Politics and Advocacy

Politics

The best-organized campaigns win.

We have launched grassroots campaigns in the most highly-educated county in America. We have worked as paid staff in one of the largest and best-funded presidential campaigns in the history of the world. We have designed "turf," registered people to vote, served as poll watchers, and written speeches for Members of Congress.

We have also raised money for political candidates and provided information and advice that helped them work smarter, lower risk, and win their races. We know how to protect politically-sensitive incumbents so they keep their voters happy. We know what data is crucial to understanding a voter base and guiding a state from red to blue. We knock on doors and motivate others to do so, as well.

Working in politics is a brutal but extremely fulfilling activity. Let us join you in the arena.

Advocacy

Our experience in strategy and influence is unparalleled. We have worked not only in Congress, making and shaping laws, but we have also worked within the executive branch, carrying out the laws in the shape of federal initiatives. Defense and Homeland Security are specialties, as is influence in science and technology policy. We deeply understand where, and how, to look for legislation that is coming down the pipeline, and we understand the annual cadence of congressional activities. We know when not to call a member of Congress, and we understand how to message effectively with Members, congressional committees, and staffs. We know the secret blend of data, emotion, and communication elements that get results. Individuals, roles, and relationships may evolve over time, but effective advocacy techniques are timeless and can save your organization in resources and time.

Example: the Citizen Scientist. Working at a small nonprofit organization, we attracted members and built a reputation on (1) training the scientific community in effective advocacy techniques; (2) monitoring science and technology spending at the federal level; and (3) directly engaging with Congress on the value of supporting federal research. This experience underscored the value proposition of advocacy expertise: that it simply takes time and experience to be able to achieve targeted results when dealing with the federal government. Our organization was the keystone in an effort that doubled federal spending on the research at the National Institutes of Health in the late 1990s.

Example: Lobbying for a Financial Services Technology Client. We worked with a small business who had developed a technology to rapidly identify and rank loan vendors. This was just after the stock market crash in 2008 that began The Great Recession, and Congress was actively reforming federal finance laws, including the design and creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We monitored legislative developments for our client and developed a strategy of engagement with Congress: who, when, and how. As a result, our client was able to efficiently deliver messages so that the small business sector was at the table, as federal financial protection laws were being developed.

Example: Political Campaign Operations. We offer expert consultancy on how to run - and win - campaigns. Serving as paid staff on the largest presidential campaign in history, our expertise can help separate political winners from losers. We understand the mechanics of opposition research and media influence, of fund raising, strategic investments, key relationships, and political action committees. We know how to message and motivate “the base” voters, how to train staff and volunteers, and how to engage policy experts and focus groups to develop - and articulate - a candidate’s compelling vision for change. We have analyzed a 100-county state’s candidate docket, knocked on thousands of doors, checked-off pages of “turf,” and stood-up election day volunteer sites. We have been the “swing” in a swing state for a candidate who won.