Getting Started

Advocacy takes courage, persistence, and effort. It's going to be hard, but you can do this.

Consider the steps below to start your advocacy journey.

writing your ask

First, it's important to formulate your ask. Your ask is the solution you're proposing to whatever you're struggling with. Write your ask as a statement. Though unwritten, it must have a well-thought-out reasoning behind it explaining why this is the best, plausible solution. It needs to be concise, specific, and realistic. 

When introducing our ask at meetings, we place it after our presentation so it doesn't get buried by the presentation and is a great transition into the discussion. 

Here is an example we used to lobby our district:

example asks

















reasoning

Having things specifically defined ensures that there is no confusion in the future. 


Additionally, gaining credit changes the culture of robotics within our school which will then garner more respect for robotics. Being more respected discourages people from taking away our shop space and creates the opportunity to ask for paid coaches.

local alliances

A local advocacy alliance is a union of teams coming together to lobby for the good of STEM education and robotics. 

Local Alliances can be very beneficial for a number of reasons, including that it:


Look within your community and see if there are other teams with similar struggles. Consider forming an alliance to support one another so you can both thrive. and pursue your love for robotics. 

taking action

With your ask figured out and a community to support you, begin advocating to take charge of your future!

In the "Resources" tab there is further guidance on where to take it from here.