Empowering communities to shape policy and drive change.
Policy | Advocacy | Capacity-Building
Nonprofit Policy & Research (NP&R) is founded by women from the field, dedicated to building the capacity of purpose-driven initiatives to engage effectively in public policy, government relations, and systems change.
Founded by: Bernadette Johnson & Tara Mazurk
Combined Experience: 30+ Years
Focus: A social enterprise working with coalitions, nonprofits, charities, social enterprises & social purpose businesses. We also work with governments seeking community-informed policy input.
Mission
Empower individuals, groups, and communities to participate effectively in public policy and systems change.
Vision
A world where communities have the power to enrich public policy and drive meaningful change.
Focus Areas
We bridge community organizations to the policy process by ensuring compliance with local rules, building internal systems and individual skills so that advocacy efforts are effective and sustainable over the long-term.
Frontline organizations hold insight that governments lack.
We help translate that insight into confident and evidence-informed policy dialogue, working in both advisory and hands-on capacities, with tailored and adaptable support.
The path to policy change is always unique. We help organizations and coalitions articulate policy solutions, clarify an advocacy approach, engaging communities and building relationships along the way. We support staff and volunteers to identify internal systems and processes to ensure sustainability and strategic alignment.
What we do
“The Policy Change Puzzle”
The four practice areas critical to policy success:
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Crafting an agenda and influencing decision-makers.
Identify the right building blocks for a government relations program relative to your objectives and resources. We demystify the policy process through staff and board training, facilitate data-driven and stakeholder-informed proposals appropriate to the political climate, and support effective sequencing of tactics, positioning and messaging. -
Harnessing people-power for collective goals.
Engage your community in policy agenda development, build coalitions and networks, and coordinate momentum across stakeholder groups. We facilitate strategic discussions that respect complexity, turn conversation into committed action, and support mobilization efforts. -
Integrating strategy and sustaining efforts.
We support leaders in embedding policy and advocacy into their strategic direction, integrating objectives across departments, and aligning boards and staff around a shared policy vision. We help organizations develop the routines, roles, and competencies needed to sustain policy work over time without silos, overwhelm, or burnout, leading into consistency, adaptability and lasting influence. -
Collecting your data and evaluating your advocacy.
We design and implement research initiatives grounded in data and community voice, facilitate learning cohorts and peer-exchange processes, and help organizations craft flexible metrics that track policy influence over time. We also support reporting policy activities to funders, translating advocacy work into clear, credible evidence of impact.
How we collaborate
Are you motivated about a new policy idea, or looking to strengthen your influence? Is your community apathetic about any possibility of policy change, or do your members demand more evidence of influence with government? Is your board worried about costs, lobbying rules, or mission drift with this work? Are program staff frustrated by government decision-making that further impedes your good work in community?
Charities & nonprofits already have a lot on their plates, and resources are often strained. But policymakers can hold the keys to valuable systems-level change. Our goal is to de-risk policy advocacy for staff and volunteers, grow board confidence, and bring clarity to complex environments.
We work with you so that your efforts are sustainable, responsive to real-world constraints, grounded in the communities you serve, and of demonstrable value to members, funders, and supporters.
Five ways to engage:
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Good for: Organizations becoming familiar with policy change, exploring advocacy strategies, or learning the rules for compliance with lobbying, policy dialogue activities, or elections.
Accessible tools, frameworks, and tips to help you start building your policy practice.
Delivered via:
Free and Low-Cost Webinars
Downloadable Templates & Toolkits
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Good for: Teams and networks wanting focused skills development, boards that need orientation, or conferences and retreats seeking expert facilitation.
Custom Delivery:
Board Briefings & Retreats
Conference Sessions
Skills Workshops
Staff Training/Coaching
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Good for: Organizations ready to build their policy agenda, communicate plans and successes to members & funders, assemble coalitions to advance an advocacy campaign, or undertake a research initiative.
Custom Delivery:
Policy Agenda Development ·
Organizational Integration ·
Coalition Building
Research Projects
Membership Engagement
Policy Briefs, Reports & Submissions to Government Consultations
Advocacy Evaluation
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Good for: Organizations that already have some internal capacity or staff leading policy work, but want a senior strategic voice in the room for continual guidance and occasional direct support.
What this looks like: Embedded strategic advisory presence, for periods when you need the perspective. We join your executive team, coalition steering group, or strategy table calls to share real-time insight on your context, helping you make sense of the external environment while capacity builds. We flag opportunities, problem-solve alongside your team, and execute ad-hoc deliverables in pursuit of your objectives as the context evolves.
Custom Delivery:
Advisory Presence
Executive & Coalition Meetings Ad-Hoc/As Needed
Advocacy Campaign (planning and execution)
Election Preparation
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Good for: Organizations seeking an ongoing strategic partner to count on as a member of your team to realize a policy-advocacy vision
What this looks like: We work as a fractional Policy Director member of your team, providing strategic direction, coaching & mentorship, custom guidance on internal systems development, and sustained momentum on your policy agenda.
Custom Delivery:
Advocacy Coaching
Staff Mentorship
Internal Integration
Deep Bespoke Work
Analysis & Writing · Coalition Strategy
Philanthropic Partners
For philanthropists and funders who want to fund public policy capacity building for causes that lack the resources to access strategic support, to support coalition coordination for a specific cause, and/or to partner with us to better support your community in policy-advocacy work.
Contributions offset our fee for under-resourced organizations, with an option for recipients to also use a portion of their fund to pay for policy-related costs within their organization, and we at NP&R also have a commitment to dedicate a portion of all our profits back into this fund.
Can policy engagement better serve your community?
The change we seek
& the work to get there
Purpose-driven organizations hold deep community experience and expert knowledge about the effects of god (and bad) public policy. Nonprofits are systematically under-resourced in the skills, strategy, and confidence needed to translate that knowledge into policy influence. Consequently, decisions get made without the people most aware and affected at the table.
If purpose-driven organizations and networks are equipped with what they need to engage in public policy, and if this support is made accessible regardless of budget, communities will secure a more equitable, sustained, and credible presence in the policy processes shaping their lives. The end result? Smarter, more informed public policy that better serves us all.
Capacity
Real skills, tools, and organizational infrastructure so policy and advocacy work is embedded in your work, as opposed to an after-thought.
Confidence
We demystify government relations and lobbying processes so staff, boards, and network members engage with policymakers from a place of empowerment and conviction, not fear or apathy.
Clarity
A Defined, prioritized policy agenda your organization can pursue consistently, without confusion, without burning out or losing momentum between election cycles.
Mobilization
We help networks organize effectively and support the weaving together of trust-based collective work driven by shared vision.
Momentum
Real change doesn't come from one letter to government. We help initiatives advance on their strategic agenda consistently, shifting systems with meaningful & tactical action over the short and long term.
Mechanics
We demystify how government and community organizing works and help your team navigate the right pathways, relationships, and moments to influence policy and create durable change.
Our Team
Bernadette
Johnson
Co-founder and PartnerBernadette is a nonprofit policy strategist with charity leadership experience. While policy lead at Imagine Canada she advanced national coalitions and secured changes in program funding, federal data collection, tax policy, and legal reform. Prior roles include Parliamentary staffer & archival research team lead for Canadaʼs Truth & Reconciliation Commission. She holds masters degrees in Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership from Carleton University, and Conflict Studies from University of Ottawa.
Tara
Mazurk
Co-founder and PartnerTara is a nonprofit and arts policy professional with a decade of direct experience in lobbying and government relations. Her work includes coalition and network building, organizational strategy, and policy training programs. She was a co-founder of Mass Culture, currently serves on the Board of Arts Build Ontario, and is also a wellness practitioner and visual artist.
Guided by Our Values:
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Thoughtful ways of working that support our people and planet. Lasting change requires sustainable energy — in the movements we serve and in ourselves.
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We move forward with meaningful action, ensuring voices are heard and valued — even in the difficult conversations that systems change requires.
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We work generously, with optimism and hope, believing in shared success. There is enough for all of us when we build together.
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We lead with honesty and a commitment to do well by our work, our clients, and the communities whose voices we help amplify.