Three Ways to Involve Foundations in Public Policy

Resource
Power in Policy: A Funder's Guide to Advocacy and Civic Participation

Contents
Three Phases in Policy Development
    The investigative phase
    The action for change phase
    The implementation phase
This Issue's FREE Tool: Opportunities for Foundation Involvement in Public Policy Development
Additional Resources

 

From Vince Hyman, Publishing Director, Fieldstone Alliance:

LAST ISSUE, we covered the legalities of foundation involvement in public policy.

This issue we focus on various points at which foundations can play a role in public policy development.

Increasingly, grantmakers are finding that funding policy, advocacy, and civic engagement can help them achieve philanthropic goals more effectively and for the long term.

If you are a funder or program officer, you can put this issue of Tools to work immediately in your foundation.If you are an exec in a nonprofit, forward this with your program officer—and see also our related Tools issues and books on nonprofit advocacy.

As you know from several previous issues of this newsletter, we feel that efforts to influence public policy should be part of the arsenal of tools used to improve service delivery and accomplish nonprofit and philanthropic visions.

Fortunately, the ways foundations can fund such efforts are many. Policy work does not have to mean high risk and exposure for those foundations that prefer to remain low-key. Moreover, grantmakers can take approaches that fit with their "foundation personality"—whether that's proactive, reactive, prescriptive, or facilitative.

This issue is adapted from pages 95-101 in chapter 6 of our book, Power in Policy: A Funder’s Guide to Advocacy and Civic Participation, edited by David F. Arons, former co-director of Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest. The chapter was written by David F. Arons, Abby Levine, and Kelly Shipp Simone.

Three Phases in Policy Development
People usually think of policy as lawmaking to secure policy outcomes. This neglects the equally important role of working to improve and evaluate the implementation of public policies, which occurs through regulatory and executive efforts.

Legislation is sometimes needed to change policy, but often changing regulations, executive orders, or other administrative practices can give excellent results. Furthermore, such administrative or regulatory advocacy is not a restricted activity for any type of foundation in the way that lobbying by private foundations is restricted. (Some states may require reporting such activities as lobbying but do not restrict the amount of activity that may be conducted. Check your state’s law by asking your attorney general’s office or state nonprofit association and consult with knowledgeable legal counsel. See also the last issue of Tools You Can Use.)

Here are the three major phases of public policy development:

• the investigative phase
• the action for change phase
• the implementation phase

Foundations can play a role in any or all of them.

The investigative phase
Foundations are ideally suited to participate in this phase. It includes

• Identifying public problems or opportunities
• Determining who is affected and involved in the issue
• Gathering information about what options and solutions exist
• Bringing key players together for deliberation and discussion

The process for making and shaping public policy often begins when a problem or opportunity arises. Because they are so closely connected to the communities they serve, foundations and other nonprofits are called on to help determine the community impact of the proposed policy change.

Once the facts are better understood, foundations, grantees, government officials, and involved citizens can better discuss the issues. Sometimes, deliberation and discussion can result in a solution if key decision makers are involved, consensus builds quickly, and the procedures for solving the issue do not require complex legislative, fiscal, regulatory, or political decisions to be made.

But rarely do all the political stars align to create such a smooth path to resolution. Compromise is part of the process—so long as the compromises made are not to core values or principles. Foundations, grantees, and allies then begin the action for change phase.

The action for change phase
This phase includes

• Planning for public policy and civic action
• Building the capacity of groups that will engage in advocacy
• Organizing and mobilizing activities to influence government decision makers or other stakeholders to agree to a policy change or new way of doing civic business

Increasingly, funders are becoming involved in this work, along with their grantees and other allies. Together, they plan for more deliberate and formal activities designed to shape policy. They also work together to determine what is needed by those organizations that will carry out various strategies and tactics of policy participation. For example, a foundation might determine that the grantees most likely to lobby for a legislative proposal need to know more about the legal dos and don'ts of lobbying. Stakeholder foundations might fund training events for grantees to build their knowledge so they can know what is legal lobbying.

Direct action continues with work to influence government decision makers. When it is time to activate and influence government decision makers, private foundations that understand the laws and particularly how to use the legal exceptions to restricted lobbying will know what they can and cannot do in the way of advocacy. (Our last issue of Tools You Can Use included a brief description of what is permitted under the law.)

The implementation phase
If the direct action was successful, the implementation phase begins and becomes exceptionally important. This phase includes

• Working with agencies and other groups to put the agreed upon change into place
• Evaluating results

During implementation, the potential benefits of legislative change may come to fruition. Foundations can and should want to be meeting with agencies and other nonprofits to provide input on how policy will work in practice. Evaluating and tracking results are often overlooked but necessary for understanding lessons learned and for planning future policy initiatives.

Policy process is never over, as the people who seek to make policy and those who implement policy decisions don’t sit still—and because the social environment is fluid. Foundations have ample opportunity to be part of advancing policy to benefit the causes they serve. New issues come up and old issues come back, and both grantmakers and grantees must be ready to participate as a regular activity.

This Issue ’s FREE Tool
The chart below outlines the different phases discussed above and suggests ways foundations can be involved in policy at each phase.

Opportunities for Foundation Involvement in Public Policy Development
Phases of Public Policy Development	Possible Foundation Roles
Investigative Phase
Identify public problem (or opportunity)	Foundation helps identify or speak out about the problem (or opportunity) or provides space and encouragement for others to speak out about it. Foundation expresses concern or interest to top decision makers in public and private sectors
Determine who is affected and involved in the issue	Foundation organizes a gathering of concerned persons and organizations to explore the issue(s). Foundation staff participates in meetings of other groups, agencies, and coalitions. Foundation commissions research to determine the scope of the problem and who is affected.
Gather information about what options and solutions exist	Foundation sponsors or commissions further research to explore the policy options and outcomes.
Bring key players together for deliberation and discussion	Foundation staff formulates its own institutional goals as related to the public issue. Foundation staff works with key grantees and stakeholders to understand opinions and positions and to forge alliances, partnerships, and consensus positions where appropriate.
Action for Change Phase
Plan for public policy and civic action	Foundation works together with allies and other partners to identify what resources are needed to pursue policy options. Foundation makes planning grants to organizations to develop ideas and strategies for policy options and approaches. Foundation staff learns the basics of the policymaking process for that specific issue whether it is legislation, regulations, or guidelines. Foundation staff works with partners and allies to map out a strategy. Note that since private foundations are restricted from engaging in any grassroots lobbying and most direct lobbying (several exceptions exist including self-defense lobbying; responding to requests for technical advice and assistance; and preparing nonpartisan analysis, study, or research) they may not be permitted to participate in planning efforts around specific legislation. They may participate in planning around broad policy topics, for example, the need for a fair health care policy.
Build the capacity of groups that will engage in advocacy	Foundation makes grants (or supports through contributions of staff time) to organizations, partnerships of organizations, and coalitions to establish strategic and tactical resources. Foundation connects grantee organizations to advocacy support organizations that provide training in how to shape policy, public opinion, organize, lobby, and understand the laws governing participation (Listed in Appendix C).
Organize and mobilize activities to influence government, media (and possibly business and nonprofit) decision makers	Foundation engages in policy change and/or civic activities as an institution up to the limits of the federal tax laws and in adherence with the principle of nonpartisanship. Community foundation lobbies or conducts administrative, judicial, or media advocacy as appropriate with partner organizations. Private foundations engage in activities under the lobbying exceptions or other non-lobbying activity allowed under the law. (See Chapter 9 for descriptions of what is lobbying and not lobbying).
Implementation Phase
Work with agencies and other groups to put the agreed upon change into place	Foundations convene stakeholders to make recommendations about how government should implement the law through regulations or other rulemakings. Note that often as the legislative or policymaking phase shifts to policy implementation, some advocacy groups will step back and new groups more focused on carrying out programs under the law will step in. A foundation in close communication with grantee organizations involved in leading policy and civic efforts should ask about changes in which organizations are emerging and stepping back in each phase. Foundations can advocate for and against administrative rules and regulations since such activity generally is not considered lobbying. Be sure to check with legal counsel to understand the exceptions to the lobbying restrictions for private foundations. See also our previous e-newsletter and chapter nine of Power in Policy. Foundations can build key partnerships between and among nonprofits, government agencies, and for-profits to identify promising practices and apply them in policy implementation.
Evaluate and track results	Foundations can fund ongoing evaluation of programs and projects delivering services governed by the laws. Conversely, foundations might want to evaluate what would have happened if certain policy proposals that were defeated in the policymaking stage had been enacted. Foundations can also conduct their own evaluations and hire consultants to do them (See Chapter 10 on evaluation). Foundations are also uniquely positioned to help nonprofits and all stakeholders reflect on how they carried out policy shaping tactics and implementation activities. Foundations are among the best storytellers about what happened as a result of public policy. Sharing the stories of policymaking and the results with media and the public is a valuable service foundations can take on.
It's Never Over!
Be aware that issues that seem resolved may come back in the same or different form.	Few public policies are completely static once they are enacted. There is constant re-thinking and re-evaluation, especially if public funding is at stake. Proponents of any policy are always trying to prove the worth of their program, and opponents are always trying to demonstrate why it should be different. Advocates must also be vigilant in the administrative rule-making and adjudication process to ensure due process and that the laws are carried out as the law proscribes.  Foundations as stakeholders have a vital role to play in the life span of public policy.

You should now have a general sense of the flow of public policy development from identifying needs to forming policy solutions, and how policy solutions come to be approved into laws, regulations, and programs. You should also have a beginning sense of places in the process where foundations might get involved.

Additional resources
Three excellent resources for learning about the public policy process and how foundations can have an impact include:

• Public Policy Grantmaking Toolkit by Northern California Grantmakers, http://www.ncg.org/toolkit/home.html

• Funding Health Advocacy by Grantmakers in Health, http://www.gih.org/usr_doc/IssueBrief21_Funding_Advocacy.pdf

• Foundations & Public Policymaking by the University of Southern California, http://www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/philanthropy

We've also compiled a list of helpful resources on our links page.

Sincerely,

Vince Hyman
Publishing Director
Fieldstone Alliance

January 31, 2007

 

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