance)
• Making the case for community prevention through media advocacy (toolkit by the Prevention Institute)
• Adding power to our voices: A framing guide for communicating about injury (CDC guide)
• Berkeley Media Studies Group (framing 101)
• OhioSPEAKS story-banking project fact sheet
• OhioSPEAKS story submission tips

Policy Change Templates and Tools (free publications and templates)

• Ohio Department of Transportation and Safe Routes to School: School travel plan development information
• Tobacco-free schools, colleges, and universities model policies (compiled by the Bureau of Healthy Ohio)
• Bureau of Healthy Ohio Smoke-free multi-unit housing manual
• Change Lab Solutions (policy examples and other resources related to: tobacco control, childhood obesity, healthy housing, and healthy planning)
• Development of a Physical Activity Policy (“how to” guide for developing a school policy)

Local and State Policy Databases (examples of health-related policies)

• What Works for Health, County Health Rankings and Roadmaps database of evidence-informed policies, programs, and systems change
• Policy Depot, National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention policy clearinghouse (requires free login)
• National Association of Counties Healthy Counties Database
• ENACT Local Policy Database
• Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) Policy Change Toolbox (catalog of environmental policy changes, including local ordinances and school policies)
• National Association of State Boards of Education State School Healthy Policy Database
• State Health Policy Options (National Governors Association)

Understanding Policy Change for Health

• Creating Opportunities for Healthy Communities (online training developed by Ohio Department of Health, the Prevention Research Center at The OSU College of Public Health, and The OSU Center for Public Health Practice) FREE!
• Introduction to Public Health Public Policy (online training course by Mid-America Center for Public Health Practice)

Ohio Government Basics

• Ohio Legislative Service Commission (LSS)
• Guidebook for Ohio Legislators (LSS)
• State of Ohio Government (links to state and local government sites)
• Advocates for Ohio’s Future, state budget and legislative process overview
• How laws are made (info graphic, federal)
• Who are my State Representative and Senator?
• Who is my U.S. Representative?
• Ohio Public Health Association 130th Ohio General Assembly Pocket Guide
• Ohio Public Health Basics (Health Policy Institute of Ohio)