Policy Implementation: UMich Roosevelt's Next Step

 I joined Roosevelt because I wanted to make policy change.  Being published is nice, but I want those ideas to go somewhere beyond the pages of our policy journals.  At the University of Michigan chapter of the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network, we found that many of our members feel the same way.  This desire to see our policies implemented was the motivation behind our theme year, "Roosevelt in the Community."  (See our previous blog for more information on the initiative.)

The second semester of this year will encourage Roosevelters to think about how policy looks in the real world through events, service, and implementation.  At our board retreat this weekend, we focused mainly on implementation, discussing what steps can be taken to advocate for our policy ideas.  We used the Think: Impact model as a starting point, but talked also about more specific ways to follow it once a policy has been written.  This includes forming strategic relationships and credibility as well as a specific strategy for advocacy.  Then, a variety of tactics such as letters, blogs, videos, meetings, presentations, and media attention should be used to convey a clear message to policymakers.  A more comprehensive document on policy advocacy is attached at the end of this blog.

We hope that these tips will help UM Roosevelters to put their ideas into action.  Getting policies implemented is hard work and can take longer than the course of a semester, but our efforts during this year will lay the base for future student policymakers.