Congressional Relationships | Science Societies
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Congressional Relationships

Relationship building with lawmakers

The following 5 minute video will reveal the methods and benefits for building relationships with elected officials. You will learn: who members of Congress and state legislators listen to; what congressional staffers believe are the most effective communications tactics for influencing members of Congress; and how to conduct effective in-person meetings.

Strategies to influence undecided lawmakers

Many Americans believe that lawmakers are unreachable – that they don't care about what constituents think and that influencing legislative outcomes is an impossible waste of time. This 3 minute video dispels those myths and offers practical tactics for interacting with influential undecided lawmakers.

Hear from members...

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Mark Westgate

"I have a much greater appreciation for how our representatives or their staff are willing to listen to their constituents. I expected 10-15 minutes of their time. Several spent nearly an hour with us." 

Steven Rosenwig

"I learned that the number one thing policymakers care about is how their decisions will affect their constituents. By communicating science in terms of helping their constituency, I am now able to speak the same language as politicians, even when I am talking about science." 

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Heather Dose

"I think many people see our government as 'inaccessible' and are unsure of what they as a citizen can do. However, during my time on Capitol Hill, I realized how accessible we are to our government and how much my representatives are appreciative and receptive of advocacy as a constituent." 

Christine Sprunger

"I thought, maybe [Members of Congress] won’t be too excited about the work we’re doing, but turns out I was completely wrong. We’ve had really supportive responses and people have just been really interested in the research that we’re doing." 

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