Influencing Policy
- Figure out what your broad goal and SMART objective is. You have to know what you want.
- Work out who has the power and influence to make the change you want. You can find this out by asking, by searching online.
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- Learn about the machinery of government. In brief you need to focus on people you can influence and stages in the legislative process that lend themselves to influence. You might look at an appropriate person in the opposition who might one day be in power. A select committee for example is open to public consultation.
- Triangulation means looking at the same things from different points of view to make sure you get the fairest result. "attempt to map out, or explain more fully, the richness and complexity of human behavior by studying it from more than one standpoint." We need to do this.
- Map your key stakeholders. They might be able to move your decision maker. You can analyse the stakeholders according to their influence and their interest in the case. You need to work with those who have high interest and high influence.
- Identify the needs and fears of your stakeholders. Do your homework. Look at what they’ve said publicly and written.
- Positioning and framing. How is the issue described? Can you reframe it in a way that suits your cause? For example, the Christchurch City Council reframed road cones, commonly seen as a nuisance, as signs of progress.
- Now you can determine your strategy. Must have an overall strategy rather than a list of tactics.
- There are three tools below that are useful as you approach your lobbying
- Katrina Shield’s Spectrum of Allies and Opponents. How can you move people slightly to the left so that you have more numbers actively supporting your cause and fewer actively opposing it?
- Stages of readiness. How ready is each audience? To get them ready, do this: Share Information; build will, interest, reinforce action, give them things to do.
- Tim Barnett’s Cone of Influence. This shows a cone with wide dissemination of material at the bottom in the form of a leaflet. Gets to a lot of people but has little influence. At the top is an encounter with fewer people and focuses on “an intense experience around the issue”. An example would be a powerful patient story told to a politician or committee.
- Make your communication persuasive with the following acronym: NEEDS
· Numbers and stats
· Emotive but not too emotional
· Examples we identify with
· Direct and simple language
· Specific explanation of what is wanted
- In making a submission, you need to think of the needs of each paragraph. https://www.parliament.nz/media/2019/makingasubmission2012-2.pdf
- Always anticipate counter-arguments and see things from the others’ point of view
- Learn how to write media releases and perhaps even news stories. Write in the inverted pyramid style.
- We can see our advocacy as biting the hand that feeds us if we are seen to be attacking the medical profession. “Influence” is NOT an attack. Think of their needs and concerns. They need to feel in control. No need to challenge their professional expertise. If you employ an “attack” style rather than an “influence” style, their defences will go up. Direct confrontation is not the best way. Find the levers.
Taken from MoH NGO Health and Disability Workshop with Garth Nowland-Foreman
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