State and Community Advocacy Campaign Plan

State and Community Advocacy Campaign Plan

This form will help you walk through the steps for planning your campaign, recording critical information and help you to continue to strategically refine and strengthen your activities throughout the campaign. Throughout this process, further information, tips, creative ideas and resources are available in the State and Community Advocacy Campaign Plan Manual.

Readiness Assessment
(Please see Module 1 for a detailed description)

1. Mission Advancement

Is the policy priority critical to your organization’s mission?
Yes, it is a priority goal.
No but, it is a supportive strategy that is critical to passing a priority goal in the future. Please explain below:
Does the policy priority move the needle within the state and/or community on advancing health equity by addressing health disparities?
If this is not a policy priority or support strategy, we recommend stopping here and pursuing another policy.
/ If it is a priority or supportive strategy, please continue.

1. Political and Legislative Environment

What type of policy change is needed?
State-level statute passed by the legislature
Regulation
Appropriations
Local ordinance
Voter initiative
Other: ______
If a state level issue:
Who has control of the Senate?
Republican
Democrat
Other
Who has control of the House?
Republican
Democrat
Other / What party is the executive? (e.g. Governor, Mayor, County Executive)
Republican
Democrat
Other
If local, what is the political makeup of the governing body?
Republican
Democrat
Other
Overall, is the political environment supportive of the policy?
Please describe the overall economic environment? How might that impact your campaign?
What, if any, history exists with this policy? Has it been introduced before? Can that experience be capitalized upon for future efforts or has political capital already been spent?
Based on the assessment above, do you believe the political will exists to take on the issue or are there other considerations for why we need to take on this issue at this time?
If no, we recommend stopping here and pursuing another policy.
/ If the political will does exist, or there are other considerations such as strategically introducing something to build political will, please continue.

1. Coalition Environment

What is the current coalition status?
Your organizations is a lead in the existing coalition
A coalition exists and your organization is a member
Your organization is not a member of the existing coalition
There is no coalition and one must be created
There is no organized coalition and stakeholders have determined one should not be created
Other: ______
Is there an organized opposition?
No
Yes
If yes, who leads the opposition? ______
If no, please briefly explain what opposition you expect to encounter:
Are there authentic leaders and stakeholders that can be engaged that represent other entities and communities including communities of color, economic, business, development, healthcare, other stakeholders who may have interest in the policy outcome?
Based on the assessment above, do the necessary stakeholders exist in your state/community, or can we develop a campaign without them? If no, we recommend stopping here and pursuing another policy.
/ If the stakeholders are engaged or can be in the process of your campaign, please continue.

1. Implementation and Evaluation

Once passed, who will be responsible for implementing the policy?(e.g. Department of Health/Transportation/Education, County Health Department, School District, other public or private entities)
Who are the experts who can help inform and advance how the policy is implemented? (e.g. volunteers, researches, agency staff)?
Who will benefit from the policy?Are they engaged? Are there groups that could get funding or work on implementation? Are they engaged?

The Implementation Checklist(located online at will help ensure that the right people are engaged early, both to help advocate or advance the campaign and to ensure it is implemented effectively.

For a number of policy priorities, further evaluation is needed.Please work with your Voices for Healthy Kids Regional Campaign Manager to ensure evaluation is built into your campaign from the beginning.

Based on the assessment above, are the necessary components of implementation and evaluation built into your campaign? If no, we recommend stopping here and pursuing another policy.
/ If the necessary implementers exist and can be engaged, please continue.

Goals and Milestones

Once you have assessed the environment in relation to your policy priority and determined that you will move forward with a campaign, it is critical to establish clear goals and milestones.

(Please see Module 1 for a detailed description)

Overarching Goal:
Campaign Goal:
Incremental goals:
Sample Campaign Milestones
(Please include additional lines as appropriate for your campaign) / Date
Launch of Campaign
Budget process deadlines
Legislative Session Begins
Bill Filing and other process deadlines
Committee Meeting dates
Legislative Session Ends
Lobby days, poll releases, etc

Decision Maker Advocacy
Decision Makers are the individuals who will decide the fate of your campaign – e.g. legislators, agency officials, council members, governors. Understanding these decision makers and assessing their positions is a vital component of your plan. Much of this section will focus on direct lobbying by staff and volunteers.

1. Sponsors

In the space below, please list all Sponsor and Co-sponsors. Remember to be strategic in this choice. See Module 3, Section 1 for detailed guidance on how to analyze and select the ideal sponsors.

1. Champions

In the space below, please list all of your Champions. Remember Champions are those decision makers who are on your side and can help work the policy though the process. See Module 3, Section 2 for more information on identifying and working with Champions.

1. Supporters and Opponents

Assessing where relevant decision makers stand is an important step in determining how to spend campaign time and resources. In order to determine their position, some research may be needed, e.g. public statements, past positions. Consider having a volunteer meet with them to ask their position. A chart, like the one below can help you keep track of these positions. (Please see Module 2, Sections 3 and 4 for more details.)

Please Note: When considering opponents, please see Module 2, Section 4. Just because a decision maker opposes an issue at the beginning of the campaign, doesn’t mean they will stay in that column. This section will walk you through how to determine their “level of no” and if they should be moved to your target list or elsewhere in the chart.

Don’t forget! As you execute the tactics in your campaign, this chart will change. Please revisit this list often and update it based on new information.

Supporters / UNDECIDED / Opponents
Lawmaker u / Lawmaker x / Lawmaker z
Lawmaker v / Lawmaker y
Lawmaker w

1. Targets

In the space below, please list your targets, influencers for each and if those influencers are already part of your campaign. Remember, targets are the key policymakers who will decide the fate of your campaign. They are individuals, not groups. Please see Module 2, Section 5 for more details.

Please Note: Influence can come from a variety of places and will both drive and be impacted by all parts of your campaign. Remember to consider the potential influence of stakeholders, coalition partners, volunteers, the public, the media, donors and other lobbyists. If the influencers you have identified are not already part of the campaign, you will need to include methods for recruiting them into your task list.

Targets / Influencers / Part of the campaign?

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

A critical piece of any campaign is engaging and working closely with stakeholders. Stakeholder engagement is how we build and maintain relationships with anyone who might care about or be impacted by a policy, e.g. longstanding coalition partners, state agencies, experts in the field, community based organizations. Having diversity of ideas, view points and strengths is critical.

1. Internal Collaborators

Many of the Association’s business groups have an interest in our policy work. It is important to engage your team early and often. Module 3, Section 1 provides guidance and ideas for internal collaboration – both in how other teams can partner on Advocacy work or how Advocacy can support their work as well.

In the space below, please list your internal partners and communications plans.

Internal Collaborators / Date of Campaign Intro / On-going Communications Plan

1. Coalition

Coalitions are critical to achieving public policy goals; through coalitions, your organization is able to amplify its voice and make a lasting impact. When planning your policy campaigns, it's important to first identify if there are existing coalitions that are working on a policy or if one needs to be built. In both cases, diversity of ideas and representation is critical to your success. Please list the members of your coalition as well as organizations you would like to recruit. Ensure the coalition represents the diversity of the community and health equity is taken into account. Remember to include supporter recruitment in your Task List.

Existing Coalition Partners / Supporters to Recruit

1. Other Stakeholders

Beyond the organized coalition, there are often many other stakeholders who care about or will be impacted by your campaign. Module 3, Section 3 will help guide you through how to identify and reach out to these groups. Don’t forget to include: state/local government agencies, community-based organizations, those involved in implementation, organizations who can provide implementation or technical assistance, diverse/multicultural organizations and those that represent health equity, etc.

Stakeholder / Date of Campaign Intro / On-going Communications Plan

1. Opposition

In the space below, please list your opposition. Sometimes, working with your opposition can help to neutralize their dissent. Other times, it is best not to alert them of our activities. Either way, identifying those groups or individuals that could stand in your way is critical. See Module 3, Section 4 for more detail.

GRASSROOTS

Targeted Recruitment

List each of your targets (identified in Module 2, section 4), along with the current key contacts and number of volunteers in their district. After assessing current capacity, capture any recruitment needs and your plans for cultivating advocates who can reach each targeted decision maker.

Target / Key Contacts / YTC Networkers / Recruitment Needs/Plans

Also note any additional recruitment needs for your campaign, including efforts to reach a particular audience interested in your issue.

Audience / Group/Organization / Contact Person / Recruitment Goal

Relationship Building

Who are the volunteers you’d like to develop into leaders for this campaign? Schedule time to talk with them about ways they can be involved.

Volunteer / Role Envisioned / AHA Staff Contact / Mtg/Interview Scheduled

Activation

List the tactics you will use to influence each target, keeping in mind the questions from the Activation section of Module 4.

Target / Tactics for Influencing

Theme

A good theme will capture people’s attention and help them connect to your campaign. Your theme will also help tie everything together, making it easy for advocates to identify emails and activities as a part of the larger campaign. Your theme may be silly or serious: The ‘extinct stinky sneaker’ for a PE campaign or ‘Research Saves Lives’ for a campaign seeking increased NIH funding.

Messaging

Communications Planning

Capture your communications in a spreadsheet or calendar that allows you to view the whole picture easily. Be sure you include educational messages, multiple & varied activation opportunities, as well as campaign updates for your engaged advocates. Remember that these dates may shift as your campaign moves forward.

Communication / Date / Audience / Details

MEDIA ADVOCACY

Spokespeople

It is important to identify key advocates who can serve in a spokesperson role for your campaign. In fact, the messenger may be just as important, or more important, than the message itself.

Capture here each potential spokesperson for your campaign, their connection to the issue, and your plans to train them on the campaign’s key messages.

Spokesperson / Issue Connection / Training plans / AHA Staff Contact

Proactive Media

Be sure you’ve met with your communications colleagues to coordinate efforts before pursuing media advocacy tactics.

List the media advocacy tactics you’ll use to drive momentum in your campaign and influence your targets. Include earned media, paid media and social media strategies.

Media Advocacy Tactic / Target / Advocates engaged / Target date / Person responsible

Reactive Media

When coverage of your issue appears in print, on social media or live broadcast, you want to be prepared to respond quickly with accurate information. Be sure your campaign team and volunteer leaders are prepared with FAQ, talking points, counter-arguments and answers to the tough questions you know will arise.

Capture here the members of your campaign team who will be responsible for monitoring media outlets and triggering a response if necessary.
Capture here the members of your rapid response team who are prepared to respond on very short notice when an opportunity arises.

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT

Campaign management is the day-to-day, how you will carry your campaign to victory. See Module 6 for complete details. In this section, please capture your campaign tactics and timeline. Remember to include all the components of your campaign: Decision Maker Advocacy/Lobbying, Grassroots, Media Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement. You should also include the tasks that are key to building and maintaining your momentum, such as introductory and ongoing meeting, educational outreach, building your budget, etc.

As you build this list, remember to embed health equity tactics throughout your campaign. The following questions can help guide you:

• Do the leaders in your campaign reflect the diversity of your community and state? (age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location, etc.)
• Are your grassroots and grasstops efforts inclusive of diverse populations?
• Do your primary stakeholders represent all Americans?
• Have you considered traditional priority population organizations (e.g. NAACP, National Council of La Raza, Urban League, etc.)?
• Have you considered working across other sectors that work within the intersections of equity (e.g. education, civil rights, labor, finance, faith-based, etc.)?
• Have you considered champions from minority caucuses (Women, Black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American, LGBT, etc.)?
• Do your action alerts, communications, and messaging reflect the priority populations in your community through pictures, language, and culturally competent components?
• Is your budget inclusive of any dollars needed to support strategic engagement through in-person events and minority media outlets?

Campaign Tactic or Task / Target / Person Responsible / Timeframe / Deadline / Status
LOBBYING
GRASSROOTS
MEDIA ADVOCACY
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT

BUDGETING

Running an effective policy campaign requires resources. Start by considering what your campaign needs to be successful. Draft the budget required to win first, and then seek the funds. Please see the attached budget template.

Don’t forget to include campaign administration, meeting and travel costs and the costs of the tactics in your chart. You will also want to consider how to fund your campaign budget, development staff and partner organizations can be a great resource.