How do you Measure Capitol Hill Influence? – as seen in AssociationTRENDS
72,000 associations, over 4,000 Political Action Committees (PACs), and nearly 17,000 individuals vie for time and attention of Members of Congress and their staff to educate, persuade and influence Capitol Hill. And that doesn’t include all the law firms and PR agencies whose staffs walk the corridors of power.
So when we spend our association members’ money for media and messaging, hire staff to go to Congress, engage grassroots constituents back home to talk up the issues, raise money for Member re-elections, and spend countless hours at coalition meetings on strategy, how do we know it’s making an impact?
How do we measure our true influence?
Certainly, you can use a matrix by examining your “win/lose” record, or the number of times you meet individually with members, or by how many association issue papers are left in congressional offices. But real influence is having the Member and staff really know and care about your organization as revealed by these five questions:
1. Does the Member and/or staff keep my association “top of mind?” Could I rank myself or my organization in the top 10 best friends with the Member or key staff?
2. Will the Member and/or staff proactively reach out to my organization for critical information before Hill action occurs? Do you hear from the office regularly – by phone, email and do they search you out at events? Do Hill staff want to know your position without you having to provide it before a committee hearing, conference meeting or before a vote?
3. Does the Member and/or staff stay in close touch with my membership back home? Does the Member proactively talk about your association members meetings during district work periods when you or your staff see them in Washington, DC?
4. Is the Member and/or staff using the language which “frames” my issue in every day conversation? While at the NAB, I remember having a meeting on Capitol Hill where an unsympathetic Hill staffer referred to our issue as the “performance tax” which was the way we defined the broadcasters’ battle to prevent the record labels from imposing a fee on radio stations which play music. Experiences like those demonstrated we had successfully “framed” how the issue would be perceived and understood: advantage NAB.
5. Will the Member and/or staff be concerned about the consequences of being against my organization? As a former Hill staffer, I would always determine what the cost/benefit would be to my boss if we supported or opposed a particular organization. That’s why groups such as the AFL- CIO, National Rifle Association, AARP or the U.S. Chamber and others exercise influence on Capitol Hill because they effectively communicate congressional positions with their members.
It takes time to have this depth of support in the Congress. But it is what we should all strive for to have real influence as public policy debates move forward.
