Services: Policy Dojo
The Policy Dojo is an onsite or offsite training that establishes a new way to think about policy work: Input, Processing, and Output. These are based on the way people process information. Input refers to assessments and sensitivities to detect the reality accurately. This includes seeing roles, dynamics, communication styles, and realizing personal blind spots. Processing refers to the inner evaluation and analysis of the holistic picture. This includes a definition of why should people care about this issue, what the solution should look like, what are the incremental steps to get there, and what is useful in the political environment. In order to do this properly, one must identify role players, potential allies, potential fellow travelers, partners of conveniences, and drawing emotional success from strategic goals. Output refers to the way one affects the outer world. This includes tools that raise consciousness of others, meetings, relationship management, feedback loops, controlling trust and reputation. One has to direct perception, become an information resource, be able and willing to create pain and dispense reward, and understand investments in building social networks and using social capital. In order to be a success in policy work, these three areas need to work in sync and synergistically and also in balance with a personal ecology.
Communication campaign and strategic analysis and planning
A strong strategic communication plan will open opportunities, provide a platform, and control the message. This is done by considering six factors: the content, the method, the intended audience, the analysis of the situation, the timing, and the evaluation after each production.
- Content: What information should be shared or withheld? What will this information do once it is out? In what order is the content and what is the tone? How much is the material in line with the internal message
- Method: Is the focus the macro social level, the micro social level, or both? What form of release? Through email, post, Twitter, etc.
- Audience: What is the intended impact? How will this affect the audience, their perception of the situation, and their perception of the world?
- Analysis: What is the actual result on the ground truth? How do the media shape mass communication messages?
- Timing: What is the result of controlling the flow of information: quick or slow?
- Evaluation: By what criteria will the effort and campaign be evaluated? How much of the evaluation is qualitative and how much is quantitative? How will we triangulate the data?