Big Change is a’coming to Congress: How to be ready.
By Roger Rickard, RAP Index Consultant
September 13, 2018
Are you ready for a new Congress? One is coming in less than 60 days.
There will be a new Speaker, no matter which party controls the House, as Paul Ryan is leaving Congress. There will be new committee chairs and ranking members. There will be new committee assignments. There will also be new congressional staff.
Getting serious about metrics: Be Incredible. Focus on Quality not just Easy.
Getting serious about metrics: Be Incredible. Focus on Quality not just Easy.
By Chip Felkel
Recently I was sitting in a theater with my family watching the new release, “The Incredibles 2”. A line from the movie’s villain, Evelyn Deavor, is this, “Ease. They will trade quality for ease every time.” Of course, this villain (note: the bad guy here) is correct in her assessment about society generally and while she wasn’t referring to public affairs and advocacy, she certainly could be. But the truth is, good, successful, impactful advocacy can be much easier than we seem to think. Yes, it takes some work. It’s not as simple as hitting send, and it takes some common sense and a willingness to stop taking victory laps for activities that do very little but create lots and lots of noise.
CMF Research Webinar: Are Grassroots Emails to Congress Effective Anymore?
Join CMF and RAP Index in a discussion about making the transition from “reach metrics” to relationship-based or impact metrics. This presentation will encompass more than a decade of research CMF has conducted on communicating with Congress.
Metrics that Matter: Measuring Quality Grassroots Engagement
By Amy Showalter
Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, when concurring with the majority opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio tried to define what constitutes obscenity: “. . . . I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description, and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it . . . “
I often think of that statement when defining quality grassroots engagement, as almost every advocacy professional knows it when they see it. It’s a high bar, because the cacophony of voter sentiment is abundant and intense. And virtually every grassroots professional I have advised or observed admits that quality is what matters most for their grassroots development, and they want more involvement from quality advocates.
Money: How to run with the big dogs when there is no budget for big lobby
By Andy Krakowski
“We could spend tens of thousands of dollars going into key districts, or we could focus on a few key contacts in that district that we already know have connections with legislators and will give us a better impact.”
- Director of Grassroots at a national trade association
If you think the key to winning a legislative campaign is to outspend your opposition, you are likely in for a rude awakening. In 2016, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, over $3.15 billion dollars was spent on lobbying in DC alone and your organization would have needed to spend about $11.5 million just to crack the top 20 lobbying groups.
