Political embeddedness versus social networks: influences on social work NGO policy advocacy in China – insights from the 2019 Social Work Study

Drawing on data from the 2019 China Social Work Study, this study examines the main factors that influence social work non-governmental organisations' (NGO) policy advocacy. To this end, it employs an analytical framework to assess the impact of both institutional (political embeddedness) and cultural (social networks) factors. The findings indicate that the overall level of NGOs' policy advocacy in China is relatively subdued, encompassing both direct and indirect forms, and predominantly adopts an embedded approach, characterised by dependence on governmental support. Furthermore, elements of political embeddedness, such as experience as deputies to the National People's Congress or members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, involvement in party construction, receipt of government support and engagement in administrative affairs, were found to significantly enhance NGOs' policy advocacy. This enhancement was notably more pronounced in both direct and indirect advocacy efforts. Additionally, social network factors, including relationships with universities, enterprises, hospitals, lawyers and association memberships, were identified as having a significant positive impact on direct policy advocacy. Moreover, the study reveals that the influence of political embeddedness on NGOs' policy advocacy is stronger than that of social networks. Finally, organisational capacity factors, including organisational age, size, award, social media usage, information transparency and professional technical staff composition were identified as having a significant positive impact on policy advocacy. These insights suggest that NGOs could benefit from bolstering their connections with local governments, while also leveraging social networks to enhance their policy advocacy capabilities.