What is the Political Action Project?
A key component of the Iowa N.E.W. Leadership curriculum is the Political Action Project, a small group effort that will allow you to put the skills you develop during the week into practice. During this role-playing exercise, you will collaborate with your group to research an issue and develop a policy recommendation.
This year we will be focusing on environmental justice. For the Political Action Project, your group will be assigned a particular position on a designated topic. You may find yourself advocating for a position that does not resonate with your personal politics. Being able to understand and empathize with the opposition is a vital part of effective policymaking and we encourage you to explore unfamiliar perspectives and strategies during this process.
Shortly before the Institute begins, you will receive a packet of resources to help you familiarize yourself with the issue designated for the year’s Action Project. This information is for review-there is no pressure to become an expert on the topic or develop anything ahead of time. In addition to these, general information on the economic and social policy relevant to the legislative issue at will be included in your program materials as well as a disc copy of topic-specific resources for use during the Institute. We expect that you may need to do some additional research to clarify your ideas or back up an argument during the Action Project work group process. However, the bulk of your time should be spent working through your policy perspective with your policy team and advisors. Your resources will be chosen to give you a base level of knowledge that you can then jump from using your own experience, political instincts, and imaginations. Again, you do not need to become an expert on your topic. The focus in this activity is on the development of your ability to collaborate successfully, to sift through information and determine what is most important, to identify constituencies, coalition partners, opponents, and allies, and to craft an articulate message. We are not expecting perfection. We hope that you will take your resources and consider what you might be able to achieve if you knew you could not fail. We hope that you will be bold and thoughtful and that you will resist the urge to view your assigned group through the lens of stereotype.
The End Result
On the final day of the Institute, each group will present a policy proposal to a panel of peer legislators, and then respond to the legislator’s questions about the topic, the proposed legislation, and your specific proposal. You will have an initial five minutes to present your group’s ideas to the legislators, and five minutes respond to their questions. You can take your presentation in a number of directions, focusing on what you support or do not support in the proposed legislation and why. You also have the option of presenting a personal story (found or “created”) from a constituent impacted by the problem being addressed. You could briefly address the reasons for your position and then spend the remainder of your time proposing an alternative solution. We encourage you to take this in the direction that most supports your ideas. Just be clear and concise.
The Role of the Policy Advisor
Each policy team will be assigned a policy advisor who has a combination of experience and knowledge that will help them engage in the proposal development process more successfully. The policy advisor’s goal is to support, not to lead. This is a student-lead exercise and we invite a group of dynamic advocates to help you stay focused, work thorough your ideas, and challenge you to move beyond reflexive assumptions. They are all available as resources, even if they are not your assigned advisor. Feel free to run ideas by them, checking in about a potential solution, or ask them to help your group think something through.
