Connect Policy Participant Workbook

Blue Zones Project® Facilitator Guide

1

Connect Policy Participant Workbook

1 Copyright © 2020 Sharecare, Inc. and Blue Zones, LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson: Policy Marketing: Using Marketing to

Accelerate Policy Momentum

Description

Policies have a lasting, community-wide impact on shaping the environments we live in so that healthier choices are easier. Marketing can support you in your journey to educate and involve community leaders and residents, recruit and train advocates, and build impactful campaigns. We have the tools and resources available to support you.

Learning Objectives

▪ Learn about the role of marketing in educating the community on policy

▪ Understand how to use marketing as a tool to advocate for certain policies

▪ Learn how to select the individuals and organizations that will help drive policy work

in the community

▪ Understand the marketing tools and resources we have available to support you in

driving policies forward

Materials

▪ Policy folder on the Best Practice Center

▪ Sector Value Sheets


Roles Blue Zones Project Plays in Policy Change

Key Concepts:

▪ Blue Zones Project takes one of three roles when it comes to policy change

– Lead – Accelerate – Join

▪ There are three ways that marketing can help to drive policy work:

– Educate and Involve the community

– Prepare people to advocate for change

– Run a campaign focused on education or action

Notes:


Activity | Identify Influencers

Who will be your biggest advocates? List some below.

Policy Community Leader Everyday Hero Organization

Notes:


Lesson: Assessing the Political Climate

Description

This session provides an overview of how to assess the political climate from a national and local perspective; how to identify cultural and political triggers; and strategies for overcoming local policy hurdles.

Learning Objectives

▪ Assess the political climate.

▪ Identify cultural and political triggers.

▪ Strategize to overcome local policy hurdles.

Materials

▪ N/A


Activity | “Trigger” Issues

Every community has its unique cultural and political “trigger” issues, issues that are contentious where decision makers and the public are divided.

These “trigger” issues often have a rich history behind them that could be based in racial or ethnic tension, lack of representation of minority groups where a minority group has felt disenfranchised, laws that have benefited one group over another economically or socially, and more.

To be successful in policy advocacy, it is critically important that you understand your community’s cultural and political “trigger” issues so that you can first prioritize policies that avoid these issues to get early wins and build relationships and trust. Eventually, you may be able to advocate for a policy that would help mend tensions between different groups; however, you should only do this after you have built a great degree of political capital and community trust.

Notes:


APPLY IT! Learn how Fort Worth addressed tobacco policy in

their community.

The Challenge

Fort Worth had passed a smoking ordinance in 2007 prohibiting tobacco use in most work places but had

removed bars and bingo parlors from consideration. In the past ten years, E- cigarettes have been introduced into

the market as a safe alternative but are unregulated by the FDA. Also, Fort Worth was the only large city in Texas

that did not have a comprehensive smoking ordinance and still allowed smoking in bars, which made it a target by

many anti-smoking interest groups.

The Mayor and City Council were not excited to add what they saw as ‘added’ regulations to business owners and

wanted the support of any changes to the ordinance to be a grass roots effort.

As E-cigarettes became more popular, stand-alone retail establishments began popping up around town,

especially locating near high schools to target young potential new smokers.

Timeline

2015 • Blue Zones Project staff began having conversations with city staff on adding bars to the current ordinance.

• Smoke-Free Fort Worth is formed and funded by national anti-smoking interest groups targeting Fort Worth.

2015

–

2016

• Blue Zones Project staff meet to discuss strategy and the sensitive political climate.

• Strategy created.

• Staff hired to begin outreach in the community.

2016 • Blue Zones Project colleagues work behind the scenes by meeting with City Council members to alert them to new smoking restrictions on the horizon.

2017 • Smoke-Free Fort Worth, in partnership with Blue Zones Project, held a tobacco networking event to garner support from bar owners and other interested parties.

• Texas Christian University became a smoke-free campus and includes e-cigarettes in their policy.

• Blue Zones Project staff met with City Staff to propose the idea of limiting stand-alone tobacco retailers to locate near any educational institutions. City staff drafted an amendment to city code.

• Smoke-free Fort Worth launched a letter writing campaign and Facebook posts.

• Blue Zones Project asked Barclay Berdan, CEO, Texas Health Resources, to author an op-ed piece on the health of the community and the health risks of second hand smoke.

• Smoking ordinance amended with unanimous support from Mayor and City Council.

2018 • With Blue Zones Project support, Councilman Moon proposed amendments to restrict smoking in city parks.

• City Council passed the amendments.


Blue Zones Project Role

Their approach

When Blue Zones Project began in 2014, members of the National Team and Blue Zones LLC wanted to move

quickly on tobacco regulations. Given the sensitive political climate, the ramifications of adding regulations to local

businesses, and the fact that all City Council members were up for re-election in May 2017, the local Blue Zones

Project Policy Lead recommended putting tobacco policy on the back burner until the Project gained trust and

credibility in the community.

Outcomes

The amended comprehensive smoking ordinance was passed in December 2017, which included language to

address E-cigarettes as well as the amendment to city code to restrict stand-alone smoke shop retailers to locate

within 300’ of any educational institutions or hospitals.

Why this policy?

Fort Worth had already met most of the policies that were in the pledge book and/or some were not going to be

successful in Fort Worth. Also, the smoke shops were locating near high schools and community members were

outraged. It was a perfect time to address an issue to protect our children at the same time as protecting

employees in ALL workplaces.

Evidence of success

Soon after the ordinance was passed, City Councilman Moon proposed to restrict smoking in city parks. City

Council approved this amendment a few months later and the regulation became effective August 2018.

Links to articles

• https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Fort-Worth-City-Council-Set-to-Vote-on-Proposed-Smoking-Ban-

463536283.html

• https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Fort-Worth-Could-Soon-Ban-Smoking-in-Parks-476171713.html

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Fort-Worth-City-Council-Set-to-Vote-on-Proposed-Smoking-Ban-463536283.html

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Fort-Worth-City-Council-Set-to-Vote-on-Proposed-Smoking-Ban-463536283.html

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Fort-Worth-Could-Soon-Ban-Smoking-in-Parks-476171713.html


Lesson: Policy Menus

Description

In this session, you'll learn about the built environment, food, and tobacco policies and how each impacts the community and its residents’ well-being. Each policy area has its own menu of best practice policies. You'll use the menus during policy summits when you and community leaders select the priority policies they want to pursue.

Learning Objectives

▪ Understand the content of each policy menu and how menus are used during

community transformation.

Materials

▪ N/A


E-Learning Share

• What did you learn from doing a grocery store count or riding public transit

for a day in your neighborhood?

• What is the one policy from each policy menu that you think is most

needed in your community?

Notes:


Policy Menus Overview

Food Policy Menu

• Updated 2018

• Experts: Dr. David Katz, Dr. Neal Barnard,

Michael Pollan, Mark Bittman, and Dr.

Margaret Adamek

• 41 best practices across 6 Categories

• Certification Requirement: Adopt at least 5

policies

Built Environment Policy Menu

• Update will be completed 2020

• Experts: Dan Burden and Danielle Schaeffner,

Mark Fenton from Blue Zones, LLC

• Certification Requirement: Select and

implement 9 total polices, including 6 core

policies in land use and transportation and 3

additional policies, and implement one

marquee project which demonstrates a visible

change to the built environment

Smoke-free and Tobacco-free Policy Menu

• Updated 2018

• Experts: Rich Killingsworth, Tom Schmid,

Jonas Mata, Dr. Mike Peterson, Jennifer

Johnston, Melanie Ruhe

• 28 best practices across 4 categories

• Certification Requirement: Adopt at least 3

policies


Community Examples

Fort Worth Food Policy

• Produce Carts

• Mobile Fresh Markets

• Urban Agriculture

Ordinance

• Corner Store

Transformation

• Healthy Food Financing

Initiative

Fort Worth Built Environment

• Adoption of a Complete

Streets Policy

• Complete Streets

Implementation Plan

• Street Design Manual

• Active Transportation Plan

• Safe Routes to School

Plan

• Shared Use Pilot

Fort Worth Tobacco/Smoke

Free Policy

• Prohibited smoking in bars

and bingo parlors

• Included e-cigarettes in

smoking ordinance

• Restricted tobacco retailers

from establishing within

300 feet of all educational

and hospital institutions

• Banned smoking in parks

Notes:


Lesson: Power Mapping

Description

The goal of power mapping is to visually map out relationships between people, organizations, and institutions in a given context in order to understand the value of these relationships.

A power map reveals avenues of influence available to an organization. The method allows a group to see how a target is influenced and to see connections between these influencers. Power mapping is a helpful exercise to do during Blue Zones Project. Not only is it very effective for influencing elected leaders to support your policy priority, but it can also be used for the other areas of the project as well.

There are five main steps to power mapping:

1. Determine your target 2. Map influence of the target 3. Determine relational power lines 4. Target priority relationships 5. Make a plan

Learning Objectives

▪ Define power mapping.

▪ Explain why power mapping is useful.

▪ Describe the five steps to power mapping.

▪ Complete a power mapping activity.

Materials

▪ N/A


Activity | How is Dan Buettner connected to Bill Clinton?

Notes:


Steps to Power Mapping

Step 1: Determine your target.

▪ The map starts with a person or institution you want to influence – this is your target. Often the

targets are decision makers in your community.

Step 2: Map influence of the target.

▪ Think of all the associations who have a relationship with your target. Be creative, strategic, and

thorough.

Step 3: Determine relational power lines.

▪ Take a step back and review the network you’ve created. Some of these people and institutions

not only connect to your target, but also to each other. For example, you may find out that your

target, the mayor, and the target’s pastor are all members of the same volunteer organization.

These connectors are called “nodes of power” within a given network.

Step 4: Target priority relationships.

▪ Circle the people that have the most relationship power lines drawn to them.

Step 5: Make a Plan.

▪ After the map is completed it is used to decide how and where to take action. Decide:

– Who you will connect with

– How you will connect with

– What you will say/present

– How you will say/present it

– How you will overcome objections

– How you will follow up

– What steps you will take after that

Notes:


Activity | Power Map

Notes:


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