Arranging A Grassroots Group Meeting
The following tips for organizing a grassroots meeting with your Representative or Senator is reproduced from a briefing paper jointly prepared by the Coalition for
Technology Partnerships and the Science and Technology Working Group (11/13/95) for use by IEEE-USA and other participating societies.
Mission
Establish long-term working relationships with influential Members of Congress.
Goal
Establish district-based groups for Members of Congress to inform and educate them on science and technology issues.
Objective
Hold small, informal meetings between Members of Congress and coalition representatives in order to introduce them to the broad support for science and technology in their districts and to initiate the formation of science and technology advisory groups.
Responsibilities of Meeting Organizer
The meeting organizer (organizer) is responsible for the following tasks:
Scheduling meeting, date, time, and location. Logistics, including meal arrangements. Inviting participants. Reviewing goals and objectives with participants prior to meeting. Provide introduction/overview remarks at meeting. Writing and mailing post-meeting press releases or letters to the editor. Follow up with Member of Congress (Member), including formation of advisory
group.
Inviting the Member of Congress
Send a letter to the Member inviting his/her participation in a meeting that you are organizing for science and technology leaders in the district. The invitation letter should provide a rough list of potential participants. Rather than specify a single date or location, suggest instead your interest in scheduling a date, time and location that is most convenient for the Member. Indicate that you will follow up with the Member's scheduler to make the necessary arrangements. One-two weeks after sending the letter, contact the Member's scheduler (usually in the D.C. office) to verify the Member's willingness to participate and to select a date, time, and location. Meeting Date and Time
When Congress is in session, the best days of the business week to meet with Members in then district are Monday (a.m.) and Friday. When Congress is out of session, the Members' schedules are more flexible. Do not expect the Member to commit more than two hours time to the
meeting. If meeting participants or the Member will be traveling long distances from their homes, set a time that allows for car travel at reasonable hours and hopefully without the need for an overnight stay.
Meeting Location
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Choose a meeting location that is centrally located for participants and for the Member, such as a commercial center, university town, state capital, or a town in which the Member has a district office.
Once a location has been established, identify a meeting participant who can make a meeting room available at no charge. If this is not possible, you will likely have to rent a room in a hotel, restaurant, or other meeting facility.
Costs
Consider structuring a meeting around a meal. If the organizer can underwrite the meal or identify another organization that is willing to do so, more power to you. But, it is not unreasonable for the organizer to charge participants a fee that includes the cost of room rental and catering associated with the meeting.
Inviting Participants
Attendance should be limited to 10-15 participants. This size will facilitate comfortable interchange with the Member, while also allowing a diversity of views to surface. Balance representation at the meeting among prominent science and technology leaders from universities, government, industry, professional societies, and citizen groups. -
Ask the Member's science and technology legislative assistant to identify constituents whom the Member or staff currently rely for advice on science and technology issues and be sure to include these individuals in the meeting.
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Provide the Member's office a final list of participants and contact information, as s/he may wish to send follow up letters.
Briefing Participants
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Arrange a conference call with participants prior to the meeting. The organizer should review the goal of the meeting, discuss the possible formation of a science and technology advisory group, and update participants on the latest Congressional actions on science and technology.
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If a conference call is not possible, the above-mentioned information should be
communicated in writing prior to the meeting.
Request participants to be prepared to provide examples of successful science and technology partnerships that have occurred or are occurring in the district. Request participants to refrain from making sales pitches for specific projects at the meeting.
Meeting Format
Keep the meeting relatively unstructured so that the Member can absorb the diversity of opinion available to him/her on science and technology issues and can ask and answer questions. The organizer should make opening remarks that describe in broad terms the
importance of science and technology investment to the district/state and to the nation and then open the floor for comments from participants and the Member. The Member should not be expected to make a formal speech, unless s/he indicated an interest in doing so. Near the end of the meeting, the organizer should guide the dialogue toward a
discussion of the Member's needs. What types of information and advice is s/he seeking on science and technology issues? In this context, the organizer should raise the suggestion of forming a science and technology advisory group.
Media Participation
Unless the Member specifically requests media coverage, the organizer need not involve the press. Press coverage could inhibit the free flow of information and advice between the Member and participants. If the Member organizer desires media coverage, s/he should check with other
participants and the Member as to their comfort level with media involvement. -
An option to consider is to hold a closed business meeting, followed by an open
laboratory or facility tour.
Consider publicizing the meeting after the fact by sending a press release that describes the meeting. This should be coordinated with the Member through his/her press secretary. Also, the press secretary may be able to make available a list of media outlets in the district. -
Consider drafting letters to the editors of local papers that are complementary of the Member's support for science and technology. These letters could be co-signed by the meeting participants.
Follow Up
Send a follow up letter to the Member thanking him/her for participating in
meeting Pursue the formation of a science and technology advisory group with the Member's staff. Ideally, the group would meet semi-annually or quarterly with the Member. At the minimum, group members should be available to the Member and staff as needed.
Conclusion
This document is intended to provide suggestions to meeting organizers on how to arrange a grassroots meeting with a Member of Congress. These suggestions are not intended to restrict organizers, but rather to provide a framework on how a meeting could be structured.
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Last Updated: April 13, 1999 |