A Pooling of Resources and Talents to Advance Rural Policy

A pooling of resources and

talents to advance rural policy

The opportunity to join forces

was presented

Funding from the Rural Supporting Organization

made a collaboration possible and the Informing our rural communities

about the Affordable Care Act project was born…

We asked the question:

What do we have to work with?

The answer was…

a community radio station…

(streaming online, 24/7, at wmmt.org!)

A completed brochure explaining, in simple terms, certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act

http://southwestruralpolicynetwork.com/about-us/policy-areas/health/affordable-care-act/

Mailing lists of other public radio stations

Mailing lists of commercial radio stations

Lots of talent andskill

A network of networks to assist with distribution

of the PSA’s

Then we asked:

How do we pull this together?

The answer was…

Reliance upon the skills and talents within the

collaborationand

Efficient Project Management to assure the

project evolves smoothly

Skillful script writing

Great fact-checking

Creative productionWMMT’s Sylvia Ryerson, voice talent for 6 of the PSAs

Cross-country production…

Spanish Voiceovers were recorded in

Taos, New Mexico and sent to WMMT in

Whitesburg, Kentucky for post-production

Lessons LearnedThe team involved learned as we went forward…

Be ready to create an inventory of your assets and resources ~ all of them

Think creatively about how

partners can combine assets and resources

Know that involving more than one organization will increase the time needed to complete

the project

and

Different work styles and organizational resources need to

be considered in moving the project forward

If you are working on a project with an ever-changing policy landscape, such as the ACA,

Fact Checking

will be a challenge !

Where are we now?

• CDs with 12 PSAs in English and Spanish

• A website with the PSA audio and text and links to a range of other information

• A developing network of people helping with distribution

Be ready to create an inventory of your assets and resources ~

all of them

Ask your project partners to put together their inventory of

assets and resources

Think creatively about how

partners can combine assets and resources

We need your help getting the PSAs aired

across the countryVisit

www.acaexplained.org for additional information

Or fill out the card in your packet and we will mail you a copy of the CD

Project participants

Central Appalachia Regional Network, (CARN)

Southwest Rural Policy Network, (SWRPN)

National Alliance for Rural Policy, (NARP)

Members of the Rural People, Rural Policy

Family of Networks