The Advocate’s Evaluation Toolkit

Sample: Bellwether Questions on Health Policy

Introducing the Survey to your Informants

Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Let me start by giving you a brief overview of why I wanted to talk to you today. I am gathering information from key people of influence about the policy landscape and priorities in our state. Today I’m going to ask you about our state’s policy landscape in general, and then some more detailed questions about specific policies. We are interested in your opinions and reactions to our questions; of course there are no right or wrong answers.

This interview is completely confidential, and we will not link your name to specific quotes in our report. Do you have any questions before we begin?

Interview Questions

  1. What three issues do you think are at the top of the policy agenda in our state?

Or

  1. What three issues are policymakers most likely to focus on in the next year?

My next question is a little more specific:

  1. What threehealthcare issues do you think are at the top of the policy agenda in our state?

Or

  1. What three healthcare issues are policymakers most likely to focus on in the next year?

Now I’d like to talk to you about a specific healthcare policy:

  1. Considering the current financial, social, and political context, do you think (your policy issue) should be adopted by the state now or in the near future?
  1. How likely do you think it is that (your policy issue) will be established in the next five years?
  1. Currently, what individuals, constituencies, or groups do you see at the main advocates for (your policy issue)? Who do you see as the main opponents?
  2. If (your policy) is established, what issues do you think the state needs to be most concerned about related to its implementation?
  1. Who do you turn to for information on (your policy) and health policy issues more broadly?

Thank you for taking time to answer my questions on policy issues and healthcare policy specifically. Your answers will be summarized with responses from other leaders in our state. Your individual responses will not be shared with anyone outside our evaluation team.

Are you interested in more tips and tools for advocacy evaluation?

Spark Policy Institute’s ( interactive Advocate’s Evaluation Toolkit is available at Please share your stories about advocacy evaluation, share your tools, and access tools and ideas from other organizations.