The key to societal change and reform is to raise the consciousness of leaders within key segments of society. The challenge is to begin the process of persuading a country’s political leadership that civil society reform can help legitimize their governments rather than destabilize them. Other constituencies for this message include political reformists, religious and educational leaders, the business and labor communities and the media.
TPPA’s training and consultation in this area first focuses on how governmental agencies and political parties ascertain which interest groups have a strong potential to support their program agendas. We then work with participants in identifying strategies for targeting special interests by using “focus group” techniques to identify key representatives, define and clarify a group’s purpose and mission, and determine areas of mutual compatibility. We introduce ways of influencing constituents through public and private persuasion, stressing that effective lobbying can be accomplished with limited resources and technology. |
