Implementing a piece of public policy to support the arts in your community can be a daunting task. While the benefits may be great, the time and resources needed to take on a political process can be significant. Before entering intfo such an endeavor be sure to consider the following points.

Learn from other communities
Each implementation process is different, but valuable information can be gained through learning about how other communities have implemented and reauthorized local arts policies. Specifically, the process by which organizations have reauthorized legislation mirrors the implemenation process. Although the two processes are under slightly different circumstances, the challenges and obstacles are nearly the same.

Partnerships are powerful
It is important to remember that this will be a team effort. Whether you need help with campaigning, lobbying, or drafting legislation there are people and organizations available to assist you. Most policies that fund the arts do not fund art alone, often times you will be able to find valuable partners from outside your field who share a common interest in the policy.

Potential partners could be:

• Arts Council


• Executive Director


• Board member(s)


• Various administrative staff


• Legislators/Local politicians (non-partisan)


• Business Leaders/Corporations


• Lobbyist


• Chamber of Commerce


• Tourist/Convent & Visitors Bureau


• Arts advocacy group


• Arts Education organizations

Stakeholders are key to your success
In addition to identifying your stakeholders it is equally important to understand their motivations.

• Politicians will assist you if they believe it is in the best interest of their constituents.
• Business leaders will support the legislation if they are made aware of the benefits of arts to the local economy. If you can support your argument with quantitative data showing the benefits the arts brings to a certain area or district then businesses will be more inclined to support you. There is plenty of research out there that quantify the Arts' impact on job growth and business investment in a community.
• Arts organizations will mesh well if they feel they have an adequate role in the process. This pertains both to the original drafting of the legislation and to the distribution of funds collected. Clear agreements from the beginning will ensure all organizations feel well-represented by the legislation.

Think communication
Communication is a key item to be discussed during the initial planning phase. Every group participating in the project needs to be clear on methods and frequency of communication. While reading the story of the Kansas City Bi-State policy, note that one of the factors cited as a reason for the failure of the policy was communication.

Methods that assist the flow of information:

• Weekly check ins
• Email updates
• Group meetings
• Leader meetings
• Web blogs
• Internet bulletin boards
• Public meetings
• Meeting minutes

Evaluation should begin early and occur often
A key to the continued success of your policy is to decide upon evaluation methods from the beginning. Evaluation will ensure that you will be able to fully understand the successes or failures the policy is having. If there are aspects that seem unsuccessful, your evaluation will allow you to act quickly to correct problems.

Treat this endeavor as a special project
This means that you pay close attention to the time needed, resources required, and scope of the policy. Trouble can arise from working on these policies part time and including it in the daily workload. If this project is not treated separately it will be difficult to account for the resources used and progress made.

• Account for all resources. It can be very helpful for your project to write out all of your known monetary and personnel resources. Listing all resources available to you will facilitate the most efficient use of these resources and proper delegation throughout the project.
• Keep your goals within the scope of the policy. It will be critical to define the goals of the proposed policy and treat this as the mission that drives the project. Things to consider when defining the scope are:


Who- Who the policy will affect and who will pay for it
What- What type of policy are you're pursuing
Where- What the geographical limitations of the tax.
When- When will the policy be implemented and when it will expire
Why- Why is the policy needed

Phase it out
By planning out the phases of your project, a timeline will begin to develop. Within each phase you can define milestones that will clearly show the people involved when success for a certain phase has been achieved and when transitioning from one phase to the next is appropriate.

Each policy is different and it can be dangerous to draw generalizations about how much time it will take to process an idea into a successful cultural policy.

In researching your city's or county's system of passing legislation you may find time requirements built in to the legislative process. You may need to meet a certain requirement, such as proposing your policy a certian number of days prior to an election or allowing a certain amount of time for legislation to be considered.

Besides the legal requirements on time, there are strategic uses of time to be considered. It has proven beneficial in other cities to hire a lobbyist and allow time for him/her to meet with key legislators to gather support. It has also been helpful to collaborate with campaign officials to determine the best amount of time to launch a campaign in order to persuade voters to approve the measure.

Understand the opposition and warning signs
Opposition for these policies comes from groups against taxes in general to groups specifically against publicly funded art. While every community is going to have some opposition to a policy that supports the arts, you should attempt to identify any specific interest groups in your community that may prevent the policy from being passed. Identifying and communicating with potential oppositional groups early in the process allows for compromise to take place.

There are also warning signs to be aware of when enacting a policy. Subtleties such as the amount of time spent on advertising or the language used in the legislation can make a difference in the sucess of your policy.

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