Advocacy in the New Zealand Not for Profit Sector” Nothing Stands By Itself

This research focuses on the nature of Government/Not for Profit (NFP) sector relationships with particular reference to advocacy in New Zealand. It follows up on a study of advocacy in NSW and Queensland carried by Onyx et al. (2009). There has been concern that NFP organisations in NZ have had their advocacy functions curtailed by the requirements of government contracting and by decisions from the Charities Commission. This study looks at the kinds of advocacy activities that NFP sector organisations are involved in, the language they use to describe their advocacy and the reasons given for the strategies NFPs adopt. The study shows that advocacy has not slowed down, the methods are evolving and NFPs are finding new ways to get their message across in a rapidly changing context.