Identify the Trigger Points

July 28, 2013

A successful public affairs campaign will identify all key political stakeholders and understand their trigger points related to the key issues – what will bring comfort and what might scare them off.  

Recognizing that all these individual decision-makers play to different audiences, all communications and public affairs activities must be relentlessly clear, presenting key messages tailored specifically to select audiences, which will ensure divergent groups come to the same conclusion within the context of their own interests.

Commit Early to Education and Information Sharing

July 27, 2013

The goal of any advocacy campaign is to provide political “cover” for a positive decision by maintaining an appropriate presence throughout the entire process—from idea origination to facility construction.

Proponents must be a part of the process, informing policy development, procurement, leading (or at least co-operating) in the approvals phase, and then sharing the responsibility of educating the public and media once the project is under construction and headed towards operations.

Showing up when an RFP is issued is almost always too late for any legitimate vendor.

Close the Knowledge Gap

July 26, 2013

Proponents typically know more about proposed solutions than regulators, so the real challenge with any approvals process is closing the knowledge gap (between what is claimed and what can be controlled).

This will elevate the quality of the technical deliberations so that regulators and proponents share a common and mutually acceptable level of understanding.  

Face-to-face meetings are a productive means of bridging the gap; sharing peer-reviewed studies will insert third-party objectivity into the deliberations; highlighting the positive experiences in other jurisdictions can empower decision-makers.