There are numerous ways in which public policy changes can be encouraged. Here are some thoughts which can be used by a civic group, business organization or even a political party:

1. Before the need to act, make sure that you have a continuing relationship with local, state and federal business organizations.

2. Also, before the crisis, invite your elected officials to visit. They should be familiar with what you do and how you support the community. Employees or members of your organization can be utilized to call upon legislators. Also, don't be bashful about involving labor unions if a negative outcome could impact your union members.

3. Local and weekly newspaper human interest stories about your organization, its people, or even the challenge you are dealing with, can help educate government. Making reprints of the articles and forwarding them to government leaders and others will help support your position.

4. Newspaper advertisements, strategically placed, can have a great impact.

5. Be available for talk shows and news interviews on both radio and television.

6. Think about the creation of an event to support the image of your group. While care must be taken to prevent the event from appearing contrived, a carefully planned party, art show, sports event, or educational seminar with government participation might very well help develop allies for your public policy objectives.

7. How about your suppliers? Some may have stronger ties to public officials than you do. If their interests are affected, they can be very useful in reaching the key players.

8. Know what your organization means to the community in terms of employment, taxes paid, and purchases in the community for goods and services. Prepare an economic impact statement about your group and be prepared to distribute it.

9. Consider running commercials for your company during the evening news. Most political people never miss the local news. Your message will also not be missed.

Finally, when the battle is over, make sure that all who were called in to help are informed about the outcome. If you do not and there is a next time, many of your supporters will not answer the call to battle a second time.

Also, take time at the conclusion of a public policy effort to evaluate what happened. In effect, perform a post audit review of each step taken. Only through such a review is it possible to determine what worked and be prepared for the next challenge.