Ok, the JDRF Advocacy blog is officially back from our holiday hiatus.

I noticed there was another spirited DSMA twitter chat this past Wednesday that talked a lot about how we can continue to build the DOC in 2011 and make our collective voice louder.  I took particular interest in this part of the chat since it’s what we spend virtually all of our time thinking about as an advocacy staff.

Certainly, part of that answer for us in 2010 was using social media more effectively.  We launched this very blog, continued to ramp-up our Twitter communications, expanded our FB fan page, and launched Type 1 Talk for World Diabetes Day.

I think that our challenge is to take this approach to the next level in 2011 and engage the DOC in a new, a more creative, and a more consistent way.  As I’ve said before, I think we at JDRF, particularly in the advocacy area, are in a unique position to be able to invest in platforms that help bring the DOC closer together, make us more effective, and help JDRF achieve its legislative goals in the process.

We’ve got a full plate of activities lined-up in 2011.  Hasan talked about the new Congress creating an opportunity to build new relationships.  We’ll also be asking for your input on our new advocacy brochure that will be printed in the first few months of this year as well as how we can improve our yearly organizing conference, Government Day.  We’re also prepping for the 2011 Children’s Congress in June and the ever-important Promise Campaign in August.

None of these activities will be a success without the DOC, though.  We need to implement them in new ways that help the DOC achieve its larger goals for 2011. 

So, how could we/should we approach this?  What would you like to see us do?  How would you like us to communicate and help the DOC organize in 2011?

Let me know in the comments below.

Happy New Year!