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This step in the roadmap aims to achieve three things:
- Identify who the person or people are who hold the power to make the decision as to whether the policy will be approved.
- Identify who is well positioned to influence the decision-maker(s).
- Find out as much as possible about these decision-makers and influencers in order to develop strategies to gain their support.
It will be necessary at this point to have decided what policy option(s) is/are the preferred ones to move forward. Head back to Step 3 if you have not yet made this decision. Within this step, you will:
- Identify who the decision-maker(s) is/are
- Gather as much information as you can about these decision-makers;consider:
- Conducting a “Power Analysis”
- Recruiting the “influencers” of these decision-makers
- Conducting a social network analysis to map influential connections and/or
- Examining their demographic, behavioural, and psychographic characteristics.
Identifying the Decision-Maker(s)
This may be a very straight-forward step depending on the setting in which you are working to advance policy. For example, in a workplace, the CEO may be the one person responsible for deciding what policies will be adopted. On the other hand, this may be a much more complex question. For instance, in a school setting, some policies can be approved by a principal, others need to be vetted through a School Council, while others need to go to senior administration at the School Board or even the elected trustees. To complicate this further, there may need to be a series of people who approve the policy in succession. It will be important to assess this decision-making process in each new setting – different municipalities will have different processes, as will workplaces and schools.
Tips
Don’t make assumptions about who the decision-maker is. No matter how obvious, take the time to find out for sure. Ask questions, examine records for names attached to decisions, look to organizational charts that describe the structure, attend meetings.
Conducting a “Power Analysis”
- Many individuals and institutions have influence in local communities, whether community-based, governmental, or private sector. Analyze who holds power—both formal and informal—in the community, as well as your own power to achieve your goals.
- Understanding the formal power structure tells you who is officially in charge; understanding the informal power structure lets you know the underlying reality of how things actually get done.
- What is the power structure in your community? Who has real power? Perceived power? Behind-the-scenes power or, as some would say, the power behind the throne?
- How is power exercised in the community? Through the mayor? City council? Other elected officials? Business community? Labor organizations? Clergy? Service providers? Specific neighborhood groups?
- Who has the power to give you what you want? How does that person relate to—or is influenced by—others in the power structure in your community?
- Who holds power in the community to organize an effective opposition? What is the existing organized opposition? Organized support? Is there unorganized potential you can tap?
- What will it take to build sufficient power to win the change you seek? Who needs to be involved? How can you get them involved? Through organizing? Coalition building? Networking?
Recommended Resources
For more on conducting a power analysis, see “Power Analysis”
in Dynamics of Organizing, available at http://www.tenant.net/Organize/orgdyn.html
“Conduct a power analysis” in How—and why—to influence Public Policy: An Action Guide for Community Organizations,
http://www.communitychange.org/publications/pubpolicy.htm
“Power and Organizing,” available at
http://www.grassrootspolicy.org/power.html
“Organizing and Coalition Building: Increasing Your Strength” resource
http://www.policylink.org/
in order to identify those with the power to make decisions.
Identifying “Influencers”
Decision-makers consider many things when making their decisions. These “influencers” could be other people (e.g. journalists for instance can be powerful influencers) or sources of information (e.g. statistical data can be compelling for some) or the internal values and beliefs of the decision-maker. Step 5 will explore in more detail the strategies that can be employed to influence decisions. Here, we discuss finding those people who can be influential in the decisions others make.
- Status-oriented decision makers are highly concerned about generating
positive media coverage and avoiding unfavourable coverage. They are often influenced by public opinion and want to make a “popular” decision. These people may also be influenced by peers whom they hold in high regard.
- Mission-oriented decision makers hold strong beliefs and values that guide their decision making. They are influenced by those who hold similar values such as Board members. They also want to do what they feel is the “right and best” option so are influenced by rules, guidelines, mandates, and funders.
- Process-oriented decision makers are most concerned with serving their
clientele or constituency and want to ensure that a participatory process has been undertaken. They will be influenced by those who were engaged in the process.
Social Network and Social Network Analysis
Social network theory views social relationships in terms of nodes and ties. Nodes are the individual actors within the networks, and ties are the relationships between the actors. There can be many kinds of ties between the nodes. In its most simple form, a social network is a map of all of the relevant ties between the nodes being studied. The network can also be used to determine the social capital of individual actors. These concepts are often displayed in a social network diagram, where nodes are the points and ties are the lines.
The shape of the social network helps determine a network's usefulness to its individuals. Smaller, tighter networks can be less useful to their members than networks with lots of loose connections weak ties to individuals outside the main network. More "open" networks, with many weak ties and social connections, are more likely to introduce new ideas and opportunities to their members than closed networks with many redundant ties. In other words, a group of friends who only do things with each other already share the same knowledge and opportunities. A group of individuals with connections to other social worlds is likely to have access to a wider range of information. It is better for individual success to have connections to a variety of networks rather than many connections within a single network. Similarly, individuals can exercise influence or act as brokers within their social networks by bridging two networks that are not directly linked (called filling social holes).
The power of social network theory stems from its difference from traditional sociological studies, which assume that it is the attributes of individual actors -- whether they are friendly or unfriendly, smart or dumb, etc. -- that matter. Social network theory produces an alternate view, where the attributes of individuals are less important than their relationships and ties with other actors within the network. This approach has turned out to be useful for explaining many real-world phenomena, but leaves less room for individual agency, the ability for individuals to influence their success, so much of it rests within the structure of their network.
Social networks have also been used to examine how companies interact with each other, characterizing the many informal connections that link executives together, as well as associations and connections between individual employees at different companies. These networks provide ways for companies to gather information, deter competition, and even collude in setting prices or policies.
Social network analysis has emerged as a key technique in modern sociology, anthropology, social psychology, information science and organizational studies, as well as a popular topic of speculation and study. Research in a number of academic fields have demonstrated that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.
Social networking also refers to a category of Internet applications to help connect friends, business partners, or other individuals together using a variety of tools. These applications, known as online social networks are becoming increasingly popular
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking
Recommended Resources
For more information on Social Assessment, Social Analysis, and Stakeholder Analysis visit:
http://www.worldbank.org
For more information on Social Network and Social Network Analysis visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking
To learn more about social network analysis generally and/or to connect with others who are active in the networks research community visit http://www.insna.org/index.html
For more information on Social Network and Social Network Analysis visit:
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/...
For more information about social assessment click here.
Understanding the Players
Step 5 in the Roadmap to Policy Change will address potential strategies and actions to try and gain the support of decision-makers for your policy. In some cases it may be necessary to also secure the support of the “influencers” as well. The more you know about these people, the better able you will be to select or develop effective strategies.
Attributes of Decision-Makers
According to the widely used Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which is a psychological test designed to assist a person in identifying their personality preferences, people are divided into thinkers and feelers:
- Intuitives - led by intuition; concentrate on the possibilities; avoid the
details and tend to look at the bigger picture.
- Thinkers - are analytical, precise, and logical; process a lot of information, often ignoring the emotional or feeling aspects.
- Feelers - are interested in the feelings of others; dislike intellectual analysis and follow their own likes and dislikes; enjoy working with people and are capable of great loyalty.
- Sensors - see things as they are; have great respect for facts; have an enormous capacity for detail and seldom make errors; are good at putting things in context.
It would be useful to identify which of these perspectives your decision-maker(s) is/are so when “making your case”, you can select the points best suited. However, in the cases where there are multiple decision-makers, such as the Recreation Board or the Board of Health, or a School Council, it is recommended that you include elements in your case that appeal to all types of decision makers.
An Example
You are a Recreation Manager addressing City Council with a proposal to institute an Access and Equity Policy that will result in a sliding scale for user fees to accommodate those living in lower income situations. There are 15 members on City Council, who represent all four types of decision-makers. Ideally, you are aiming for unanimous support but only require a majority. The proposal might contain the following approaches:
- Intuitives – describe the broad Vision driving your proposal and paint the picture of all members of the community being able to participate in programs.
- Thinkers – provide the budget figures to illustrate how feasible the proposal is financially; include demographic data of the lower income population in the community and survey data gathered regarding their program preferences.
- Feelers – include some testimonials from potential users, ideally either
through personal presentations or video, that illustrate what difference this type of policy would make to their family.
- Sensors – compare the current situation to what the proposal includes drawing attention to how things will be different.
You have identified who will be able to say yes or no to your policy – the decision-makers – and those who are able to influence them. You have gathered as much information as possible about these people. Now move on to Step 5 for many strategies to gain the support of the decision–makers
Source:
Adapted from the Physical Activity Resource Centre "Toolkit for Influencing Physical Activity"
http://www.ophea.net/parc/policy.cfm
 Sample Agenda
 Audience Analysis
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