THE CHALLENGE OF DEALING WITH DECISION-MAKERS

There is eldeom much advantage to be gained by those in government in talking frankly about those who petition them. The enormous diversity of experience, the broad range of issues, and the inherent uniqueness of so many situations often makes it difficult to articulate relevant generalities.

But there are some common complaints and observations by elected and non-elected officials that can enumerated: They include:

• A myopia of orts by petitioners who fail to see their issue or demand in a larger context (for example, the precdent their proposition would create that would be difficult for government to deal with);
• A lack of appreciation by many interest groups for the range of political and public policy variables that those in government must consider;
• Failure of proponents to be aware of or actively link their idea to government's existing priorities or concerns;
• Lack of appropriate preparation of a public policy advocate's proposition (e.g. not messaging it in response to administrative, public policy and political imperatives);
• Lack of patience and perseverance- the tendency by many petitioners to give up and go on to something else before adequately following up on their initial initiative;
• Failure to understand the nature, 'rhytms', and timeframes of government decision-making;
• Submission of written advocacy material that is usually too voluminous, too narrowly sel-serving, and in a form often unusable by those in government; and
• Unnecessary politicization of issues by proponents 'going political' prematurely

In the minds of many public officials, this comes down to a general failure by organizations (in both the private and non-profit sectors, it should be emphasized) to understand how government, politics and public policy really work.