Facts In Action

Data is a powerful ally to any advocacy effort because data is viewed as objective information. Whether trying to describe the success of your child care program, or convince a legislator that the teacher retention rates at your center need to be improved, numbers add powerful clout to your argument. This Ideas for Action provides several easy tips on how to strengthen your advocacy efforts through the integration of data.

Use data to quantify the issue.
Instead of stating, "teacher retention rates are low and therefore must be addressed." Try saying, "In Fall 2002, 30% of the teachers that graduated from the Signing Bonus Program and worked in high-risk areas quit. This rate is much higher than the national statistic, 9%, of new teachers that quit after the first year." (http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v11n13) Using numbers to quantify the scope of the problem helps policymakers clearly see that the issue is not just about 1 or 2 teachers but is about 100 or 300 teachers. Providing a number for comparison directly points out to policymakers why this situation is not normal and therefore requires attention.

Provide data in a clear concise format.
Data and statistics, which can be cumbersome to read in paragraph form, can easily be displayed in graphs, tables, or bullet points. Using any of these gives the reader a quick impression of the point you are making before they even begin reading your article. For example, see the Quick Facts to Clip and Quote (page 8). The significant differences between the two groups are apparent immediately, before you even begin to read the text.

Data can be included everywhere.
Use data to enhance your points to all audiences. When discussing in your parents newsletter the importance of reading with children, try reinforcing your point by adding, children who are read to more than three times a week are twice as likely to score in the top 25% in reading. (http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/parental.html) Or when inviting a local business to partner with you, explain to them that because of unreliable child care arrangements, employee absenteeism costs American businesses about $3 billion a year, and that by partnering with you they can begin to reduce that. (http://www.strategiesforchildren.org/images/pdfs/Why%20Investing.pdf)

Ultimately a winning advocacy strategy uses both anecdotes and data to communicate a point. Stories are what move our hearts, and numbers are what move policy.

Facts in Action, July 2004