{"id":1271,"date":"2011-03-16T16:28:52","date_gmt":"2011-03-16T20:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carleton.ca\/panorama\/"},"modified":"2014-05-20T13:11:19","modified_gmt":"2014-05-20T17:11:19","slug":"getting-attention-amid-a-sea-of-voices","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/panorama\/archives\/fall-2005\/getting-attention-amid-a-sea-of-voices\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting attention amid a sea of voices"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted Sep. 1\/05<\/em><\/p>\n

Previous: What went wrong? Last year’s election result raises critical questions about public opinion polling<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Lobbyists can likely be found clamouring for the listening ears of senior government mandarins and federal politicians in such political powerhouses as Ottawa\u2019s Parliament and Washington\u2019s Capitol Hill.<\/address>\n

But getting the attention of these decision-makers and persuading them that certain issues need special attention can be a daunting challenge, especially when so many lobbyists have the same goal.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/address>\n
\n
\"\"<\/dt>\n
Sean Moore BA\/75, DPA\/76<\/em><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

Sean Moore, BA\/75, DPA\/76, an Ottawa-based partner and public policy advisor at the national law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP illustrates this challenge by observing an explosion in what he calls \u201cthe argument industry\u201d \u2014 the various actors in society such as journalists, academics, researchers and consultants who collectively produce an enormous mass of ideas and messages that are thrust into the public conscience. The largest and fastest growing element of this industry, says Moore, are those who lobby on behalf of special interest groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is hardly an interest group nowadays where someone isn\u2019t assigned to government relations,\u201d says Moore.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdd all those up and you have an incredibly cluttered, busy marketplace of ideas, propositions and proposals. It\u2019s a real challenge for any organization to successfully get their points of view across to decision-makers. It\u2019s an intense process filled with fierce rivalry for prominence, financial resources, and mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how does a lobbyist get attention amid this seemingly endless stream of voices?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/address>\n
\n
\"\"<\/dt>\n
Holly Bondy, master\u2019s student of political science<\/em><\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

For Holly Bondy, who starts the second year of her political science master\u2019s degree this fall, getting the attention of government means nurturing the right networks. This was one of Bondy\u2019s observations when completing a summer internship in Washington for the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), a not-for-profit group that works to promote democracy and good governance.<\/p>\n

At a recent orientation, she and other staffers were told: \u201cYou don\u2019t just go out and ask for the money because you\u2019re not going to get it right off the bat. You have to build networks and relationships. All of that happens before you go after the money.\u201d<\/p>\n

But one should not stop at getting the attention of Washington\u2019s Congress members and high-end bureaucrats, says Bondy, adding lobby groups must also appeal to the public. In the case of IFES, which gets the bulk of its funding from the US Agency for International Development<\/p>\n

(USAID), this means raising awareness about Washington\u2019s international aid contribution and the often-clouded public perceptions that surround it.<\/p>\n

As part of its public outreach efforts, IFES recently wrote an opinion piece saying Americans are under the false impression that the U.S. spends a lot on foreign aid when, in reality, it\u2019s a fraction of a percent of gross domestic product.<\/p>\n

As for rallying behind other, one-time awareness-raising causes, such as the Live 8 concerts held this summer, lobby organizations should proceed with caution, says Bondy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe unfortunate thing about (aid concerts) is they are so temporary. There\u2019s this build up for a couple of weeks and then the concert\u2019s over. This happened during (last December\u2019s) tsunami as well. It\u2019s still a crisis, but are people talking about it? No because we have very short term memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moore adds that since expertise in how to deal with government will always be in demand, it\u2019s a good time to be a student of public affairs and political science. This group, he says, is likely to develop valuable skill sets.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy studies in public administration 25 years ago were an excellent grounding in understanding both decision-making process and policy analysis,\u201d says Moore. \u201cThese are central to being a good public-policy advocate.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Next: <\/strong>Nurturing networks – PAM research unit goes national<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Posted Sep. 1\/05 Previous: What went wrong? Last year’s election result raises critical questions about public opinion polling Lobbyists can likely be found clamouring for the listening ears of senior government mandarins and federal politicians in such political powerhouses as Ottawa\u2019s Parliament and Washington\u2019s Capitol Hill. But getting the attention of these decision-makers and persuading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":1220,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"yoast_head":"\nGetting attention amid a sea of voices - PAnorama<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Posted Sep. 1\/05 Previous: What went wrong? 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