Discussion: SPP: Stakeholders and Politics

Politicians have the means and the position to not only “politicize,” or make an issue political, but to also gain influence for public health issues. They can use their political power to influence issues toward political agendas and to persuade stakeholders toward favorable solutions. As a public health professional, what should you know before entering the political arena? How might you apply knowledge of political agendas to assist you in advocating for your issue? Taking time to understand how politicians have voted and lobbied for an issue is critical.

Before attempting to impact policy at the local, state, national, and/or international level, public health professionals must first identify the numerous stakeholders who impact their issue. Other than the politicians, who else can you identify as stakeholders for your issue?

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In this Discussion, you will examine the history of support for or opposition to the public health issue you have selected for your Scholar Practitioner Project. You will also investigate how stakeholder power has influenced the progress (or lack thereof) of your issue. Be sure to consider all stakeholders, not just politicians.

Post a response in which you:

• Provide information regarding all the individuals you consider key stakeholders using the stakeholder analysis tool. Copy/paste from your completed Discussion Template (if you need help visit Walden Quick Answers at https://academicanswers.waldenu.edu/faq/101437).
• Summarize the political support or opposition to your public health issue.
• Describe the primary strategies you would employ to generate support and/or minimize opposition.
• Explain specific examples of stakeholder and political involvement.
• Support your explanation with the Learning Resources and peer-reviewed sources found through your own research.

• Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your peers’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “To Participate in this Discussion” link below which will navigate you to the Discussion Board, then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, so you may wish to draft out in an editor first (e.g. Word). Blank posts will result in a grade reduction. Please check your post carefully before clicking Submit!

  By Day 6 of Week 8

  Respond to at least 2 posts in a substantive way and respond to all instructor queries. In your response, address at least one of the following:

  • Proposing an additional stakeholder or political force that has impacted, or has the potential to impact, their public health issue and/or the development of legislation associated with their issue
  • Provide at least one additional strategy to address the impact of a stakeholder or political force.
  • Providing at least one resource or website that can assist your peer in further research and investigation.
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  • Week 8 DiscussionAs you consider the politics PEEEL discipline, keep in mind that ultimately politics is about disagreement. It will serve you well to know what the disagreement is, and who the disagreeing parties are. Only then can you work to resolve, or navigate, the political issues.I cannot imagine a policy initiative that does not involve politics. Therefore, this discussion is a great exercise to prepare you for the inevitable. The Learning Resources include a template which you will complete and submit for this discussion. In this template you will list stakeholders that have a vested interest in your Scholar Practitioner Project topic. As you complete this template, I urge you to consider the following:About a Stakeholder Analysis
    • • Include BOTH stakeholders that can be supportive and who will oppose your advocacy. While both are important, it has been my experience that policy initiatives are more likely to fail because you have not considered those who oppose your efforts, rather than those who will support it.
      • You might be tempted to include stakeholders that are relevant to your health outcome generally, but the most effective stakeholder analyses will be those that are specific to the intervention for which you will advocate. For example, you can imagine the number of agencies that have a stake in obesity – everything from CDC to the snack industry. There are probably hundreds. However, if you are advocating for a tax on sugar sweetened beverages to reduce obesity, then the number of stakeholders are fewer and more relevant. The important questions for you to consider to make this exercise worthwhile are who can help and who can hinder the policy for which you are advocating? Be comprehensive, but only in this specific context.
      • The point of a stakeholder analysis is to determine how you will manage stakeholders. So, the “Actions To Take” column of your template deserves careful consideration. How can you maximize the help of your supporters? How can you neutralize the impact of your detractors?

    Template clarifications:

    • • “Interest or Requirement in the Program” Column – This is the stakeholder’s perspective on the policy initiative (as opposed to your perspective).
      • “What the Program Needs from the Stakeholder” Column – This is what you need the stakeholder to do.
      • “Actions to Take” Column – This is what you will do in order to get the stakeholder to do what you described above.