Making Your Voice Heard

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Making Your Voice Heard

• Effective Advocacy Before Elected Appointed
  Officials

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Lobbying Not a Dirty Word Its Exercising a
Basic Right

• Every person organization has a right to make
  its case on public policy
• Elected appointed officials want to hear
  constituents views (particularly informed views)
• Its important to position AIMBE and all
  medical biological engineers as knowledgeable
  voices

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Lobbying Not a Dirty Word Its Exercising a
Basic Right

• If you dont present your views, you cede the
  information space to your opponents
• Thoughtful, strategically-based grassroots
  lobbying can move the needle on an issue

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Keys to Successful Lobbying

• Thoughtful messaging
• Effective presentation, strategically timed
• Straight shooting
• Show how your position is both good policy and
  good politics

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Avenues of Communication

• Direct one-on-one meetings with elected/
  appointed officials
• Usually preferable, not always practical
• Make sure the time is right
• Do you have a personal connection?
• At home, or in Washington?

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Avenues of Communication

• Meetings with officials staff
• Staff are young, but often best/brightest
• Consider them extensions of the lawmakers build
  relationships with them, and through them to
  their bosses
• Who is most influential?
• Who has subject matter expertise?

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Avenues of Communication

• Indirect outreach (letters, e-mails, faxes) to
  officials and staff
• Before after a meeting
• Make them focused, factual, concise
• Useful for tracking the dialogue

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Avenues of Communication

• Partnerships coalitions
• Can carry extra weight, broaden the impact
• Strength in numbers
• Sharing credibility, influence
• Choose partners carefully
• Complement AIMBEs established reputation
• Might involve strange bedfellows
• Their reputation also becomes yours

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Laying the Groundwork

• Research know all sides of the issue
• Research the officials positions record
• Know what are your opponents are saying have
  counter-arguments ready
• Strong, concise messages

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Laying the Groundwork

• Background materials
• For yourself talking points
• For the official backgrounders, fact sheets,
  news clips (but dont overload them!)
• Send some ahead of a meeting
• Avoid jargon and inside baseball
• Leave-behinds should include brief followup
  contact information

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Laying the Groundwork

• Know the person youre lobbying
• Check their Web site on www.house.gov or
  www.senate.gov
• Google research news clips
• Ask friends/colleagues who might now them

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Making Your Case

• Strategic timing
• Backgrounders ahead of events
• When action in imminent
• When possible, be the last voice they hear!
• Emphasize your expertise and experience
• Establish AIMBE as a resource
• Personally, become a resource for them in your
  area of expertise

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Making Your Case

• Honesty integrity are paramount
• Be clear about who you represent
• Be straightforward about your goals
• Comply strictly with the letter and spirit of
  rules and regulations
• You have no influence at all without credibility
  and a good reputation

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Making Your Case

• Gather intelligence as you go
• Who else is in the game?
• What other factors will impact the decision?
• What is the officials latest stance, and is it
  flexible?
• Leave-behind materials
• Follow-up contact

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Making Your Case

• Indirect lobbying
• Op-eds and letters to the editor
• Summarize the issue and demonstrate your
  credibility
• Tributes flattery get politicians attention
• Outreach to the circle of influencers
• Political family
• Fellow politicians

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Managing Expectations

• Firm commitments are rare
• Lots of competition for the officials attention
  and support
• Read between the lines
• Follow up and seek a definitive response

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The Facts of Political Life

• Policy politics go hand in hand
• Politics money go hand in hand
• If you werent already on their fundraising list,
  you now will be
• Friends get their ear
• Tributes and flattery get politicians attention

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The Bottom Line

• Representative democracy functions properly only
  if the represented make their views known