Advocacy vs. Lobbying

Purpose and Overview

Researchers are often interested in providing their expertise to assist lawmakers’ creation of evidence-based legislation but may be unfamiliar with the rules and regulations around advocacy and lobbying. This practice brief reviews the key differences between lobbying and advocacy and the rules that nonprofit or federally funded researchers need to consider when engaging in policy-related work.

What’s the Difference Between Lobbying and Advocacy?

All lobbying is advocacy, but not all advocacy is lobbying. The main difference between lobbying and advocacy is that lobbying indicates an opinion about specific legislative change (e.g., particular changes to specific laws). Lobbying is always allowed as a private citizen, but researchers should be cautious about using resources (e.g., paid time, grant funded travel) to lobby whilst in a professional capacity. This restriction is related to what resources are used for lobbying – thus the amount of time used is the focus of any required reporting for tax-exempt organizations.

Government funding is strictly prohibited from being used for lobbying; though many researchers receive blended funding that is less explicitly restrictive. In short, if you’re worried: minimize the use of organizational resources for lobbying.

Lobbying Rules for Nonprofit Organizations

Many researchers’ workplaces and affiliations are likely nonprofits and, more specifically, nonprofits categorized as 501(c)(3)s (e.g., public colleges or universities, research institutes). As such, it is important that researchers are aware of the lobbying rules for nonprofit organizations. Nonprofits classified as 501(c)(3)s public charities must not use “substantial” resources for lobbying, though it is not prohibited outright. These organizations have the right to lobby for issues they believe in or against issues they do not. It is only when this advocacy deals with specific legislation that calculated cost limits apply. If the rule that “no substantial part” of activities be dedicated to lobbying seems too vague, consider an “h election” to allow your organization to precisely report the amount of money spent on direct or grassroots lobbying. Researchers should consult with their organizational leadership about lobbying definitions, allowable activities, and how their paid time may be used when communicating recommendations to legislators.

Lobbying Rules for Researchers Who Receive Federal Grant Funds

There may also be lobbying restrictions put forth by funders. In particular, researchers with grants/funding from the government should be cautious about lobbying. This does not mean that they cannot lobby; it just means that they cannot use government funds (e.g., paid time, travel funds) or resources (e.g., email addresses, computers) to support lobbying activities.

How Can Researchers Avoid the Slippery Slope from Advocacy into Lobbying?

It can be easy to unintentionally move from advocacy work to lobbying, some ways to avoid this slippery slope include:

• Focus on the issues and evidence
• Make ranging, specific recommendations as an honest broker
• Describe legislation objectively (not your opinion)
• Describe how evidence does or does not align with issues the legislation addresses
• Provide resources and responses in a publicly accessible format

What are the Exceptions to Lobbying?

Activities or communications that meet the definition of lobbying are acceptable for researchers or nonprofits to engage in under specified circumstances. Most interactions with non-legislative policymakers (e.g., in administration) are not considered lobbying. Two other exceptions to the lobbying definition are described below. These activities would not be considered lobbying. Additional information on other exceptions (e.g., self-defense, jointly funded project, broad social economic or similar problems) can be accessed here.