Maybe you are less interested in writing op-eds and essays than you are in working on policy. Here are some thoughts and resources on how to start investing your expertise into your community. These thoughts are collated from my attendance at an American Historical Association Advocacy training session and the biannual convening of the Scholars Strategy Network.
Deciding Your Project
Advocating for a policy change or implementation is a powerful way to leverage both your expertise and your status as a constituent of the politician you are looking to work with. Deciding what project you want to work on will influence how you go about doing so, so here are some things to keep in mind as you do.
- Stick to your wheelhouse: In order to perform the role of Expert Constituent, you will need to have accurate, up-to-date, thoroughly researched information that you can easily condense into a brief sheet and answer questions about. This is easiest if you are building on what you already know.
- Example: Maybe you’re a labor historian and can draw on your historical understanding of unions to advocate for worker and/or immigrant protections in your community or at a national level. In this case, you might leverage your historical research to project the needs of the labor market, perhaps contacting the office of a Representative or Senator on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
- Identify what you want to fight for: You can advocate for whatever you want, but some options for the humanities in particular could be in the realms of resource allocation or the protection of interests of the discipline. You can fight for more funding to public schools K-College, resources for museums, the protection of historical sites, whatever you want.
- Example: Maybe you’re a literary scholar and can write a heartfelt, researched brief on the significance of LGBTQ+ literature to young readers. You would also appeal to the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
Putting Together a Brief
- Build evidence: Evidence for your project should be comprised of local data that can sway your representative specifically. Leverage the fact that you are a constituent first and that your community (a community of voters for your politician) is suffering from whatever problem you are fighting to fix.
- Example: Maybe you’re an environmental historian and you want to advocate for sustainability efforts in your community (like fighting an AI data center). You could look into local historical data of weather patterns, water levels, heat indices, soil or water contamination and demonstrate the influences and consequences over time and how an extreme drain on local electric resources will impact your community and voters’ health over time. You would appeal to the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
- Write clear, concise, realistic needs: In a one-page (1) brief with bullet points and effective graphics, make the case for your project and requests. It’s crucial to convey your well-researched findings in the simplest, clearest terms that a staffer can then take to a higher up and continue up the ladder without losing the meaning, message, or impact on voters that you are suggesting. Make it personal and affecting arguing for the human toll that can be leveraged by your politician to make a human interest argument that is backed up by your hard data and expertise.
- Example: Examples can be found through the AHA and all of their effective advocacy work as well as SSN. The National Humanities Alliance also has lots of excellent resources especially for first-time advocates.
Connecting With Congress
- Find a politician’s office to approach: Pick your reps wisely and do your research into what projects they have worked on previously that you can point to as part of your evidence. Reach out to their office and request a 10-15 minute meeting with the office you can get to whether local or DC.
- Be the expert you already are: Make sure to be clear about who you are, what your qualifications are, how this is specifically in your wheelhouse, and also know if you have permission/support from your institution (if you are affiliated) to use your title so as not to misrepresent their interests.
- Stay connected and make a promise: Establish that you are a reliable person who responds to emails or phone calls quickly with accurate information. By the end of your meeting, make a promise to follow up on something with additional research or data points they may have requested to keep that door open.