The Federal Advocacy Network was created to facilitate the involvement
of psychologists around the country in legislative advocacy for the profession.
Since its inception, the network has been instrumental in the fight to reshape
prevailing political attitudes towards the profession of psychology.
Periodically, the Government Relations department will send you fax and
e-mail "Action Alerts," which you inform you of impending action on
legislation and what actions psychologists should take to convince their
legislators to take a pro-psychology position. Action Alerts contain all the
information you and members of your grassroots network will need in contacting
the legislators: the issue, the impending legislative action, how psychologists
need to respond, and a generic message about the issue which you can use in
communicating with your legislators.
As Coordinator, you are in the position to disseminate this information to
the psychologists and graduate students in your network. The mechanisms and
strategies by which you communicate such information will ultimately determine
how effectively you can mobilize members of your network.
Please keep the following points in mind when organizing your state or
division network:
Develop a key contacts list. Key contacts are people who have some
connection with a Member of Congress that most constituents do not have. A key
contact might be a friend of the elected official, or have been active in their
campaigns, or hold a position as a community leader. Developing a key contact
list will assist you in getting the APA message to targeted Members of Congress,
and will help gather information on that member's position on a key bill. Talk
with your field staff about ways to build your key contact list.
Ten letters move mountains! Despite the volume of total letters that
go into Congressional offices, relatively few constituent communications are
received on most legislative issues. As few as ten letters or calls from
psychologists on a specific issue can grab the attention of a Congressional
staff and make the voices of psychologists heard in the debate.
Know the 50% rule. When people volunteer for a project, a good
organizer will recognize that at least 50% of those people will not show. This
has definitely been true of the Federal Advocacy Network, where calls for action
will usually generate activity from far fewer than 50% of the people on your
lists. Keep this in mind when you have a goal of producing 10 calls or letters
to a targeted elected official.
Email lists are your friend: Whether it is your own email list of
psychologists or your state association listserv, email is a great way to
disseminate information quickly and easily. When using email to organize, keep
the following points in mind:
Stay on message - The Government Relations department will supply
you with an update and message that you can cut and paste into your own email.
However, if you are using language from an APA action alert, be sure to check
with the field team to see if some information on strategy is for FAC's only.
Avoid overuse - Constant calls for action will reap diminished returns.
Reserve calls for action to key moments in the legislative process.
Short and simple - Keep your messages simple and to the point. Avoid
burying your call for action at the bottom of your message.
Personalize your message - Mention that this is a state or
member-specific message right in your title and in your message. People are
more likely to take action if they feel that
Attachments and links - One of the best things about using email is the
ability to attach information and to link to documents on the web. That way,
people who want more information can look up a more detailed analysis, the
specific language of a targeted bill, or a relevant news article with the
click of a mouse. It also helps keep your messages brief and to the point.
Identify gaps in your network. A member of your state Congressional
delegation may be on a key committee or appear on a target list for an important
vote. What if there are only five people on your list for that district? What if
you have no key contacts in that district?
Be sure to take a look at your list of members by district and your list of
key contacts long before a pivotal vote and work to identify and minimize these
holes. Remember, the call for grassroots action often comes with little warning,
so plan ahead!
Tie in advocacy to other association activities. Conferences and
workshops are golden opportunities to make face-to-face contact with members of
your network, inform them of Federal legislative issues and ask them to take
action. It is also a great time to identify prospective key contacts.
