Assignment # 3: Experiential Activity to Support the Safety Net: Lobbying (35% of grade, due class 14) Each student will conduct a lobby visit with a local elected official or their staff on a social welfare challenge that impacts a geographic-based or interest-focused community. The lobby visit will describe the issue, how it impacts the community, and offer a positive intervention or solution. Each student will also prepare a one to two-page memo describing and analyzing the substantive issue the student seeks to impact; the memo will serve as a leave-behind for your lobby visit. Each student will arrange and conduct a lobby visit on that issue with a local elected official of their choice. The lobby visit, which must be done in person (not over the phone, via skype, etc.). The memo will include sections on issue description, historical background, scope of issue and population impacted, changes sought, rationale for your changes, and ethical implications. Grading criteria will include responsiveness to the assignment; organization and clarity of the information presented; demonstrated effort in organizing the visit, overcoming unexpected issues, and conducting a visit; and critical thinking and use of evidence to support conclusions.

Here are some resources you may find helpful for preparing your Assignment 3 handout. The full assignment prompt provides some guidance but here is more. FYI: I posted this a ways back and, apparently, it disappeared.

Another name for your handout is a policy brief. The links below describe the content and purpose of a brief and provide examples. The examples are often longer than what you guys need to put together so keep that in mind as you review them. Yours only needs to be 1-2 pages and hit the main points.

https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/policy-briefs/

http://www.fao.org/3/i2195e/i2195e03.pdf

https://www.who.int/evidence/sure/policybriefs/en/

https://www.icpolicyadvocacy.org/sites/icpa/files/downloads/icpa_policy_briefs_essential_guide.pdf