Policy advocacy experiences of Saskatchewan nonprofit organizations: Caught between rocks and hard places with multiple constituents?

Abstract

In Canada, nonprofit, social service, community‐based organizations (CBOs) play an important role in advocating for social policies intended to positively influence people's lives. This article explores the challenges and opportunities that exist within the dynamic relations among social service CBOs, the marginalized communities they serve, and governments, as these CBOs attempt to influence social policy development. Qualitative data were collected from CBOs from 18 communities throughout the province of Saskatchewan and these data show how CBOs find themselves having to juggle and negotiate with multiple constituents and their myriad perspectives, often resulting in feelings of being caught between rocks and hard places. Nonetheless, analysis of the data also indicates these CBOs manoeuvre themselves around these precarious circumstances to find soft spots for progressive change. In my conclusion, I focus on the multiple constituent perspectives with which CBOs must contend, the potential salience of constituents in advocacy theory, the possible role of geographic and spatial variables in advocacy theory, iterative decision‐making loops that may better characterize advocacy than decisions made in serial fashion, and finally, advocacy chill and advocacy warmth.