Critical Reflection on Challenges Facing Social Workers in Performing Systemic Advocacy Today

Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) state that social work is committed to three core values, which address general and specific ethical responsibilities (AASW, 2010). The values are respect for person, social justice and professional integrity.  Among many responsibilities, social work professionals have the responsibility of advocating change to social systems and structures, which can preserve injustice and inequalities (AASW, 2010).  Currently, social workers working for many non-profit human service organization do engage in some forms of advocacy along with the other social services that they provide but the scope is limited in scope due to influence of neoliberalism, commodification and marketization (Feldman, Strier, & Koreh, 2017). As per the neo-institutional approach, institutional structures in which the nonprofit organizations operate influences their actions and behavior and hence at times limit their ability to carry out systemic advocacy. 

The influence on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) is also changing due to increasing trends of privatization and contracting out of different functions that have led to various challenges related to advocacy activities (Arvidson, Johansson & Scaramuzzino, 2017). The increase in complexity of relations between CSOs and public institutions has made advocacy activities quiet challenging.  Another challenge faced by the social workers in carrying out social work is their dependence on external resources and hence cannot engage in advocacy if there are no adequate fund available (Neumayr & Schneider, 2015). Neo-liberalism has encouraged a market driven civil society wherein the nonprofit organizations are regulated by competition, precariousness and commodification of social life (Feldman et al., 2017). The advocacy strategies are found to be changing across the globe not just due to resource dependency but also due to organizational factors such as organization’s orientation towards general service, provider of services for public authorities (Neumayr & Schneider, 2015). In Europe governments have contracted the welfare services to private-for-profit organization or different types of CSOs, which influences the systemic advocacy activities due to institutional pressures or weak organizational capacities (Arvidson et al., 2017). It has also been found that the degree to which nonprofit organizations engage in advocacy is influenced by geographic range of operation and field of activity. 

The nonprofit organizations that are active at national level are found to dedicate more working hours to advocacy activities and consider such activities more important than the ones operating locally (Neumayr & Schneider, 2015). The key challenges faced by the organizations in to social work are their resource structure, institutional structure and pressure and the neo-liberalism trend has led to contracting social works to private organization that has limited their scope of carrying out systemic advocacy activities.  Nonprofit organizations can address the challenges related to resource structure by opting for alternative funding sources and reduce their dependence on governments which will enable them to engage more in advocacy activities (Neumayr & Schneider, 2015). CSOs to avoid compromising advocacy can adopt flexible, dynamic and diversified advocacy approaches, which include integrating confrontational/consensual activities and using inside/outer strategies based on the issue that is being addressed or relation with the relevant government (Arvidson et al., 2017).