Rebecca says you have to identify the policy levers you have available to you - regulations can take 2 years, guidance can take a year, legislation can take the whole term! How many of them can you reasonably use? #CFASummit

14/14

Lynn says sometimes you need to bring in a powerful person to get stuff through! That will give you the opportunity to deliver something and prove yourself to the naysayers, even if they’re mad at first. But you need that opportunity. #CFASummit

13/

To get stuff done, Rebecca says you have to build the relationships, especially with career staff. How can your efforts further their interests? What motivates them? They can help you get stuff through if things get hard.

And when the project is done, the relationships can still be nurtured to further culture change! #CFASummit

12/

When passing suggestions to policy folks, Pooja has seen that presenting user-informed research to an open-minded partner can be convincing. Lynn points out many of them have never done user-centered research and talked to people first-hand. They just don’t have the information. “Don’t let lawyers bamboozle you!” Finding a lawyer who will say yes is so valuable. #CFASummit

11/

Pooja points out that you have to look at the incentives to have agencies collaborate instead of fracture apart. Lynn says you have to show, don’t tell, if you’re proposing change. For state-run federal programs like SNAP or WIC, what are plays that the states can do that maybe don’t require the feds? #CFASummit

10/

When working at the policy and implementation level, you have to make sure you’re talking with people who have real authority. #CFASummit

9/

Pooja talks about how we still have a long way to go in making policies work during implementation. Had to write a memo to very senior leaders in government about the data categories they needed to use, which probably should have been hashed out at the policy level…. 😅 #CFASummit

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