Giving Compass' Take:

• Lisa Witter and Odette Chalaby at India Development Review give 8 tips for how foundations, nonprofits, and others can effectively convey and convince their programs and proposals to policymakers for social change.

• What role do other communication strategies play in implementing these tips? 

• Here's an article on tips for submitting a grant proposal. 

It’s easy to forget that a lot of policy decisions aren’t made by the politicians we see in the press every day. Often the real power to implement new ideas lies below the radar—with purpose-driven, career civil servants. These policymakers face many political, practical, and psychological constraints, but foundations, nonprofits, and others working in the social sector nevertheless have the opportunity to educate them about new ideas and influence their decision-making.

Over the past two years, the organization I co-founded, Apolitical, has asked public servants in more than 140 countries what matters most to them, and has examined data from thousands of policy articles to understand what they like to read and what resources they use to inform their decisions. Based on this data, as well as insights from behavioral science, we determined eight things social sector leaders should keep in mind when developing op-eds, presentations, or letters they intend to share with policymakers.

  1. Public servants are time poor. Public servants are busy. If you want them to read what you have to say, aim for short, snappy writing focused on the main point you want to make. If you’re writing an an opinion piece or article, 700 words is usually enough—five or six minutes of reading time.

Read the full article about 8 tips for communicating ideas to busy policymakers by Lisa Witter and Odette Chalaby at India Development Review