Final CAT Report 5/1/17

CAT Report 4/17

1) DATE: 4/17

2) MEETING TIME
(beginning and ending): Began 6:15

3) LOCATION: Kalkin

4) CAT MEMBERS PRESENT: (include CAT group selfie): Olivia, Emily, Dylan, Izzie

5) CAT MEMBER ROLES (W suggests switching these roles for each meeting):

A) FACILITATOR (1 person) - "steers" conversation and runs meeting- Olivia
B) NOTE KEEPER/PUBLISHER (1 person) - records and publishes notes at CAT blog-Izzie 
C) TIME KEEPER (1 person) - sets meeting length of time and watches clock-Emily
D) AGENDA CREATOR (1 person) - writes out and shares agenda with CAT just prior to meeting-Dylan

6) CAT WORK UPDATE:

A) What CAT tasks have you accomplished to date? (use previous minutes)

• Met with Ben for 2 hours and got a full rundown on his vision, his journey, and experience with NGR thus far.
• Acquired interview video of Dr. W around NGR and will prepare follow up questions if necessary.
• Received reply from Ben with edited deliverables and goals. Feedback well received.
• Created 6 Criteria for Excellence on Deliverable 1.
• Viewed Dr. W Interview on Ben and took notes.
• Identified value in creating a Communications Assets Map.
• Communicated with Ben via lengthy email.
• Began Communications Asset Report.
• Kept in touch with Ben regarding action items.
• Deliverable #1 
• Another productive meeting with Ben focused on budget and where to spend the money

B) What immediate and long-term CAT tasks lie ahead for the week, and who will execute?

• Deliverable #2- Infographic, one pager for legislators, sticker/pins for promotion ($200 budget), map for educational tour 

C) What was the most CHALLENGING element re: the past week's CAT work?

• Figuring out what Ben exactly wants from us

D) What was the most REWARDING element re: about the past week's CAT work?

• Completing the budget

E) What is your CAT doing really well right now?

• Working together and discussing the reality of what we are capable of doing/ designating the workload 

F) What is your CAT needing to work on right now?

• Replying to our questions surrounding the budget

Notes from Ben Brown Meeting 4/17

Public education campaign and presentation:

$200 budget- both the presentation and planning the tour (print out, gas, etc.)

• Have event with it
• Use it to print/get materials for tabling at an upcoming event
• A one-pager to the legislatures
• To communicate with them in a tangible way
• They have mailboxes at the state house
• 180 legislatures- 200 could cover 50%
• Money toward website for infographic?
• Fivrr ??
• Outsourced services
• You put the specks/project out there and then people message you and say I can do this

Deliverable two

• Organizing state-wide civic engagement tour
• Public education tour
• List of all the schools (college and HS) and all the community areas
• Target effort to more 45-below because engagement statistics go in favor of older demographic
• Target the interested bystanders
• Create outline of presentation
• Nancy Duarte who analyzed all the most powerful speeches over history
• Created a skeletal structure of how all these major stories work
• From what is to what could be
• Then end with “ask” or “call to action”
• Need to figure out what the ask should be (between awareness, persuasion, and action)
• Will be doing this outside the legislative session
• Identify the key modules of the presentation- 20-30 min.
• Introduction
• What the problem is
• What his solution
• Why this is the solution and why am i choosing to solve the problem
• Why does the problem matter to them
• Laying out the theory of change- a necessary component of political things
• How a bill becomes a law- understanding the context on how it works
• If you try and call your legislature right now, how it works
• Convince people how are we going to change what we want to change
• Use specific examples- Montgomery bus boycott
• Participatory democracy case for example- Taiwan
• Invoke emotion
• Educate in a way where you're meeting people where they're at
• Be cognizant that you're talking to people who aren't talking about this all the time
• Give people examples of what to say when they do call through NGR
• Have some fascinating news cases of people- can reach out to some people using NGR and play some of their messages
• “Congress is in shambles and to ask the country to have a revolution on a national level you need to start closer to home”
• Political parties are the part of the problem
• If you paint someone into a corner and say “you're a racist” then you can't be persuasive
• “The hero's journey”
• An archetype where you come from humble beginnings, hear call of action, face the dragon, think the hero will fail or die, then they overcome it and return back to the humble beginnings with this new outcome
• Keep in mind that the hero is the audience
• Don't base on yourself because theoretically ben will be the form of mentor in the narrative
• Slaying the dragon is beating some of the psychological barriers in dealing with the political system
• Analogies and anecdotes
• Basketball- going back to how our current system works, no data behind how these legislatures work- covered up scoreboard  
• Resource- Common Good Vermont
• Not a nonprofit
• Layout a letter to reach out to the institutions- letters of support
• Getting letters of recommendation
• Coordinate a list of places to tour to

DELIVERABLE 2: List of places to tour & presentation

Colleges

High schools

Organizations (even Elks)

40 and below

Interested bystanders

Send list from social media

Common Good Vermont – mission is to help all other non-profits in Vermont

Libraries

Compile class organization

WHAT IS THE ASK?

·      Not contact your legislators right now

·      Awareness, persuasion, & action

·      Sept – January (interim legislative session)

Ben getting letters to establish credibility

Go in with an hour time slot: 20 min in modules – 1-3 min about this, 1-3 min about this

        TED Talks

Must demonstrate urgency

        Identify key modules

        Description of problem

·      Pink slips or “catch all inbox”

        Ben’s solution

        Why am I personally choosing to solve this problem?

        Ben’s theory of change in a concise way

        USE CASE https://civichall.org/civicist/vtaiwan-democracy-frontier/

        Basic language – layman’s

        How a bill becomes a law

        Couple examples of how you can be concise on the platform

        Basketball analogy—covered up score board

Nancy Dorsi Ted Talk

The Hero’s Journey

        THE HERO IS THE AUDIENCE

We need to streamline modules

Somewhat of a script—elevator pitch

Continuity across that narrative

Honing in on a genre

Dr. W’s video

Infographic

Canva

Fivrr → outsourced services

“Bringing customer service to democracy”

Monies

Dwelling on money for now

Weekly CAT Report 4/3/17

DATE: 4/3/17

MEETING TIME: 6:58pm

LOCATION: Kalkin
CAT MEMBERS PRESENT: Izzie, Dylan, Emily, Olivia

CAT MEMBER ROLES:
Facilitator: Olivia
Note Keeper/Publishing: Dylan
Time Keeper: Izzie
Agenda Creator: Emily 

CAT WORK UPDATE:

A) What CAT tasks have you accomplished to date?

• Met with Ben for 2 hours and got a full rundown on his vision, his journey, and experience with NGR thus far.
• Acquired interview video of Dr. W around NGR and will prepare follow up questions if necessary.
• Received reply from Ben with edited deliverables and goals. Feedback well received.
• Created 6 Criteria for Excellence on Deliverable 1.
• Viewed Dr. W Interview on Ben and took notes.
• Identified value in creating a Communications Assets Map.
• Communicated with Ben via lengthy email.
• Began Communications Asset Report.
• Kept in touch with Ben regarding action items.
• Deliverable #1 

B) What immediate and long-term CAT tasks lie ahead for the week, and who will execute?

• Upcoming tasks will include working on deliverable #2 and understanding what that will pertain in terms of the work we need to do for Ben 
• Determining what the budget will be spent on- meet with Ben to hear his ideas 

C) What was the most CHALLENGING element re: the past week's CAT work?

• Getting in touch with Ben about what he wants the budget spent on- we communicated with him briefly, but he would like to meet in person and hash out ideas, so finding a time in the near future will be our challenge 

D) What was the most REWARDING element re: about this past week's CAT work?

• Being given this budget and ability to work with Ben and put the money to good use 
• Finishing off our deliverable #1 confidently and being able to give Ben this feedback and help 

E) What is your CAT doing really well right now?

• Understanding where we are all at and being flexible with Ben's communication 

F) What is your CAT needing to work on right now?

• Getting logistics down and officially giving details/specifics to Dr. W once Ben gives us his ideas and official needs 

Deliverable One: NGR Comm Assets Map

COMMUNICATIONS ASSET MAPPING REPORT

Prepared March 2017

Dylan Blanchard, Izzie Gottlieb, Olivia Hurley, Emily Sherman

CLIENT

NewGrassRoots

802-557-0246

www.newgrassroots.com

CLIENT:

NewGrassRoots is an online platform that allows Vermont constituents to easily, meaningfully, and reliably create a message to local legislators. At the core of NewGrassRoots, two problems are being addressed: 1)‘the people’ do not decide who is in power and 2) those elected to power don’t represent ‘the people.’ The foundation of NewGrassRoots begins with how disappointingly low the participation between citizens and their government has been, and therefore the need to show voters that their voices are heard when they are used. A large majority of people do not speak up because they do not feel it makes a difference -- NewGrassRoots is here to prove that your voice will make a difference.

NewGrassRoots is advocating for the ability for public and private organizations to “keep score” of what their constituents are saying and allow for some transparency between government and those who are being represented. NewGrassRoots has built a “customer service” style platform of organizing call stats that allow for legislators and constituents to see how many people called about certain issues, either in favor or against. Overall, this allows for a much more representative democracy and dismantles the ability for citizens to be unheard.

MISSION

The mission is essentially threefold. According to Ben, it is as follows:

1.              Provide the public an easy and effective way to contribute their own unique voice to the issues they care about

2.              Empower grassroots organizations and citizen activists with the data and tools they need to hold legislators accountable

3.              Make meaningful participation in the legislative process so highly valued by mainstream culture that remaining silent is considered taboo

According to Benjamin Brown, founder of NewGrassRoots, “Our vision is a functional democracy where all people have equal access to be heard by their elected officials and all voices get represented in a transparent way, so we know when government is truly serving the people, and when it is not…[To] make participating in democracy personal, measurable and well-worth a few minutes of time, so more people can choose to speak up and feel good about being part of the solution.”

CONSULTING PARTNERSHIP

The CAT Team (Dylan, Izzie, Olivia, and Emily) will work with Ben and NewGrassRoots to refine the platform’s social outreach and prepare a public education campaign by 1) evaluating NGR’s social channels and making recommendations for the future, 2) remaining a fluid and accessible outlet for Ben to share ideas, and 3) generating ideas and planning content for NGR’s social channels (such as blog posts, video content, and posts for Facebook/Twitter.

Deliverables

March 2017: Deliver Communications Asset Mapping Report to outline where social outreach channels are/recommend where they can go in the future. More generally speaking, we are seeding a public education campaign.

April 2017: Generate content for NGR’s social channels (blog posts, video content, social media posts).

SWOT ANALYSIS

NGR Strengths

• Online platform: easily accessible for many Vermonters
• Doesn’t require face-to-face interaction
• Not everyone wants to go to Montpelier and march or protest -- NGR is a quick and easy way for constituents to make their voice heard without having to leave home
• Is bipartisan and allows anyone from any party to participate
• Ben’s passion and ability to tell his story and catalyze constituents

NGR Weaknesses

• Lack of clear messaging on website and no other buzz online regarding NewGrassRoots. Not very “Google-able”
• Handles on Facebook and Twitter are different (Facebook is @NewGrassRootsVT and Twitter is @New_GrassRoots) -- lack of consistency can confuse people
• Not having a designated ‘slogan’- can be used to in ‘bio’ and ‘info’ sections of platforms to create consistency- “every voice counts” in logo can be used as well

NGR Threats

• Politicians in Montpelier are hesitant to adopt this system because of its pure transparency
• People may just be too apathetic and unwilling to record a voice message and make their opinion heard-- so few constituents even call their representatives currently
• Many students who would partake in the platform are from out-of-state-- are true Vermonters adopting?

NGR Opportunities

• Empowering citizens to fight for transparency and justness in the political system
• Empowering young people to do their part as constituents
• Exploiting the current system which does not function as a clear democratic structure
• If this movement is successful in Vermont, it can potentially spread to other states and increase honest accountability of politicians across the nation

COMMUNICATIONS ASSET MAP

WEBSITE: www.newgrassroots.com

Current

Upon visiting the website, visitors are given the opportunity to enter their email address and zip code to register with the organization. Large text in the middle of the page vaguely outline what NGR is/what users are registering for. There is also a login button for returning users, and some contact information for the organization at the bottom of the page.

Recommendations

Although there is a blurb about what NGR is in the middle of the homepage, the website could benefit from some more images (to take away from the primarily text-filled page), as well as the option to visit an ‘About’ page for more information. The website should also express that the organization is limited to just Vermonters (for now). It could also be of benefit to add a blog into the website as an external link. This will allow for Ben, or whomever else, to express thoughts in a more “free-form” way. A blog will also allow for constant updates on legislation and the NGR platform that would feel too crowded if put on the actual website. Within his blog he may also be able to post videos, pictures, and other content. Similarly, incorporating SEO into the NGR website will be integral to get their platform on the map. Using strategic keywords and incorporating certain phrases into website titles and headings will make his site more “google-able” and enhance its ranking on Google’s search results. Ultimately, we want to make the website more user-friendly and clear.

FACEBOOK: NewGrassRoots; @NewGrassRootsVT

Current

NGR’s Facebook is not active. According to Ben, himself, “it has been fairly idle thus far (hence trying to organize the content and distribution strategy…) but it will be an integral part of the communication strategy moving forward.

Recommendations

Facebook is a really easy, straightforward way for individuals to become involved with NGR and should be used to the fullest. Not only can you use the platform to promote the product, (i.e. posting the link of NGR website and promoting up-to-date blog posts as they come out) but it can also be the most easily accessed by the majority of citizens of all ages. Facebook is an easily maneuvered platform that can allow Ben to write long posts integrated with video and image, all in one. We recommend that Ben use the trend of viral videos to help move NGR into a mainstream audience. A quick 60-second clip of Ben explaining the platform and its importance can be easily shared and viewed on Facebook, as well as posting this to his potential blog. Creating a few of these videos for audiences to really hear Ben explain his position, as he is quite compelling and passionate once he gets going, will allow for viewers to easily click “share” and get an even better feel for what NGR stands for. We also recommend that the profile picture for the page fits the entire logo, rather than just the word “New”. We can help with creating this image.

In addition to using Facebook to promote NGR, Ben could use it to promote the other non-profits and organizations he hopes to collaborate with. It offers Ben a public way to bolster partnerships.

TWITTER: NewGrassRoots.com; @New_GrassRoots

Current

Stats as of 3/8/17:

• 1,224 tweets
• 814 followers
• Following 3,659 users
• Likes 982 tweets

The Twitter account is very actively utilized, with many retweets posted per day. For example, the account retweeted 7 tweets for Town Meeting Day on March 7th alone. Back in January, the account tweeted a video from Montpelier with Bernie Sanders making an appearance (this can be found by clicking the “Media” tab on NGR’s Twitter page). The video got 4 retweets and 8 favorites, which is great exposure for spreading NGR’s name. Overall, the account is primarily retweets about Vermont news and politics from tons of different Twitter accounts, ranging from verified users to common people.

Recommendations

Creating more original content will help establish an online brand. Retweets are important, but it’s difficult to measure how users are interacting with NGR’s posts from retweets alone. Since engagement on Twitter is measured by favorites and retweets, it’s only possible to see the compounded favorites and retweets on the original post from anyone who’s shared it, and there’s no way to publicly see how many of those are from only NGR sharing it. Retweets are clearly important in keeping followers up-to-date with news and politics, so NGR could absolutely benefit from quoting tweets and adding commentary to them. So far, when tweets have been quoted by NGR, it’s more of a summary or title of the article/news than an opinion on the matter. Adding personal input and perspective will help NGR become a brand with beliefs as opposed to simply sharing the news. This is also great for increasing shareability and exposure -- if someone agrees with NGR’s commentary, that user can like or retweet the quoted tweet, so NGR’s name will be shared with all of that user’s followers.

The video of Bernie in Montpelier was a great example of original content that showed engagement with followers. Similar videos and images in the future will be great for the brand!

Like Facebook, the NGR logo should be wholly visible in the Twitter account’s profile picture, instead of just the word “New.” As a side note, the bio for the Twitter page is an awesome way to describe the platform: “A fundamentally better way for activists and advocacy groups to organize individual voices and build political power from the ground up.” Could be incorporated into the ‘About Page’ for the website in the future!

OTHER CHANNELS:

We believe that because of the dynamic of NGR’s message and platform, the most realistic and appropriate uses of social media will be through Facebook and Twitter. Other platforms, such as Instagram or Pinterest, seem like unnecessary means of reaching an audience. Because NGR is not a very visual platform, there doesn’t seem to be a need for the platforms that emphasize image sharing. Facebook will be beneficial in terms of spreading awareness through re-posting blog posts, sharing articles, and educating through status updates. Boost posts can even be pushed on occasion. Twitter will allow for a more fluid, authentic look at the brand of NGR and can be used for “live” updates on current legislation or NGR, overall. These two platforms seem like realistic ways to keep followers in the loop and gain traction online, without overdoing it right away.