|
|
Advocacy > Be An Advocate
> Speak Out! Home Page
Chapter Five
Tactics: Methods to Bring About Change
Tactics are specific methods to bring about change. There are four primary ways to bring about
change: lobbying, public education, demonstrations, and social defiance.
Techniques of Lobbying
“Lobbying" is any effort to directly influence elected or appointed public officials. (Legal
definitions of “lobbying” vary from state to state. Check lobbying laws to find out whether you
have to register as a lobbyist and make reports.)
Unfortunately "lobbying" has a negative connotation in our society.
The image of lobbying as a form of political corruption neglects the fact that lobbying is an
essential function in a representative democracy.
Meetings
- The term "lobbying" comes from discussions with legislators, which used to take place in
lobbies outside legislative chambers.
- As the term implies, direct meetings with public officials are a very effective way to
lobby.
- Such meetings usually take place in the public official's office, but sometimes you can
arrange for the public official to come to a meeting of your group.
- Direct telephone conversations with public officials can also be very useful.
- You should prepare carefully for a meeting with a public official. A written agenda
helps.
- Think carefully about what you want to say. Try to formulate your ideas clearly and
briefly. Keep in mind that most public officials—especially elected officials—will not be
familiar with the issue that concerns you. They have too many issues to deal with to be
able to know more than a very few in depth.
- At the beginning of the meeting you should always thank the public official for taking the
time to meet with you. These are people who deserve your respect, and you should be
sure to show it.
- You should give the public official a one-page statement of your positions at the
beginning of the meeting with copies for any staff members who are also at the meeting.
Written material is important as a reminder of your views after you leave. But it must be
brief. (See Sample Handout for Meeting with an Elected or Appointed Official.)
- It is not unusual in meetings with public officials not to cover your full agenda or even to
drift to topics you hadn't planned to talk about. Don't worry about it as long as the
meeting has been engaging for the public official. That will help you develop a
relationship, which will make it possible for you to work with the public official over
time.
Working With Staff
Sometimes it is not possible to get a meeting directly with a public official. Usually you will be
able to meet with someone on the public official's staff.
Don't be disappointed. Meeting with staff can be very effective. Sometimes it is more effective
than meeting with the elected official because the staff member may know more and be the
person who will actually develop the official's position.
Written Material
It can be very helpful when you are working with public officials and their staffs to prepare
written background information and drafts of desired changes.
Mail, E-mail and Phone Campaigns
- Letters in large quantities have a significant impact on public officials.
- Some advocates believe that only personal letters have an impact. It's hard to get people
to write personal letters. Since volume counts, I favor form letters or postcards as well as
personal letters.
- Generally letters to public officials should be no more than one page. The first sentence
should tell the public official what to do. For example "Please vote for S. 1234, a bill that
would provide more housing for people with mental illnesses." (See Sample Letter to an
Elected Official.)
- You can also fax the letter or send it by E-mail. I believe that a piece of paper received at
the official’s office has more impact than E-mail.
- Or you can telephone the official's office and leave a message such as "I am calling to ask
the Senator to vote for S. 1234, which would provide more housing."
- Mail and phone campaigns require a great deal of organization—including compilation of
a mailing list of people who will write or call, compilation of a mailing list of people to
be lobbied, writing sample letters or scripts of telephone messages, communication with
your fellow “lobbyists”, etc.
Lobby Days
- A popular form of lobbying is a “lobby day”—i.e. a day of events at the city where the
legislature meets.
- A lobby day generally includes a large assemblage of all the people who have come to
lobby. Legislators and other relevant public officials are invited.
- At some events of this kind, representatives of the advocacy group give short speeches,
hoping to capture the attention of public officials who attend. At others, public officials
speak to the advocates on topics, which the advocacy group has asked them to address.
- Public officials tend to wander in and out of these events. For this reason, I believe that it
is more effective to ask the public officials to speak than to lecture at them.
- A major purpose of a legislative event is to make an impression, especially to convey a
sense of numbers.
- It also may be an opportunity to reach the press.
- One form of lobby day includes a legislative “meal” such as a legislative breakfast,
luncheon, or cocktail party.
- A legislative "meal" creates an opportunity for advocates to talk informally with public
officials as well as for formal presentations of the advocacy group's agenda.
- Lobby days require tremendous organization and are expensive. You need to have a list
of organizers who will bring groups to lobby, have a method of communicating with
them rapidly, prepare materials including a handout for legislators, schedule (and confirm
and reschedule) meetings, arrange for transportation, reserve a meeting room, arrange for
refreshments, schedule speakers, etc.
Giving Awards and Recognition
Another effective device in wooing support from public officials is giving them awards and
recognition, usually a plaque or some sort of symbolic sculpture similar to an Oscar.
Use of the Internet
- E-mail has made it relatively easy to communicate with people who may join you in
advocacy by writing letters, making phone calls, or attending lobby days or
demonstrations.
- You can post “action alerts” on a web site, and/or you can create a group e-mail list and
notify people when action is needed.
- Some e-mail systems are constructed so as to permit people to send a communication
directly. Others require people to cut and paste letters. There is dispute about the
effectiveness of E-mailed advocacy communications. I favor asking people via E-mail to
send advocacy letters via snail mail.
Testifying at Hearings
- From time to time public officials convene public hearings.
- There are several purposes to hearings--to hear from experts; to gather the public's
opinions, whether expert or not; to publicize an issue of concern; and to get media
attention.
- A public hearing is quite formal. To speak, you need to call in advance to schedule your
testimony, which will be time-limited.
- Prepare written testimony, which you can read in the time that you've been given. It takes
two minutes to read one page effectively. (See Sample Hearing Testimony.)
- Say what you have to say briefly, clearly, and forcefully but not with disrespectful anger.
Campaign Contributions
- Elected officials value contributions to their campaign, both tangible and intangible.
- It is illegal for tax-exempt not-for-profit organizations to make political contributions or
even to support candidates for office. For-profit organizations and not-for-profit political
organizations, which are not tax exempt, are permitted to make contributions and to
provide public support.
- Advocates from tax-exempt, non-profit organizations can give support personally.
Financial contributions must be from your personal funds and cannot be reimbursed as
business expenses or claimed as tax deductions. Work that you do on behalf of a
candidate must be on your own time, not on time that is paid for by a tax-exempt
organization. You can attend fundraising events, but on personal time and not as a
representative of your organization. Any public statement of support must be clearly on
your own behalf and not on behalf of your organization.
- There are, of course, ways for organizations to be helpful to political candidates without
violating the law. Inviting them to speak at conferences gives them exposure. Putting
their pictures in your newsletter or writing an article that features actions they have taken
on behalf of mental health can be helpful to a candidate and are legitimate—up to a point.
Using Professional Lobbyists
Many organizations that lobby on health, mental health, and social services issues use
professional lobbyists, which enables them to have a regular presence with elected officials
during the legislative session and saves a great deal of time which otherwise would have to be
devoted to building relationships.
Techniques of Public Education
Public education is any effort to influence public policy decisions by shaping public opinion or by
reaching public officials indirectly. The goal of public education is to swing public opinion to
support your advocacy goals and to develop a cadre of supporters committed to your cause, i.e. to
build a constituency (See Chapter 2).
Analytic Reports and Publications
- Studies and analytic reports, which document problems that need to be addressed by
government, can be very effective in shaping public opinion.
- The reports have to be credible and based on professional research and/or expert opinion.
- In addition reports have to be readable. They require professional, quality writing.
- Reports must have wide distribution and substantial publicity.
- There must be a follow-up plan to press for the recommendations included in the report.
Conferences
- Another technique of public education is holding a conference to which critical audiences
are invited and which hopefully attracts press attention.
- Even conferences designed to educate professionals and others in the mental health
community can serve an effective advocacy function.
- In addition to changing public opinion, conferences can be very useful devices to build
coalitions of advocates.
- Conferences can also be very effective ways to engage public officials who attend or
participate.
Written Material and Internet Web Sites
People in the general public who have an interest in mental health issues frequently have little
access to information. Advocacy organizations typically develop and distribute printed material.
The Internet has created a wonderful new opportunity to make materials available.
Advertising
Advertising can be a very effective way to reach both the general public and public officials. Ads
in newspapers, on radio, and on TV can have a major impact, but of course are very expensive. It
is sometimes possible to get free help to develop and to place advertising, but free advertising
usually ends up being run where or when no one is likely to see it.
Using the Media
- The news media can be a great force in helping to move your agenda.
- The media are a two-edged sword, to be treated with great caution. Historically the
media have helped to move the cause of mental health with exposés of horrors in state
institutions and of the terrible conditions people lived in after deinstitutionalization. But
historically the media have also hurt the cause of mental health with lurid coverage of
rare episodes of violence by people with mental illnesses, which have reinforced the fear
of people with mental illness that pervades our society.
- The media are motivated by factors which are not as simple as concern about the well-
being of people, let alone people with mental illnesses. They need to sell papers or get
TV viewers and they are more likely to try to catch people's interests with fear than
human interest. Their professional values stress political neutrality. However, journalists
often tell stories with a political slant; and, of course, they also write editorials to support
one political view or another. But it is hard to get journalists to be advocates for your
views.
- There are several basic ways to get coverage:
- Send out a press release, a short informational piece designed to attract media interest.
- Call a press conference.
- Send invitations and interesting written material out in advance.
- New York City is a very tough place to get coverage because there are so many
competing stories. In Albany and other places outside NYC, it is frequently easier to
get the press to attend a press conference and to write a story.
- Develop a story and find a reporter who will write it, but remember:
- An advocate's idea of a good story is frequently not a reporter's idea of a good
story.
- Reporters like controversy, scandals, and stories of abuse. They love exposés.
- On occasion reporters will pursue human-interest stories, more often those that
are sad rather than those that show success.
- Stage a media event. Demonstrations with large crowds generally attract attention. Acts
of civil disobedience sometimes attract attention. Celebrities attract attention.
- Be prominently involved in an event, which will attract press coverage. For example,
speaking at public hearings can attract coverage. You need to be provocative to get
coverage.
- Bottom line, dealing with the press is about crafting "sound bites", brief statements,
which take no more than ten seconds to say and, which are either provocative, or which
seem to sum up a position perfectly.
- Dealing with reporters
- Getting your message out through reporters requires experience and skill.
- The reporter's job is not to convey your beliefs in the way you would want them
conveyed. Their job is to tell a story that will catch the interest of their readers,
listeners, or viewers. It is usually pointless to try to persuade a reporter to take your
side. The reporter will probably be more interested in trying to get you to state your
position in a provocative way so as to contrast it with someone else's equally
provocative statement of the opposite point of view.
- Your job is to say over and over again to the reporter what you want to have appear
in their story. Do not answer their questions if they do not enable you to say what
you want to say.
- You need to be very careful talking with reporters "on the record", but good reporters
are trustworthy if you ask to talk "off the record" or give them "background.” "Off
the record" means that nothing you say will be quoted. Reporters are willing to go
off the record because they can get leads that they could not get on the record.
Reporters also like to get background information from knowledgeable people whom
they trust even though they cannot quote it.
- Letters to the Editor and OP-ED Essays
- One great opportunity newspapers provide is to express your opinion publicly and
unfiltered by a reporter in a letter to the editor or an OP-ED essay.
- A letter to the editor sometimes is a response to something that has appeared in the
newspaper, but sometimes it is simply a statement someone wants to make.
- Elected officials all read letters to the editor. It is an excellent way to reach them.
- A letter to the editor should be no more than 150-250 words. (Different papers have
different requirements). It should be very easy to understand. (See Sample Letter to
the Editor.)
- Like letters to the editor, OP-ED essays are an excellent way to get the attention of
elected officials. They also make good handouts and mailings. The fact that they
have been published by a reputable newspaper, lends a certain credibility to them that
you can't get by sending out a statement on your own stationary.
- An OP-ED piece is a short essay (about 750 words), which states your opinion about
a timely or interesting topic. (See Sample Op-Ed Article.)
Demonstrations
The purpose of a demonstration is to attract attention and sympathy to your cause. It does no
good to get attention, which turns the public against your cause. You need the public's support.
A good demonstration has four key characteristics.
- First, people must attend. There is nothing sadder and more counter-productive than
announcing a demonstration of thousands which is attended by fifty people. Therefore a
major part of the effort to hold a demonstration is getting people there. Logistics are as
important as your message.
- Second, the news media have to attend. A demonstration has no meaning without
coverage. That means that groundwork has to be done to get reporters interested in
covering the event.
- Third, you need to craft a message that appeals to a constituency whose support you need
to move your agenda.
- Fourth, your message must be communicated clearly, repeatedly, and briefly. The sound
bite is the message.
Social Defiance
- Defiance of normal social order can sometimes be a very effective form of advocacy.
- For example, economic boycotts were used very effectively to advance civil rights.
- Similarly, strikes have been effective both to help workers and to highlight injustices.
- Acts of civil disobedience can also be effective, both at gaining attention from the media
and at winning public support.
- However, all acts of defiance are risky, both personally and in terms of public response.
- You must decide if you are prepared to be gassed, arrested or sent to jail.
- You must assess carefully whether your act of social defiance will win or lose
support.
Advocacy Style
- How to present yourself is a major decision you need to make as an advocate. Do you
want to appear to be tough, principled, and uncompromising, prepared to fight it out? Do
you want to be friendly and willing to work together to find a solution that will satisfy
most of the players? Do you want to come across as extremely knowledgeable and able
to provide expert assistance? Do you want to be “at the table” where decisions are made
so that you can influence decisions directly? Do you prefer to be outside the decision-
making process so that you can stick to your guns?
- Whether to work in coalitions is also a very important choice. Coalitions are usually
more effective than advocating alone because there is strength in numbers, but being part
of a coalition requires compromise.
- Your choice will depend primarily on who you are. If you are confrontational by nature,
you will probably work well as an outspoken, critical, demanding advocate. If you are
uncomfortable with confrontation, you will probably work best as an advocate who helps
to shape compromises. If you have credibility as an expert, you may want to present
yourself as a source of information and counsel rather than as an advocate with a strong
personal opinion. If you are not usually willing to make compromises, you should not
join coalitions.
- Your choice will also depend on your relationships with people in positions of power or
influence. If you have good working relationships, you will probably decide to be careful
not to jeopardize those relationships by taking harsh positions in public.
- However, you must be able to adapt your fundamental style for the needs of the moment.
Even a good confrontational advocate must graciously accept a good compromise. And
even a congenial, let's-not-fight advocate needs to stick stubbornly to his or her position
when a compromise would interfere with achieving the goal. And sometimes you have to
take the risk of losing good relationships because the issue is too important and the
compromise offered is inadequate.
Tactics Checklist
Lobbying
Mail
Petitions
Meetings
Relationships
Hearing Testimony
Written Material
Special Events
Awards
Campaign Contributions
Public Education
Reports
Conferences
Written Material
Web Page
Advertising
Media
Demonstrations
Attendance
Press Coverage
Social Defiance
Boycotts, strikes, etc.
Civil Disobedience
Risk Assessment
Advocacy Style
Confront Aggressively
Negotiate
Be at the Table
Provide Expert Advice
Work in Coalitions
Return to the top of the page.
|
