About the Power Prism

Originally developed in 2001 by campaign co-conspirators, Lori Fresina and Judy Meredith, the Power Prism® became the bedrock of the successful advocacy consulting practice built by Fresina and Diane Pickles during their 12 years at M+R Strategic Services where the suite of applications grew and evolved to meet changing needs of their clients. At its core, the Power Prism® is a step-by-step framework for recognizing and acting on opportunities to build momentum in an advocacy campaign. It's all about learning to make it easier for decision-makers to give you what you want.

The Power Prism® is built on six "power tools" of advocacy that help individuals and organizations convert even the smallest event into a power-building opportunity. Each of the "power tools" can apply pressure on decision-makers in order to reach our policy goals. The Power Prism® has been used effectively by organizations such as the American Heart Association, Human Rights Campaign, Community Catalyst, Rhode Island Citizens for the Arts, Let's Grow Kids – Vermont, and many others. Regardless of one's experience, this framework has been proven to be a valuable tool for planning, executing and evaluating an advocacy campaign.

It's simple: This common-sense framework prompts advocates stop and think about expanding their power through activating any or all of the 6 advocacy tools, rather than working in a linear fashion. Too often, organizations move from Point A to Point B within an advocacy campaign without considering other opportunities to build power and "squeeze more juice" out of an event.

There are a number of campaign planning tools in the Power Prism® suite to help identify the right campaign goal and build a winning comprehensive action plan for your coalition, staff, and volunteers.  We strongly recommend that the campaign plan be treated as a living document - changing as the campaign changes.

Whether at a critical point during the campaign, or as a retrospective analysis, this framework challenges advocates to look at all key advocacy campaign areas to see where they excelled, when they fell flat, and what they would do differently next time – if anything.  A good campaign assessment informs important resource decisions around staffing, strategic partnerships, and inclusion of the communities intended to benefit from the proposed advocacy goal.

Train advocacy staff and volunteers to prepare for strategic campaigning. Immersing a staff/volunteer team in a highly interactive training format allows team members to work through relevant scenarios together and to develop shared understanding of advocacy strategies. Frequency of trainings depends on staff/volunteer turnover and schedule of regular convenings.

Half-Day Training Sessions include a full overview of issue-campaigns and the power tools of advocacy, as well as "drill down" session tailored to a client's unique issues and opportunities.

Booster Webinar Trainings help our clients focus and refine their efforts around specific aspects of advocacy (i.e., grassroots, coalition building, decision-maker advocacy, and so on). These booster sessions support clients as they move from planning into implementation and help to reinforce the use of each 'power tool' until it becomes a matter of habit.

This can be done in person, over the phone, or via webinar and is focused on helping our clients build detailed strategic plans, troubleshoot issues and challenges, and identify new tactics. Often, this format works well for senior leaders who do not have an internal peer group with whom to strategize, problem-solve, and plan.

We design tailored advocacy toolkits and templates on everything from writing letters to the editor to developing strategic advocacy plans to meeting their Members of Congress face-to-face. Let us meet your needs.

Often, when organizations decide to add or grow policy advocacy as a key mission advancement strategy, there is internal discomfort among staff, board members, and funders. They may fear it will impede fundraising ability, invite controversial media coverage, or just simply resist any change to the way things have always been done. A dramatic cultural shift can be required to maximize the investment in policy advocacy. We work discreetly with staff leaders, board members and key funders to manage the transition in a way that honors the past structure while promoting advocacy as a means of contributing to greater mission advancement.

Often, when organizations decide to add or grow policy advocacy as a key mission advancement strategy, there is internal discomfort among staff, board members, and funders. They may fear it will impede fundraising ability, invite controversial media coverage, or just simply resist any change to the way things have always been done. A dramatic cultural shift can be required to maximize the investment in policy advocacy. We work discreetly with staff leaders, board members and key funders to manage the transition in a way that honors the past structure while promoting advocacy as a means of contributing to greater mission advancement.

What if every physician received training in advocacy while in medical school? Or if every teacher was required to demonstrate basic advocacy proficiency as a condition of certification? Or if every urban planner started their job with a working knowledge of what it would take to accomplish their goals in a political context? Imagine how those content experts could advance their missions faster and better through advocacy. Perhaps someday, advocacy skills-building will be offered as a standard component of higher education, but until then, we must provide on-the-job training to engage the experts in fighting for those causes they hold dear.