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ORGANIZING THE GGAC AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

ORGANIZING THE GGAC AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. ASHRAE’S GRASSROOTS GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE. Define the Issue – Questions to Ask. What is the issue ? Is this issue one of direct importance to ASHRAE? (i.e.: does ASHRAE have an official position on the issue or a Public Policy Brief?)

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ORGANIZING THE GGAC AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

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  1. ORGANIZING THE GGAC AT THE LOCAL LEVEL ASHRAE’S GRASSROOTS GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES COMMITTEE

  2. Define the Issue – Questions to Ask • What is the issue? • Is this issue one of direct importance to ASHRAE? (i.e.: does ASHRAE have an official position on the issue or a Public Policy Brief?) • Is it a local, state, provincial or national issue? combination? • Is this a legislative issue? a regulatory issue? both? • What are your goals? what do you want to accomplish?

  3. Decide what public official(s) need to be contacted • Are elected officials to a legislative body to be approached? (this could be Congress, Parliament, County Commissioners, etc.) • Are other elected officials to be approached? (i.e.: Governor, Mayor, Prime Minister, etc.) • Are local regulatory officials to be approached? (i.e.: code officials) • Obtain contact information for all public officials to be contacted (name, mailing address, business phone, business fax, business email)

  4. Identify the group of volunteers • Start with your local Chapter(s) members • Consider members of allied organizations • Look to local industry if the scope of the project is large (such as a legislative “Day On The Hill” or a letter-writing campaign) • Consider which members have a special interest in the issue • Involve members who know officials that will be contacted

  5. Choose a Chapter “Coordinator” • Consider who has an interest in the issue and the time to coordinate this effort • It may or may not be the GGAC Chair • Does the Coordinator have previous grassroots organizing experience? • Several Chapters might wish to unite for maximum effectiveness

  6. Schedule a meeting with the volunteers • Explain the issue • Remind everyone this is a volunteer advocacy effort, not paid lobbying • Clarify the differences between advocacy and lobbying • Provide assignments • Answer questions

  7. Do your homework – Goals, Strategy and Planning • Identify your supporters, opponents, “fence-sitters” • Define simple, minimal and understandable goals • Decide your strategy • Make a plan that evaluates

  8. Identify your… Supporters? • Who are our supporters? (supporters can be industry, organizations, members of the public or elected/appointed officials) • Why are they supporting our position?

  9. Identify your… Opponents? • Who are our opponents? (opponents can be industry, organizations, members of the public or elected/appointed officials) • What is the basis of their opposition? • What arguments do we have to soften their opposition/resolve or counter their reasons for opposition?

  10. Identify your… People/organizations who may be “on the fence” that could be influenced? • Who are the fence sitters? • What would it take to at least keep them “on the fence” if we cannot get them to support our position?

  11. Define simple, minimal and understandable goals Are they… • Quantifiable • Realistic • Specific • Pertinent • Timely • Clear and Concise

  12. Decide your strategy Does it … • Help achieve goals? • Use allies? • Minimize opposition? • Stick to the issue? • Have an assessment tool to measure success?

  13. Make a plan that evaluates … • Volunteer strength • Who is/are the target(s) • Approaches (i.e.: direct contact, letter writing, social media, etc.) • Action steps

  14. Engage in Advocacy GO OUT AND DO IT!  Go into action using the plan, strategy and goals identified above

  15. Evaluate your activity when completed For Short-Term Advocacy • How are we doing? • Did we stick to the goals? • Did the volunteers achieve their individual goals? • What worked? • What didn’t work? • What can be done next time to improve effectiveness?

  16. Evaluate your activity when completed For Long-term or Ongoing Advocacy • How are we doing? • Are we sticking to the goals? • Are the volunteers achieving their individual goals? • How can/should we be more effective? • How can we monitor our progress to make sure we are sticking to our goals/message? • How can we adjust or adapt our strategies to changing ground conditions?

  17. Thank the official(s) you contacted afterwards • Follow up with a thank you letter – this should be mailed rather than emailed • Make sure the thank you letter is positive even if the official did not help us achieve our goal(s) – keeping it civil improves chances of gaining a favorable audience on future issues

  18. Resources • Regional Vice Chairs • Other Chapter Chairs • Society Staff Liaison (Jim Scarborough [DC Office], JScarborough@ashrae.org) • ASHRAE Government Affairs website (http://www.ashrae.org/government-affairs)

  19. Current Society GGAC Leadership • Chair – Bert Phillips (phillips@unies.mb.ca) • First Vice Chair – Rob Craddock (rob@inlandmetal.ca) • Second Vice Chair – Keith Reihl (reihl@reihlengineering.com) • Communications Coordinator – Dru Crawley (Dru.Crawley@Bentley.com) • BOD Ex-Officio – Charles Culp (cculp@tamu.edu)

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