Advocacy

Policy Type: Governance Process

The Board of Governors of Cambrian College has identified the importance of developing an Advocacy Policy, strategy, and action plan. The Board believes a formal process allows it to respond to political, economic, and social issues impacting the college, the Ontario college system, and postsecondary education in general. The Board has also identified the importance of informing appropriate stakeholders on key issues affecting postsecondary education.
The Board recognizes that advocating for specific issues may involve joint action with the College
administration, Colleges Ontario, Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), or other interested
parties. The Board also may advocate on its own.

The Board of Governors will advocate on behalf of the College and the postsecondary education
and training system on issues of concern. This advocacy may be undertaken in partnership with
others. The purpose of the activity is to inform, to educate, to champion and to garner support
with governments and other stakeholders.
Goals of advocacy may include:

to develop effective advocacy objectives and strategies for the Board of Governors that
support the College’s Strategic Directions and to steer the implementation of these strategies;
to raise the profile of Cambrian College, its programs and services with members of the
community, students, governments, business, industry, media, and other key stakeholders;
to liaise with, or participate on, the Colleges Ontario Advocacy and Communications
Committee in order to represent the College or to work with the College to influence the
implementation of provincial advocacy and strategies;
to position the College as a major force and a valuable partner in employment, economic and
community development, and technological innovation;
to advocate for adequate funding and resources to enable the college to continue to provide
quality education, training and services to meet the changing needs and increasing demand
for postsecondary education and training;
to establish and maintain effective relationship with the community, business, industry,
government, other educational sectors, and others who can assist the Board and the College
in achieving its goals;
to promote and market the College and its position on issues;
to encourage each Board member to promote the College’s Strategic Directions through
personal networking and advocacy opportunities and identify outreach events where
governor representation would advance the College.

Colleges Ontario is responsible for advocating on provincial system‐wide college issues and
Colleges and Institutes Canada is responsible for advocating on federal system‐wide college
issues. Certain advocacy issues may require collaboration with college boards, college
administrations and other organizations.

Annually, the Board will identify and prioritize issues that require an advocacy strategy, will
formulate appropriate action plans, and will develop a statement of key messages concerning
these issues. These key messages will serve as position statements for individual board members
when representing Cambrian College’s Board of Governors in speaking engagements or other
advocacy activities.

Cambrian College is a legal corporate entity and, as such, individual Board members must
represent the views of the Board and College as a whole when speaking on an advocacy issue, rather than presenting their individual positions.

Although the Board and College administration will collaborate on strategic advocacy issues, the
President of Cambrian College and other senior administrative staff will advocate on an ongoing
basis on emerging issues.

Colleges Ontario, through its Advocacy and Communications Committee, identifies system‐wide
college advocacy issues and develops strategies to deal with these issues on an annual basis. These advocacy issues are communicated to colleges through various publications and
committees.
The Board will identify Cambrian College advocacy issues primarily at its annual planning
workshop. Board members will prioritize these advocacy issues based on the needs of the College
and will determine which issues the Board should focus its attention upon in the upcoming year.
Key messages will be developed for use by individual Board members as opportunities arise to
achieve the goals of advocacy outlined in the policy.

Annually the Board will assess progress made with respect to the approved annual College
Advocacy Plan.
Individual contributions to the advocacy effort will be evaluated as part of the annual Board and
self‐evaluation process.