A TV Dinner: The Framework of a Good Policy Agenda

A friend recently compared a policy agenda to a TV dinner - the rage in the 70s and 80s that was an all-in-one meal with small compartments on a tray to hold each piece of the meal (meat, vegetables, salad, etc.). Unwrap it, throw it in the microwave, and your dinner is ready in five minutes.  Building a simple and easy-to-consume policy agenda is not all that different.  

At its most basic level, an effective policy agenda has five important components:  

The Big Ask:  Every organization should have one policy objective that is larger and more important than others.  If they were all the same level of importance, it would be impossible to allocate resources responsibly and to advocate effectively.  The priority issue will occupy the most time and will come with the biggest benefit.  It is the main course of the TV dinner and, for that reason, has the most real estate in any policy agenda.    

Lower Tier Asks:  For most organizations, beyond the big asks, there are usually 2-5 issues (depending on the size of the GR team) that are less important, but worthy of space on the agenda.  These generally have less impact, a shorter timeline, or a lower likelihood of movement (or all three). These are important, but take up less time and resources, and carry the risk and opportunity cost of potential failure.  These are part of the bread of the TV dinner; something that comes with every agenda, but lacks the importance of the Big Ask.

Maintenance:  Regardless of how active your agenda is, there is some basic maintenance that needs to happen if you are operating in DC -- strengthening existing relationships and building new relationships as well as finding opportunities to elevate your organization's brand (one of the most important -- if not the most important -- parts of being successful in DC).  Let's call this the vegetables of the agenda. Nobody is excited about doing it, but it is still important.

The Unknown:  Every agenda is interrupted by unpredictable scenarios.  Maybe you are hoping to pass a bill, and the sponsor ends up resigning from Congress before it could move, or a Committee Chair has a bad experience with the organization leading the bill (or many potential scenarios in between).  The unknown is a constant in DC (especially these days), and saving some room for it is vital.  Nobody wants to deal with the unknown, but everybody has to.  I have not had a TV dinner in a while, but I recall that there is at least one section that is tough to identify, does not look appetizing, and is something you wish wasn’t included -- it's the same when you have to add it to your agenda (but it is important).

Metrics:  Any policy agenda that does not include metrics is either backed by endless resources or does not have a real hope of crossing the finish line.  Metrics are important (the topic of another blog) so that an organization knows why the issue they care about is or is not moving.  There are endless examples of campaigns around policy issues that have a strategy that lives longer than it should, and the lack of a strategic pivot (or knowing when to pivot) ultimately sinks the issues.  On our TV dinner policy agenda, metrics are the dessert.   

Policy agendas can range from long Excel spreadsheets with limitless tabs of information to a one-page overview that outlines the key issues.  Regardless of what it looks like or the format it comes in, a policy agenda is always (1) brought to life through a sophisticated and comprehensive strategy and (2) the north star for what you hope to get out of activity in DC.  And, the agenda does not have to be more complicated than a TV dinner...