Each issue on the Alliance’s annual Legislative Agenda has an identified Lead Organization, or in some cases organizations when groups elect to work together. They perform the following tasks:

• Researches, writes, submits proposal for the initiative/campaign to be on Alliance’s Legislative Agenda (may be done with other groups as co-leads)

• Serves as the policy expert on the issue – gathers technical background information, provides expert/technical testimony when needed, etc.

• Provides a senior staff and/or Board leader to serve as primary contact for Alliance staff and members

• Works with Alliance staff to ensure broad early childhood stakeholder participation on the issue and with existing internal advocacy development processes

• Advises and/or provides content for Alliance communications on the issue on a regular basis, including newsletter updates, webpage information, images, resource links, Early Childhood Day at the Legislature talking points, and an end-of-session summary

• Leads or supports/assists lobbying efforts in State House and general outreach to legislators

• Leads or assists Alliance staff in identifying, recruiting, and securing testimony for committees and grassroots/grasstops engagement with legislators by Vermonters impacted by issue

• Confers with Alliance staff on strategy options and decision-making during bill/budget consideration

• Participates in weekly meetings of the Alliance’s Policy/Advocacy Committee to communicate issue status as well as be a sounding board and assist on other issues, as appropriate

Why Establishing a Lead Organization is Important

From the advocacy perspective, coalition ownership/leadership on an issue can be challenging. Legislators want to know the origin of any proposal, and want to be able to talk to the in-the-field, on-the-ground entity that knows the most about the issue. The Lead Organization serves in this role.

When decisions need to be made about when to compromise and on what, and how hard to push (or not), the Lead Organization provides expertise and decides and/or signs off on the decision. They ultimately hold responsibility and accountability for the decision. At the same time, they are expected to include other stakeholders in the development of strategy and decision-making in an on-going basis.

Each Alliance Agenda item has a different balance point and formulation for how many resources the Lead Organization can or should put into the effort. Some Lead Organizations have contract lobbyists, others are all-volunteer organizations. Some have developed stakeholder engagement processes or existing coalitions, some do not. Alliance staff work with Leads to ensure we make the most of the resources available to help our community’s voice be heard in the State House and beyond.

For more information, contact Matt Levin, Executive Director, at 802-229-4281 or matt@vecaa.org

Visit our page on the Legislative Agenda-Setting Process for more information on the Legislative Agenda setting process and the role of Lead Organizations.