LAY THE FOUNDATION
Your first step will be different depending on whether the campaign is originating from CARP National or from your Chapter itself.
Campaigns launched by National will already have an established policy position, background information and key messages developed.
All of that will be shared with you in Step 2.
If CARP National is launching the campaign
If the campaign has a National lens, much of the homework has already been done for you! Your job is simply to review it to get up to speed on the issue.
Review the provided background documentation provided by CARP National
Do your own research on the issue and how it impacts your community. Think about how to bring your unique regional voice to the issue, while ensuring that decision makers in your area understand the urgency of the issue and importance of taking swift and appropriate action.
If your Chapter is launching its own campaign
You’ll need to build your own policy position as the foundation of your campaign. Use the following proven framework to do so:
CARP’s approach to policy
We have learned that politicians will only act when they believe their voters support the proposed legislation or desired action. We also know that politicians will usually only be successful in achieving lasting change when the bureaucrats involved support the desired action.
CARP Chapters have limited resources to educate the public (beyond their own Members). We use media (broadcast, social, website, partners, etc) to generate awareness of both a policy issue and our position/point of view.
Our approach to advocacy takes the shape of a pyramid. The Goal (the peak of the pyramid) is to achieve the change or legislation we are seeking.
To do this we:
Ensure there is some reason to expect success from our efforts, by assessing the current state and measuring it against our ultimate goal. The result of this step is a Policy Brief (see below).
Initiate the advocacy process, by:
Educating our Members and the public on the issue (see Step 5).
Cooperating with like-minded groups who share our concern (see Step 3). Remember that it is often best to stay within the demographic of our own Members, and encourage the other groups to coordinate with us, so as not to duplicate efforts. This gives the decision makers the impression of a larger body of aligned constituents, within the same demographic, pursuing unified change.
Creating a policy brief
To be effective, a policy brief should present a solution to a specific problem. The key is to create a document that clearly defines the problem as well as the contributing factors, so that a concrete policy action is possible.
Your policy document should contain:
Title: Create a good title that is brief and memorable. Make it as catchy as possible!
Executive Summary: Draft a paragraph that provides an overview of the problem and the proposed policy action.
Importance of the Problem: Explain who the problem affects and why policy action is necessary.
Alternatives: Discuss the current policy and why the proposed policy action is the right solution.
Recommendations: Detail specific steps and a plan to address the policy issue, including media, advocacy, letters to politicians, bureaucrats, etc.
Appendices: Support your arguments with extra information in an appendix, including reliable sources that you have consulted which validate your position.
A couple of other notes:
Be succinct! Ensure that you provide enough information, but don't make your policy document so long that people won’t read it.
Once you’ve done this, you can proceed to Step 2.