Advocacy Training

1. Advocacy Training Fall 2011 – Echoing Green Offices

2. SMART Approach for Advocacy Fall 2011 Advocacy Training 11:20-12:30

3. Contents Root Cause(s) Mentors are not adequately trained in advocacy

4. Stop and Share Can you name the SMART criteria? Why do you think having SMART approach is important to successful advocacy?

5. Example While creating or choosing goals, strategies/objectives and tactics, we must use the SMART criteria as an ongoing assessment of our choices.

6. SMART Approach Specific? Measureable? Actionable? Realistic? Timely? Root Cause(s)

7. S.M.A.R.T. Review 1 SPECIFIC • Who: Who is involved? • What: What do we want to accomplish? • Where: Identify a location. • When: Establish a time frame. • Which: Identify requirements and constraints. • Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

8. S.M.A.R.T. Review 2 MEASURABLE • How will we know when we have reached our goal? • How will we know if we are failing or getting off track? • How much...? • How many...?

9. S.M.A.R.T. Review 3 ATTAINABLE • Can we really make this happen? REALISTIC • Is this goal something we are both willing and able to reach? TIMELY • When will we accomplish this by? How long will it take us to carry out the project?

10. Example • A GC class decides on a focus issue of unhealthy school lunches. • They decide that their goal will be to “get healthy, tasty food for schools.” • Their objectives are to “meet with cafeteria staff to discuss” and to “get healthy food companies to sell food at school.” • To accomplish this, they have a meeting with the head cafeteria staff person and express that they “want healthy food in the cafeteria that still tastes good.” Do you think their approach was SMART? Why or why not? What would you guess were the implications of their choices?

11. Stop and Share How would you explain each SMART characteristic to a high school student? What examples would you give that bridge familiar concepts with new ideas/concepts?

12. SMART approach Specific? Measureable? Actionable? Realistic? Timely? Root Cause(s)

13. Creating Goals • Your goals are broad aims within your focus issue which are accomplished and measured in terms of your objectives. • Sample goals include: • Convince school officials to include a voting student representative on the curriculum revision committee that starts meeting in March • Reduce (by X%) the incidence of bullying at your school • Boost teen employment through a program that increases job readiness for students in your neighborhood • Increase the availability of healthy eating options at school

14. Choosing Strategies/Objectives • Your strategies/objectives are the means by which you accomplish a goal (objectives are the smaller, measureable aims that you have to reach in order to accomplish your main goal(s)). • Sample objectives include: • Lobbying school board officials to create a permanent student position • Convincing state legislators to support an important bill on bullying • Hosting a teen jobs fair with employers throughout the city • Publishing articles in local media outlets to create parental support for more nutritious school lunches

15. Choosing Tactics • Your tactics are the tools by which you will accomplish your objectives. • Sample tactics include: • Lobbying your principal to share information and offer solutions • Meeting with a local legislator to present a list of recommendations to improve bullying legislation • Poster campaign to publicize teen jobs fair and ensure high attendance • Op-Ed articles, inviting local reporter to a campus event on healthy eating

16. Stop and Share How are strategies/objectives and tactics linked with goals?

17. Guided Practice SMART Approach Root Cause(s) Insufficient bus routes that pass school in the AM

18. Independent Practice SMART Approach Root Cause(s) No shelters in the neighborhood

19. Stop and Share What is the most important part of the SMART approach that you would emphasize in talking to other Mentors or your students?

20. Civics 201 Fall 2011 Advocacy Training 2:30-3:30

21. Contents Contents • Introduction: Civics 201 and the SMART Approach • Who Do We Target? • The Committee Process • Departments & Agencies • Appointed & Elected Bodies • How Do We Target Them? • Lobbying • Media • Workshopping Our Plans & Reflection

22. Introduction: Civics 201 and the SMART Approach

23. Who Do We Target?: Leadership Who Do We Target?: Leadership

24. Who Do We Target?: Committees

25. Who Do We Target?: Departments and Agencies • Administration & Finance • Library Department • Auditing • Personnel & Labor Relations • Economic Development • Education • Housing & Neighborhood Development • Public Health • Streets, Transportation & Sanitation

26. Who Do We Target?: Appointed & Elected Bodies Who Do We Target?: Appointed & Elected Bodies • NYC Panel for Education Policy • Chancellor (appointed by mayor) (non-voting) • 13 appointed members (one by each borough president and eight by mayor) • MTA Leadership • 17-member board • Members are nominated by the Governor, with four recommended by New York City's mayor and one each by the county executives of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Putnam counties (the members representing the latter four cast one collective vote).

27. Think-Pair-Share • Sample issue: Students want to increase transportation service during peak hours when they need to go to and from school. • Think-Pair-Share: Which governmental bodies could you approach? • Issue from this morning’s brainstorm?

28. How Do We Target Them? • Three ways to influence: • Votes • Money • Media

29. How Do We Target Them?: Lobbying Five Categories of Lobbying Targets

30. How Do We Target Them?: Lobbying • Two types of lobbying: • Inside • Meeting with and providing information to public officials/staff • Testifying at hearings/public meetings • Negotiating with public officials, other groups • Outside • Media activity • Getting other to lobby their officials • Letter writing • Rallies • COORDINATE!

31. How Do We Target Them?: Lobbying Six Tips for Your Lobby Visit • Establish your agenda & goals for the meeting • Listen well • Be prepared, but don’t feel that you need to be an expert • Don’t stay too long • Remember you are there to build a relationship • Follow-up is important

32. How Do We Target Them?: Lobbying Four Tips for Communicating with Public Officials • Quality is more persuasive than quantity • The organization behind a grassroots campaign matters • Grassroots organizations should develop a better understanding of the process • There is a difference between being noticed and having an impact

33. How Do We Target Them?: Lobbying

34. How Do We Target Them?: Media How Do We Target Them?: Media Media advocacy: Strategic use of news-making through print, broadcast, online media to promote public debate, and generate community and official support for changes in community norms and policies

35. How Do We Target Them?: Media Terms & Explanations • News/media events: Media-friendly event to obtain coverage and spread advocacy message • Brief, simple, new information and/or action-focused, strategically timed, good visual • News/media advisory: Information piece on your event to send to media to get them to come and cover event • Clear, concise, good headline, contain who/what/where/when/why/how info, contains name & contact info • Journalistic news release: Written about your event as if it were from a reporter; used by smaller outlets/those who can’t make event • Includes facts/figures, name & quotes, calls to action • Interviews: Getting interviewed by member of media • Be VERY careful to fully prepare for these, be clear about ground rules • Op-Eds & Letters to the Editor

36. How Do We Target Them?: Media Building a Strong Foundation • Identify partners • Research issue • Gather short, succinct facts & figures • Planning, planning, planning • Timing • Which outlet and why? • Monitor and learn from your results

37. How Do We Target Them?: Media Do Not • Debate the wrong fight (stay focused on your issue, not someone else’s) • Be wordy/use jargon • Be underprepared • Rely on status (i.e., just because someone’s a student, that doesn’t automatically get them anywhere) • Bully/lecture

38. How Do We Target Them?: Media Media Planning Exercise • Issue? • Overall strategy? How can media advance it? • What’s your message/story in terms of problem, impact, solution, and who cares? • Target audience? When and how will you reach them? • Media opportunities/options: Which outlets would be interested, which will you approach, how? • What do you want your audience to understand/do after they hear the message? • Obstacles? • Outcome?

39. Action Planning Fall 2011 Advocacy Training 3:40-4:40

40. Example Root Cause: Students know what condoms are but don’t have easy access to them.

41. Example Root Cause: Students know what condoms are but don’t have easy access to them.

42. Supporting our (fellow) Mentors Fall 2011 Advocacy Training 4:40-5:30

43. Stop and Share What is/do you anticipate being the hardest part of the action planning process for students? For Mentors?

44. Action Planning Sequence • Focus Issue discussions (and Mentor planning) • Step 9: Grassroots Advocacy 101 • “Steps of Grassroots Advocacy” • “Action Plan Research” • Action Plan Tracking Template • Step 10: Formulating our Action Plan • “SMART/Action Plan Goals and Objectives” • “Dividing the Work” • Activist Tools

45. Action Planning Sequence • Focus Issue discussions (and Mentor planning) During this process… - Mentors are taking issues, focusing them around goals and then brainstorming concrete objectives - Mentors/students are compiling research about the chosen issue - This is dynamic, changing according to the discussions in your class and research you/the students uncover

46. Action Planning Sequence • Step 9: Grassroots Advocacy 101 • “Steps of Grassroots Advocacy” (pg. 27 in SH) • “Action Plan Research” (pg. 28 in SH) During this process… - Mentors are introducing the SMART approach to action planning - Mentors are evaluating the research that they/the students have done on the chosen issue in order to get a better sense of the scope of the problem

47. Action Planning Sequence • Step 10: Formulating our Action Plan • “SMART/Action Plan Goals and Objectives” (pg. 34 in SH) • “Dividing the Work” (pg. 36 in SH) During this process: - Mentors already have concrete goals and objectives in mind - Mentors/teacher have already split groups and assigned objectives (some potential for last-minute movement according to class discussion) - Students can denote responsibilities, with guidance

48. Action Planning Sequence • Action Plan Tracking Template [Located on page 19 in the Mentor handbook] COMPLETED BEFORE STEP 10

49. Action Planning Sequence • Action Plan Tracking Template [Located on page 19 in the Mentor handbook] 1-2 goals per class

50. Action Planning Sequence • Action Plan Tracking Template [Located on page 19 in the Mentor handbook] 2-5 groups per class, divided according to group dynamic or to objective preference