Advocacy means taking action to effect change in an issue that personally matters to you. Advocacy makes up a large portion of activity undertaken in community science projects.

Types of processes that projects may seek to generate or contribute to:

• Telling your story
• Relationship building (see section on audiences, below)
• Awareness raising / education
• Community organizing / mobilizing
• Getting media coverage
• Making an issue a focus of an electoral campaign season
• Pressuring electeds to act on an issue
• Providing public input to established regulatory processes such as permitting for land uses that are continuing, changing, or new.
• Providing cover to regulators so they can stand up to political/economic influence over an agency's action (Example: showing proof of valid grounds to sue the government agency for not acting)
• Triggering agency investigation, administrative action, and/or enforcement action
• Designing regulation in situations where there is none
• Mediation
• Litigation against industry
• Litigation against government agencies
• Nonviolent direct action

Types of audiences projects may seek to reach:

• Others who are affected
• Neighbors who are also constituents
• Landowners making private land use decisions
• Elected representatives
• Agency civil servants
• Industry employees, management, ownership, or board of directors
• Journalists
• Environmental lawyers