Engaging Your Local Political Representative

Ryan ClarkeMonday, November 14, 2016

Overview

• Quick Review: How to develop an effective advocacy plan

• Telling your personal story

• Advocating in person

How to Develop an Effective Advocacy Plan

• Key message development

• Development of your tools

• Development of your one ‘ask’

Key Message Development

Identification…

– Requires that you be able to take an array of information and distill it down to its simplest form

– Requires that you separate fact from fiction

– When advocating on behalf of a group, consensus on the issues is required

Key Message Development

Framing…

– Develop 3 key messages that explain the salient points of your issues in simple language

– Each key message should be 25 words or less

– Must always be clear, compelling, concise and consistent

– Practice presenting your key messages to someone with no knowledge of your issues

Advocacy Tools

The means of delivering the messages…

– As a process, three steps must be followed regardless of the tool being utilized to get to the advocacy stage:

Educate, Demonstrate, Advocate®

Your One ‘Ask’

The objective or goal of the plan…

• ONE – because you are going to ask for what you need, not a list of what you want

• Requires one to make choices and potentially reach a consensus (just as it does when developing your 3 key messages)

• Sometimes opportunities will present themselves that will make the ‘ask’ very timely

Why Meet With Your MP or Provincial Representative?

• Health care is largely a provincial matter, and so any health care issue that you have involving government should likely be brought to your MPP/MLA/MNA/MHA

• As your elected representatives, you will need to have (and foster) working relationships with these individuals if you are going to advocate to government

• Face-to-face meetings are one of the most impactful forms of advocacy, allowing you to tell your personal story to someone who is responsible for representing your issues

Preparing For The Meeting• Develop your 3 key messages (i.e. what you

want to say) about the issue of concern to you

• Decide what your one ‘ask’ will be (i.e. what are you going to ask this decision-maker to do for you)

• Determine who will be attending the meeting with you

• Write out the version of your personal story that your want to deliver

• Request the meeting

Telling Your Personal Story

• Review of how to tell your personal story in the context of a face-to-face meeting with a decision-maker

• It is means by which your issue comes to life and is made real

• It is also the most powerful point at which you can connect with a decision-maker

Telling Your Story

• At some point during any meeting, you or someone you’re with must take the opportunity to tell their personal story

• What is a personal story:

• A summary of what has happened to you as it relates to the issue at hand

• It is your perspective on the issue based on your experience, feelings and attitudes

• It is emotional

• It must demonstrate how gov’t action/inaction/policy/etc. has directly impacted your life

Telling Your Story

• You’ve got two choices:

– Tell a summary of your entire story as it pertains to the issue

– Tell a portion of your story that focuses on one or two aspects of the issue

• Must fit within the amount of time you have (i.e. 5 minutes)

• Must conclude with why things need to change and bridge to the ‘ask’ that you have

Telling Your Story

• Essential elements:

– Name, age, where you live

– Occupation (former occupation) and family

– Timing and circumstances surrounding your diagnosis

– Challenges faced as a result of the disease, particularly around the relevant issue

– What you believe gov’t needs to do to help you and others

– At every point, how you felt

Getting the Meeting

• ‘No’ is not an option

• Make an initial telephone call

• Have a letter prepared to e-mail that briefly outlines why you want to meet with that person

• After the letter goes, follow-up repeatedly until you get the meeting

• You may be offered a meeting with someone else – you should generally take these opportunities, but continue to pursue the person you need to see

Before The Meeting

• Provide any material that you want the decision-maker to read ahead of time (keep it brief)

• Advise whom you will be bringing, and ask for information on who will be attending for them

• If possible, gather knowledge about the participants

• Know how long the meeting is scheduled for

• Contact the person you are meeting with just prior to confirm…and be on time

Who Should Attend

• Generally 3-4 people at the most

• Everyone who attends needs to have a role to play

• Purpose is to paint a complete picture of the issue for the decision-maker, from several perspectives

• One combination – patient organization, physician, patient/caregiver

• Make sure someone takes notes and observes the dynamics in the room

At The MeetingGood news…

– You’ve got your 3 messages, you’ve got the right combination of people in front of the decision-maker you need to see and you’re prepared

Bad news…

– You’ve got 1 minute…who are you, who you represent, why are you there, what do you need this decision-maker to do for you (and how), what can you offer in return

Presentations

• If you use PowerPoint, make it brief (10-12 slides)

• Build it around your 3 messages and repeat those key messages throughout

• If you don’t use PowerPoint, consider bringing a one-pager with the highlights so that everyone can follow along and you have a leave-behind

• Remember – technology can fail!

Presentations

• Conclude with your ask and how you propose it be done (come with solutions)

• Check at the beginning of the meeting how long the decision-maker has and adjust your presentation accordingly (leaving enough time for discussion)

• Have someone assigned to watch the time

• Don’t go off, or get pulled off, on a tangent

In The Meeting

• Let the decision-maker with whom you are meeting, speak

• If you are unclear about something, ask for clarification

• Be patient – your 3 messages are three of many that decision-maker will hear that day

• Establish clear follow-ups, with timelines

Sample Agenda

• Introductions and delivery of key messages/’ask’ – usually by attendee from the patient organization (5 minutes)

• HCP (5 minutes)

• Patient organization (5 minutes)

• Patient/caregiver (5 minutes)

• Discussion (10 minutes)

After The Meeting

• Provide any further information that may have been requested right away

• Call, write, text or e-mail to thank the decision-maker for meeting with you

• Follow-up shortly thereafter to track progress and advise of what you are doing to move your 3 messages forward

Advocating to Politicians• Ensure that your key messages are clear, compelling concise and consistent – with

one ‘ask’

• Assume they know nothing about your issue

• Find out everything you can about that person and their potential link to your issue

• Where possible, link your issue to their stated political objectives or public policies i.e. Families First

• Bring your issue down to the riding/personal level

• Position your issue within the context of the election cycle

• Position your issue as a political ‘win’

• Selectively engage the opposition to leverage the gov’t

• Keep them informed of your engagement with the bureaucrats

• Be prepared to be assertive/aggressive if necessary

Advocating in Person

What NOT to do…

– Threaten

– Make an appointment to go and talk to someone in government when you only have an idea, but no context or message

– Meet with a decision-maker when you have no clue why you are doing so ie. you have no ask

– Make a technical presentation to a policy-influencer who has no background in the area

Advocacy Solutions®

Contact Information:

Ryan Clarke, LL.B.t. 905.891.0311f. 905.891.0366

ryan@advocacysolutions.cawww.advocacysolutions.ca

Canadian Cancer Survivor Network Contact Info

Canadian Cancer Survivor Network1750 Courtwood Crescent, Suite 210Ottawa, ON K2C 2B5Telephone / Téléphone : 613-898-1871E-mail jmanthorne@survivornet.ca or mforrest@survivornet.ca Web site www.survivornet.caBlog: http://jackiemanthornescancerblog.blogspot.com/Twitter: @survivornetcaFacebook: www.facebook.com/CanadianSurvivorNet Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/survivornetwork/