March 20, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
Meaningful Participation: an Activist’s Guide to Collaborative Policy-Making, by Gayle L. Gifford, offers suggestions on how nonprofit organizations can change public policy. Ms. Gifford, president of Cause & Effect, a consulting firm in Providence, R.I., writes that groups can influence decision making by working with government agencies rather than assuming an adversarial approach. She says that charities can bring about changes in environmental policy, community development, and other issues, by participating in public hearings, issuing special reports, and acting as watchdogs for the enforcement of regulations. Ms. Gifford recommends that organizations identify other like-minded individuals and charities who might have something at stake in a policy decision, and she offers tips for such groups to work together to influence government agencies.
Publisher: Cause & Effect, 178 Ninth Street, Providence, R.I. 02906; (401) 331-2272; http://www.meaningfulparticipation.com; 60 pages; $9.95.
