The Advocacy Olympics! Or, How to Medal in the Great American Sport of Democracy

Yes, I have Olympic fever. OK, maybe it's not quite a fever: more like a mild agitation. Nevertheless I have stayed awake way past my bedtime for several nights watching the athletes swimming, flipping, spinning, lifting, shooting and smacking (as in volleyball) their way to greatness.

Naturally, all this has got me to thinking about what the events at an "Advocacy Olympics" might involve (I'll admit that some of the late nights involved a glass of wine or two). What amazing feats do advocates and their coaches need to undertake to be gold medal winners in the process of advocacy? What kinds of events do they need to endure? Read on!

The End of Session Dash

Get ready. Get set. Go! Upon its return in September, Congress will have less than 4 weeks to finalize ALL 13 appropriations bills. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is not going to happen. Be emotionally prepared for government by continuing resolution for the foreseeable future. You heard it here first.

Nevertheless, there will be a flurry of activity as elected officials return from meeting with what will likely be some pretty cranky constituents during August. How does the effective advocate prepare for this event? By building positive relationships throughout the year so that when the policy ideas are flying fast and furious your relevant legislators know to contact you with any questions.

Medalists in the "End of Session" dash will have conducted many "workouts" throughout the year, including: o Sending personalized e-mail and written communications o Building relationships with staff people (find out who they are by calling your legislators' office or go to www.congress.org) o Conducting site visits. o Attending in-district townhall meetings (contact your elected official to find out what they have scheduled!)

Don't be that sad person who came in fourth. Start thinking about developing those skills today!

The "Get That Bill Passed" Balance Beam

Was anyone else amazed at the performance of Shawn Johnson of the U.S. Women's Olympic team on the balance beam? While it seemed like everyone else wobbled (and in a few cases fell off) she conducted her routine as if she were on solid ground.

That's the essence of the "get that bill passed" balance beam event as well. Any time we undertake to change policy, whether it's to alter a law, increase funding levels for a favorite program or revise the application of a regulation, a balance must be struck.

Effective advocates will prepare for this event by figuring out what kinds of compromises might be acceptable in exchange for furthering their cause. In almost every situation some level of give and take will be required. If you want to medal in the "get that bill passed" balance beam, you will accept that reality and continue to move forward as if on solid ground.

Synchronized Legislating

The U.S. Government and nearly all 50 states (except you, Nebraska) have bicameral legislatures. This means that BOTH houses (the House or Assembly and the Senate) have to pass the exact same versions of legislation before they can become law. That's why the skill of "synchronized legislating" is so essential to effective advocacy, particularly at the federal level, where legislation can merrily move along in both houses at the same time.

To prepare for the synchronized legislating event, advocates should be working with both houses and both sides of the aisle early and often. Too often, groups rely on one "champion" to get something done - only to find they have no support in the other house. Successful advocates will take the "depth and breadth" approach by building deep and positive relationships with a range of policy makers from all walks of life.

Team Advocacy

Whether it's throwing a ball into a hoop, batting a ball out of the park, knocking a ball over a net or, well, you get the point, many successful Olympic athletes are part of team. And, come to think of it, even many of the so-called "individual sports" have their team elements, such as team gymnastics or swimming and running relays. Michael Phelps, for example, would not have earned his gazillionth gold medal without the inspiring last leg of Jason Lezak in the Men's 4 x 100 meter relay.

What does this mean for advocates? Basically, you aren't going to get very far in the Advocacy Olympics without your team, so think carefully about how you can develop and nurture that support network. You might look to identify other team members through your association, in your community or even online by forming groups on social networking sites like Facebook or Myspace.

The Policy Pentathlon

Ah, yes. One of my favorite events. The modern pentathlon requires athletes to excel in five different sports, specifically fencing, shooting, swimming, horse show jumping and cross country running. As I understand it, the event is intended to replicate the activities a cavalry officer must excel at in order to survive a battle. These days, of course, the modern pentathlon should include wiretapping, understanding an array of foreign languages and building secure internet connections.

But I digress. My point here is that to medal in this event at the Advocacy Olympics you'll need to excel at a range of different policy and advocacy approaches. At first, you may be developing a personalized e-mail or letter. Then you might set up a visit, deliver testimony or participate in a lobby day. Or, you might get really crazy with an editorial board or letter to the editor approach. The most successful advocates have laid the groundwork so that they can be prepared to switch approaches at a moment's notice. So be sure you have all the horses, swords, air pistols and swimming gear you need to make it through all the battles of a legislative session.

If you follow these techniques you'll be standing on the winner's podium in no time listening proudly to the effective advocacy anthem. What might that be? I vote for "You Can't Always Get What You Want" from the Rolling Stones, but am open to suggestions.

Article Source: http://www.articlegoldmine.com

Stephanie Vance, the Advocacy Guru at Advocacy Associates, works with associations and businesses that want to impact public policy through effective advocacy techniques. You can learn more about her and her work at www.advocacyguru.com

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