Policy Advocacy - Basic Role of Accredited Commercial Diplomats
In addition to policy analysis, facilitation, negotiation, promotion and advocacy issues, arbitration and mediation, the commercial diplomat's function also comprises a significant aspect of the commercial diplomat's remit, particularly with regard to the resolution, settlement and management of international trade, investment and commerce-related disputes.

Basic Role of Commercial Diplomats in Commercial Diplomatic Services
Unlike attachés and other officials of government in diplomatic missions, the role of commercial diplomats is neither political nor honorary, it is a uniquely dynamic role and value-added function. These highly-trained experts, highly-skilled specialists, and highly-knowledgeable practitioners are appropriately trained, examined, rigorously assessed, authorised, accredited and impactfully regulated by the only extraterritorial regulatory body with the pioneering authority to examine, qualify, certify, recognise, accredit, fully register and better impactfully regulate high-quality accomplished learned commercial diplomatist.

The commercial diplomat is expected to understand the factors that must be considered in analyzing a policy issue in international trade, investment and commerce, and how the skills-based knowledge of commercial diplomacy can be applied.

While practitioner's understanding of:

• international trade policy process must cover the basic steps and the predominant actors in the process, including how to use commercial-judicial diplomatic skills and knowledge to formulate or influence the formulation of policies in international trade, investment and commerce,
   
• commercial-judicial diplomacy must cover the factors that must be considered in analyzing a policy issue in international trade, investment and commerce, and how the skills-based knowledge of commercial-judicial diplomacy can be applied.

In the global trading system, the highly-skilled practitioner should:

• be familiar with, and understand the history, nature, and scope of the WTO, and the structure for international trade, investment and commerce, and also, be able to analyse international trade, judicial and political issues,
   
• be able to define trade policy issues, covering the challenges, complexities, barriers, burdens and risks involved in defining the trade problem for policy action or negotiation,
   
• be highly-skilled in the use of economic data, especially, in commercial diplomatic services, covering the analysis of the domestic economic impact of a trade policy measure, including the impact on prices, trade, production, productivity, wages, and consumer welfare using back-of-the-envelope calculations,
   
• be highly-skilled in analysing trade-related domestic policy, covering the identification and analysis of the domestic policies related to a trade problem and the reconciliation of domestic and international trade policy objectives and responsibilities.

In commercial, economic, political and judicial analysis, covering the analysis of domestic laws and international trade rules that apply to an identified trade problem, the highly-competent practitioner should:

• be able to determine what laws or trade rules can be invoked to solve an international trade problem, and whether a solution to the identified problem requires a change in a domestic law or regulation, or negotiation of a new international agreement or trade rule,
   
• be highly-skilled in political analysis, covering the identification of stakeholders, their interests, and their options for using the political process to influence the decisions of policy makers and trade negotiators,
   
• be familiar with the preparation and implementation of a successful strategy for achieving desired policy objectives,
   
• be efficient in providing the conceptual analytical framework for the analysis of a commercial diplomatic issue, trade problem, or trade policy goal and be advanced in the development of a research strategy for the obtaining of the data and information necessary to carry out a comprehensive analysis of an issue and be able to pull together the results of each element of the analysis into an Analytical Framework chart. 

In communicating the message, he should:

• be able to use effective communication as a professional tool, which should cover the preparation of written documents,
   
• be effective in targeting an audience, representing the positions of an organization, and properly structuring and organizing each type of documentation.

Practitioners become qualified, recognised, certified, accredited and fully registered to:

•  enhance their ability, credibility, confidence, professionalism, standards of practice, practice-oriented specialisms, integrity and employability,
   
•  distinguish themselves as standout accomplished learned commercial diplomats in the commercial diplomatic sector and market,
   
•  build and enhance their global presence in the commercial diplomatic sector-specific services, industry and market by improving their skills-specific commercial-judicial diplomatic knowledge,
   
• advance, enhance and advocate responsible commercial diplomacy, counsel and advice governments, multinational corporations, multilateral organisations, legislatures, diplomatic institutions, central, commercial, investment and regional banks, and others with cross-border commercial diplomatic sector-specific services,
   
• gain new skills-based knowledge and techniques to benefit their personal and professional development, advancement, growth, and qualifications,
   
• improve their potential earnings as an internationally, extraterritorially and multi jurisdictionally qualified, recognised, approved, accredited and fully registered commercial diplomats.

Use of Advocacy and Coalition-Building
Most issues addressed by commercial diplomacy today are political in that they affect the interests of many stakeholders. A stakeholder is anyone who has a stake in the outcome of decisions and who can exercise political influence of one kind or another to shape the outcome. Stakeholders in trade policy decisions can include: 

•  officials of any government department or regulatory agency with a policy interest or bureaucratic stake,
   
• any firm, union, or industry association with a commercial stake,
   
• any non-governmental organization with a policy or organizational stake in the outcome, and
   
• individual citizens as voters.

The increased focus in trade negotiations on domestic regulatory issues has substantially increased the potential pool of stakeholders, and thus increased the domestic political dimension of commercial diplomacy.

Building Coalitions Within the Government, Industry or Interest Group
Commercial diplomacy increasingly requires the use of a wide range of advocacy and coalition-building tools for favorable decisions at home and abroad. To obtain the support of the home government in trade disputes with other countries, or to gain favorable decisions from the home government in on trade-related issues, the commercial diplomat must use a range of advocacy tools.

Advocacy tools include letters, testimony, white papers, speeches, op-ed pieces in newspapers, phone calls and personal visits to key stakeholders and decision-makers. The commercial diplomat must also build coalitions within the government, industry or interest group -- to exert political influence in support of desired outcomes among stakeholders with political influence. Internationally, commercial diplomats must apply the same advocacy and coalition building tools to stakeholders in all other countries involved in the resolution of an international trade or investment issue.

Once a domestic decision has been reached on a trade negotiating issue, a trade dispute, or on a broader scale, on a national trade policy, commercial diplomacy moves to the international negotiation and/or dispute settlement phase of the process. The negotiation of politically sensitive issues, however, may well require further interactions with domestic stakeholders as part of a continuing consensus building process. Once an agreement is negotiated or a decision is rendered in a trade dispute, trade officials usually have to persuade domestic decision- makers to effectively implement the agreed outcome.

Qualified Policy Advocate [QPA]

• Qualified Policy Advocates are individuals who are interested in the professional practice of commercial diplomacy, and wish to contribute to the advancement of the unique profession and the work of the Professional body (ACCD),
   
• Qualified Policy Advocates [QPA] are selected for admission and subsequent accreditation (renewable) annually.

Requirement(s):
ACCD provides a wide range of qualification, certification, and accreditation options that are tailored to recognize accomplished learned and seasoned commercial diplomatic practitioners, and new practitioner-candidates alike. 

The cadres of individual qualification, certification and accreditation status are complimented by membership options which are equally reserved for highly-experienced and highly-competent professionals that display an outstanding contribution to the advancement and growth of commercial diplomacy and value-added role of commercial diplomats.

Additional Benefits (for those who meet the ACCD-CDRA approved mandatory requirements):

• Robe (QPA Level)
• Lapel Pin
• Use of the protected letters
• Certificate of Practice as Qualified Policy Advocate
• Letter of Recommendation to any prospective employer or organisation (based upon professionalism, diligence, integrity and achievements in the qualifying courses)

For Accreditation and Registration Fees, please contact enquiries@chartereddiplomats.org.uk