Guidelines for Advocacy at UCSF

All engagement with local, state and federal officials should be coordinated through UCSF’s Office of Community and Government Relations to ensure compliance with University policy and lobbying disclosure rules.  

• All federal advocacy must be tracked and reported by UCSF according to the Lobbying Disclosure Act.  

• When you’re invited to share your expertise with policymakers at a public hearing, meeting, or other venue, please coordinate with Government Relations to ensure compliance with all rules and get advice about how to best share your expertise.  

• Let Government Relations know when you have plans to travel to D.C. or Sacramento to determine opportunities to meet with legislative representatives in your UCSF capacity.  

• Coordinate with Government Relations before inviting elected officials to UCSF events, both on and off campus.  

• When you’re participating in a UCSF Advocates or UCAN advocacy campaign, you are allowed to use your university email address.  

• Employees, administrators, and faculty are prohibited from engaging in activities that would require registration under the Lobbying Disclosure Act without obtaining explicit permission from the Chancellor of the campus and the UC Office of the President.  

• You are not allowed to endorse or oppose legislation in your UCSF capacity unless given express permission from Government Relations. 

• You should not use UCSF letterhead or other physical or digital branding for political or policy-related commentary without permission from Government Relations. 

• Attend town halls and forums on your own time and ask questions about an issue you care about.  

• Let your representative know you are an engaged constituent and offer your expertise about your work or research. 

• Join professional advocacy organizations that represent your interests or profession to support issues you care about on your own time.  

• Organize non-partisan events on campus, such as voter registration drives or neutral public forums where all sides of an issue are represented.  

• Engage in personal political activity in your private capacity (i.e. apart from your role as a UCSF employee) such as writing op-eds, engaging in social media, making phone calls, and speaking at events - on your own time and using personal resources. Offer a disclaimer, such as “I am a nurse employed at UCSF, speaking today on my own behalf” or “My title is for identification purposes only; this endorsement is made in a personal capacity and does not represent the views of UCSF.”  

• You are prohibited from giving the appearance of acting on behalf of UCSF (e.g., using UCSF letterhead or wearing UCSF-branded clothing) unless specifically authorized to do so. 

• You should not create any confusion about your official UCSF role vs. your private role.  

• No contributions should be made to candidates or state ballot measures on behalf of UCSF or with UCSF funds. 

• UCSF websites shouldn’t link to campaign websites. 

• Political candidates shouldn’t be invited on campus to promote their campaigns.  

• Campaign materials should not be displayed on campus (including public ratings of candidates).