There are many ways that you, as an individual, can get involved in the policymaking process.

Basically, it all boils down to engaging with your elected or appointed policymakers (administrators, etc) to fix a problem.

You can do this individually, or as part of a larger community or nonprofit advocacy organization (like unions, neighborhood groups, professional associations or consumer advocacy organizations).

Get Informed

The first step (of any action, really) is to gather all information possible. In this case, you need to research:

Research The Problem. Sometimes, even keeping tabs on the issues in our communities can be difficult. Complicated, policy-driven stories effecting local communities don’t exactly make for sexy, click-bait. It may be necessary to dive deeper on your own to really understand the full history and context of the issues you’re trying to solve. (As an example, a housing advocate would need to understand both the historical consequences of redlining and predatory lending and the current housing landscape to build an effective strategy.)

Identify The Decision-makers. Not sure who has the authority (and influence) to make the changes you’re looking for? Go right to the source. In the previous example, a quick search for “Minnesota Housing” would probably bring you to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency or the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. Once you’re there, look for contact info and start making calls. Within a few rounds of questions, you should be able to find out:

• how decisions get made
  • timelines
  • formal and informal processes
• who is making those decisions

The Stakeholders. You’re not alone. Whatever your issue is, there are people effected by it, and hoping to influence it. Connect with other organizations with similar goals, and organize those impacted to provide pressure at key points during the decision-making process.

Engage Policymakers

The Public Policy Institute’s Real Clout Textbook has a few good “Rules for Influencing Public Policy,”

RULE 1: Elected and appointed decision-makers make different decisions when watched by the effected constituency. This simple little rule applies to everyone from the governor to an assistant project manager. It is a surprisingly powerful tool when used to create a hero opportunity.

RULE 2: Get the right information to the right person at the right time. In other words, get accurate, compelling information about your hero opportunity to the correct policymaker before he or she makes a final decision.

RULE 3: Elected and appointed officials, when making decisions, weigh opinion as equal to fact, and consider public opinion as a fact. Even if they had all the time and the expertise to make a fully-informed decision, we want policymakers to at least consider their ill-informed constituents’ opinions, don’t we?