College of Public Health and Human Sciences

1. College of Public Health and Human Sciences Public Health Policy Institute Communicating About Public Health Policy Presenter: Craig Mossbaek Date: August 22, 2013

2. Communications in the Policy Process • Big factors driving the policy process are communications and relationships • The main audiences are: • The policy makers, e.g., elected officials • Stakeholders who care about the issue and can put pressure on the policy makers • The general public, who can become stakeholders • In this section, we are going to focus on communicating with a policy maker or key stakeholder. Public Health Policy Institute

3. Communications - Goals • Get the policy maker or stakeholder to support the policy and to make it their priority • Making it a priority is important • There is often more work to be done before policy adoption, and additional resources can help • Policy making bodies deal with many issues, and some important issues will not be addressed • Show that the policy effort is being done in a smart, strategic, professional manner Public Health Policy Institute

4. Communications - Goals When communicating with someone who is likely to remain in opposition to the policy… • Get the policy maker or stakeholder NOT to make opposing the policy a priority • Find common ground and listen to their concerns • Show that the policy effort is being done in a smart, strategic, professional manner Public Health Policy Institute

5. Communications - General Rules • Know your audience - what is the person’s background, opinions, priorities? • Do your homework - what else is happening in that person’s world? • Chose the best person to do the communication – relationships, credibility • Know the content – the problem you are trying to solve, the policy solution, and the politics involved Public Health Policy Institute

6. Communicating with Policy Makers • As they are busy people, communications need to be short, clear, and accurate (longer, backup documents can be used) • Respect their staff and understand staff’s important role • Understand your relationship with the policy maker Public Health Policy Institute

7. The Meeting with a Policy Maker or Stakeholder • Tell them about your goals for the meeting • Listen to what the person says and the questions asked – this tells you about their concerns (or possibly about the opposition’s talking points) • Thank them for whatever support they have offered or just for taking the time to talk • Arrange quickly for any follow-up, such as additional information Public Health Policy Institute

8. As a public health folks, we need to make sure that we… • Spend more time talking about the policy solution than the problem • Don’t use too many numbers or statistics • Understand and honor the implications of the policy in addition to the impact on health, economics, politics, etc. Public Health Policy Institute

9. Group Activity Policy Communication Practice • Groups of three that don’t include another member of your team • Everybody gets a chance to play each role • Presenter: present the proposed policy to encourage the listener to support the policy • Listener: listen to presenter and ask clarifying questions • Observer: serve as timekeeper and provide feedback • The listener should play a policy maker or stakeholder and will be assigned to play someone who leans towards being a supporter or a resister/skeptic • About 5-7 minutes for the presentation and 5-7 minutes for feedback, then switch roles Public Health Policy Institute