Getting Support for Risk Watch

Take a moment to consider all the different types of support you will need to implement Risk Watch in your local schools. Money to buy the program? Funds to buy smoke alarms and other safety equipment? Classroom teachers? All of these are types of support and all are critical to the implementation of Risk Watch.

Support generally falls into one of five categories: funding, people, materials, influence and organizational commitment. The first three generally receive a great deal of attention, but the other two – influence and organizational commitment – are just as important. The focus of this unit is on how to gain support for your mission from the individual organizations of your coalition members and from the community. Methods for obtaining the other types of support (funding, people and materials) will be addressed in the next unit.

Influence

By definition, influence is the power to sway or affect based on prestige, wealth, ability or status. For your coalition, influence is the ability to gain support from people and organizations.

The appropriate use of influence can help you gain access to community resources and target audiences and build credibility for your coalition. For example, when a coalition gains the support of a well-known spokesperson, the affiliation lends credibility to its mission. Whenever Dr. Robert Conn is seen endorsing the programs of SMARTRISK, one of the leading injury prevention groups in Canada, his influence gains credibility for its mission.

Two types of influence are used by coalitions. Direct influence occurs when a coalition member uses his/her relationship with another person to influence action. For example, let’s say that your coalition wants to gain the support of a local pediatric physician. One of your members works with the doctor and asks her to get involved. Indirect influence occurs when a person’s reputation or name is used to influence outside action – Dr. Robert Conn’s role as CEO of SMARTRISK, for example. The use of indirect influence is a sound strategy for creating change on a large scale. Whereas direct influence is generally person-to-person, indirect influence targets larger groups.

Important: influence must be used ethically and appropriately. Influence is based upon a person’s reputation and personal relationships. When you ask someone to use their reputation and relationships to change behaviour and attitudes, it is critical that you use that influence for noble causes.

If you choose to use direct influence to gain support, follow these guidelines:

• What specific support are you seeking? What message or information would convince that person to act? Make sure the message is clear and credible. Be specific!
• Identify someone to contact the person. It may be someone who works with the person, knows him/her socially, or participates in the same civic organization. The contact person must be able to effectively communicate the desired message and be seen as a credible source of information.
• Be honest about your needs and your motives. Never be deceptive – you will destroy trust and your credibility.
• Say “thank you”. Recognize his/her efforts and support. Make him/her feel like part of the team.

You may only get one opportunity to influence this person. Get the most out of the opportunity. If you choose to use indirect influence to gain support, follow these guidelines:

• Learn about the target group(s) you are trying to influence. What are the key issues? What are their cultural and social characteristics? What is their role in reducing childhood injuries? Who are the people in the community that would be able to influence their attitudes and actions?
• Meet with the person you want to use as a spokesperson. Provide him/her with information about the childhood injury problem. Convince him/her of the merit of your request.
• Discuss the specific type of help you need, i.e. participating in a public service announcement, facilitating meetings or signing letters of endorsement. Don’t hesitate to ask for his/her ideas and recommendations. He/she may have a solution you never considered.
• Say “thank you”. Recognize his/her efforts and support both privately and publicly. Make him/her feel like part of the team. You may only get one opportunity to influence this person. Get the most out of the opportunity.

A final thought about influence: Do your job well and communicate to your community. When people recognize that you are making a positive difference, they will be more willing to use their influence to help you. All you will have to do is ask.

Gaining Organizational Support

When attempting to gain support for a cause, most people focus externally. Seldom do they invest time and effort in their own organizations. This is not only an ineffective approach to building support, it may be a fatal mistake!

It is essential that coalition members gain the support of their individual organizations before attempting to gain support of the community. Difficult you say? Maybe. Impossible? Probably not. One of the most challenging tasks you will tackle? Without a doubt!

Gaining internal support for your coalition is all about change. It is about organizational priorities. It is about advocating a change from the old to the new. It may be about dropping old programs and investing in Risk Watch or integrating Risk Watch into existing programs. Every organization is different. They have different personalities, missions, histories, cultures and political situations. When attempting to gain support for Risk Watch, you must work within your organization’s framework.

There is no substitute for honest, open discussion. Be open about your need for support. Emphasize the benefits of Risk Watch to your organization. Recognize the costs of support. Admit the limitations and the challenges. Seek feedback and advice. Get decision-makers involved in the process. Have a plan. Seek counsel from members of your organization whom you trust. Be willing to take the first step.

Professor John P. Kotter of Harvard University has outlined a six-step process for change that can be modified to help you gain internal support for your Risk Watch program:

1. Establish a sense of urgency about the program or cause.
2. Form a powerful guiding coalition to gain support.
3. Create a vision for the support.
4. Communicate the vision.
5. Plan for and create short-term wins.
6. Institutionalize the support.

Let’s review each of these steps:

1. Establish a sense of urgency about the program or cause.

Communicate information about the local childhood injury problem to people at all levels of your organization. Emphasize the fact that failure to act will have a real cost in human suffering. Outline the potential role of your organization in solving the problem. People in your organization must begin to associate themselves with the problem and recognize that they can be part of the solution.

2. Form a powerful guiding coalition to gain support.

This step deserves considerable thought and effort. Identify organizational members who will be receptive to Risk Watch. It is best if these people have influence and credibility. Meet with them and discuss your coalition’s plans.

3. Create a vision for the support.

Once you have gained support, it is time to create a vision for your organization. What will be your organization’s role? How will it benefit from its support? What will be the internal impact?

4. Communicate the vision.

Start at the top, but make sure everyone in your organization gets the word. (Many times, staff members wait for a cue from the top.) Make an appointment with the CEO/CAO or use the influence of someone else to gain the support of the CEO/CAO. He/she will need to see the abbreviated version of your plan with “What’s In It for the Organization?” clearly identified. Ask the CEO/CAO to communicate down the line. This should be more than a simple memo. Arrange meetings between the CEO/CAO and the staff. Make sure that everyone understands that Risk Watch has the full endorsement and support of the CEO/CAO.

5. Plan for and create short-term wins.

Create opportunities for members of your organization to be involved with Risk Watch in a positive manner. Get them into the classroom. Create stories in the media highlighting their support. People inside your organization are going to be watching. They want to know if Risk Watch really works. You must provide the proof.

Which comes first, commitment or involvement? The answer is fundamental to gaining support for Risk Watch inside your organization. The fastest way to gain commitment is to get members of your organization involved in the program. By bringing them to the “front lines”, they experience all the positive aspects of Risk Watch. They feel the difference it makes in the lives of children. They feel the excitement of the teachers. They will carry that enthusiasm and excitement back to the organization and tell others. They will plant seeds that quickly grow. As more people get involved, the commitment grows. Eventually, the level of commitment will have grown to a level which leads to institutionalizing the support of Risk Watch. It is critical that the initial experiences are positive and that personal contact is made with students and teachers. Monotonous tasks that fail to demonstrate the potential for the organization lead to dissatisfaction and a reduction in organizational support.

6. Institutionalize the support.

This is generally a long-term process. Some ways to institutionalize organizational support of Risk Watch include dedicating organizational resources (personnel and budget) to your Risk Watch coalition; including Risk Watch in organizational objectives and policies; and forming formal participatory agreements with your coalition.

Gaining Community Support

In many ways, your community is like your organization – it is unique. It is different from every other community. It has its own injury problem, cultures and political issues. And like your organization, it is essential to gain the support of the community for your Risk Watch coalition. By gaining your community's support, you will realize greater access to resources, classrooms, neighbourhoods and target audiences, and build credibility and acceptance for your coalition's mission.

The process for gaining community support is very similar to gaining support from your organization. Your first step should be to create a sense of urgency about the need for Risk Watch. Convince community members that there is a real risk to local children from preventable injuries. Stress the fact that these injuries are preventable, not “accidental”. Unless people perceive a need for change and its potential benefits, they are not likely to change.

Create a vision for Risk Watch in your community. It will give people a target to aim for. Communicate your vision to anyone who will listen! Don’t forget the power of face-to-face discussions and presentations. Your enthusiasm will be a powerful influence. Empower others to act on your vision. Get people involved in your Risk Watch planning and implementation effort.

When challenges arise, recruit advocates to move the mountains and fight the battles. You don’t have to, nor should you, do it all. That is what a coalition is all about, using the strength of many to achieve your goal.

Take it slowly and create short-term wins. Communicate your successes to the community. Hold a news conference, send out a news release (a sample news release is included in the “Support Materials” section of this guide), do media interviews and give presentations at service clubs. Tell your community about the potential for future growth and success. Clearly establish and communicate the link between Risk Watch and the positive changes in your community. Emphasize personal stories – tales of injuries and tragedies that were prevented or minimized because of Risk Watch. Recognize the efforts of those who made Risk Watch a success.

Consolidate your gains and move forward. Expand your base of support. Increase the number of classrooms using Risk Watch. Get more funding. Provide new opportunities for those involved in the original implementation effort – allow people to spread their wings and grow. Recruit new coalition members.

Institutionalize your coalition as part of your community’s culture. Risk Watch should be part of the community’s expectation for childhood education and safety. Risk Watch should be a living program, something that is much larger than any one person or a single coalition. Risk Watch belongs to the community — to students, caregivers, funders and teachers. To achieve this, you must find others who can carry your banner. Move to get Risk Watch adopted as a necessary resource for your local schools’ curriculum requirements and to get local government agencies to take on Risk Watch.

Summary

Support is essential for the success of your Risk Watch coalition. Support begins by gaining an organizational commitment for your mission. Support is expanded into the community with the goal of institutionalizing Risk Watch and childhood injury prevention. To achieve this, you must create a plan, get people involved, communicate, and constantly seek out advocates from the community and your organization. It will be a lot of work, but in the end, it will make your job much easier.

Leadership Tasks

Identify issues that may require direct or indirect influence to overcome. Identify people who have the influence and credibility you need.

Create a plan for making contact with these people and gaining their support. Create a plan for gaining organizational commitment and support for your Risk Watch implementation effort. Your plan should include:

• methods for communicating a sense of urgency.
• finding advocates within the organization.
• formulating a vision for the organization.
• a strategy for gaining the support of the CEO/CAO and communicating his/her endorsement to staff members.
• methods for creating and communicating short-term wins.
• a strategy for institutionalizing Risk Watch in the organization.

Create a plan for gaining community support for your coalition. Your plan may include: assessing community strengths and weaknesses; methods to promote community education; a strategy to enlist the media for advocacy and marketing; finding key individuals to be community advocates; developing resources to overcome potential barriers; methods for celebrating and sharing successes.