Advocacy
When it comes to response, it has long been recognised that successful outcomes invariably arise from a collaborative approach between the controlling authorities in charge of the response and the responsible party who is charged with providing the resources and capability to effectively respond to, and restore the situation. OSRL has a unique opportunity to represent the collective weight of its broad oil industry ownership in building relationships with governments and controlling authorities on behalf of our members. In this respect we can “advocate” good industry practice in this collaborative framework of building preparedness based upon risk and utilising a tiered structure to enable more effective response.
The Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation Convention of 1990 (OPRC 90) provides the guiding principles for our advocacy activities in that it promotes cooperation (government to government and between government and industry) and establishes the building blocks for preparedness:
- Legislation and regulation (having a designated competent authority in charge)
- Risk Assessment and OSCP(Understanding the risk of spills and having a corresponding plan to mitigate the consequences of them)
- Provision of equipment (having access to necessary hardware resources in an escalating or tiered structure)
- Training and exercises(personnel trained and tested in implementing the plan in a cyclical evolution)
In addition to advocating the philosophical approach, synonymous with the principles of OPRC 90, there are also areas of technical advocacy where OSRL has an opportunity to educate and influence the wider stakeholder community on the industry-consensus approach to effective response. Technical good practice such as in the field of dispersant application and effectiveness monitoring, for example, are areas where we can provide consistent aligned communication on behalf of our industry membership to encourage policy-makers to understand the issues.
Defining Advocacy
“Advocacy” and “Engagement” are terms which have inadvertently been used interchangeably when referring to a range of stakeholders that we collaborate with. It is therefore necessary to analyse and draw clear distinction between the different types of engagement that OSRL undertakes. Analysis of a wide range of activities that OSRL undertakes reveals several distinct groups of organisations that we typically engage with:
a) OSRL members (and prospective members)
b) Governmental bodies (regulators, ministries, and controlling authorities)
c) Wider response community:
a. Collaborative OSROs including GRN Partners
b. Scientific community, academia, research and development organisations, equipment manufacturers
Whilst these groupings, by and large cover the spectrum of our external engagements, Advocacy is simply a subset which relates only to our engagement with governmental bodies, regulators and representatives of controlling authorities who will be 'in charge' during a major spill. Advocacy is characterised by specific messages, consistent with the OPRC 90 Convention and which underpin the industry’s commitment to prepare for spills by building response capacity in a tiered structure based upon risk. Advocacy is therefore distinctive from other forms of engagement with our members and other stakeholder where there are different drivers, means, mechanisms and outcomes which are highlighted in the table below.
Defining these principal groupings in this way enables us to define more clearly what we mean by 'Advocacy'.
| Focus |
A) OSRL Members (Industry) |
B) Advocacy Governments / Authorities |
C) Wider Response Community Technical Engagement with Stakeholders |
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| Who |
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OSRO Community:
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Scientific and Technical Community:
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| Goals |
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Advocacy Key Messages:
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| Means |
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| Benefits |
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Developing 3-year Advocacy Plan
Having defined the whos, whys, ways and means of advocacy enables us to plan strategically where we achieve best value through such activities on behalf of our membership. Each conference or external event is analysed and prioritised on the basis of the key messages we want to convey, the audience who will be exposed to our messages and their ability to influence resulting decisions which are made. These decisions ultimately make a difference to our collective preparedness and ability to respond effectively to oil spills at a national, regional or global level.
This is the basis by which we plan, looking ahead three years, but adapting the plan to the ever-changing dynamics of the preparedness and response issues which are faced.
Advocacy Key Messages and Partnerships in Profile
Click here.