Communicating with Policy Makers: Getting a Meeting

The document outlines a process for scientists to engage with US legislators, emphasizing the importance of planning, the trade-offs between meeting in Washington or in-district, and the tactical steps for requesting and following up on meetings. It suggests that meetings with aides can be productive alternatives and advises maintaining reasonable expectations regarding immediate policy changes.

• Face-to-face meetings with legislators are highly effective for influencing legislation, particularly for complex or controversial issues where scientist-constituents can provide necessary education to policy makers, especially when opposing lobbyists are active in Washington.
• There are distinct advantages and disadvantages to meeting locations: Washington meetings signal strong dedication but are prone to last-minute cancellations due to votes or hearings, while in-district meetings are easier to secure but may exclude the legislator's lead staff expert on the issue.
• The process for requesting a meeting involves identifying the scheduler or environmental assistant via the local office, sending a formal request by mail or fax, and following up by phone within 24 hours and again after three to four days.
• Meetings with legislative aides should be viewed as productive opportunities because aides act as the office experts and hold influence over the legislator; such meetings can lead to long-term relationships or future direct access to the legislator.
• Constituents should maintain realistic expectations, recognizing that a single 20-minute meeting is unlikely to change a legislator's position and should be viewed as one step in a larger engagement process.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2008). Communicating with Policy Makers: Getting a Meeting. https://www.ucs.org/resources/communicating-policy-makers-getting-meeting

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Communicating with Policy Makers: Getting a Meeting. 2008. https://www.ucs.org/resources/communicating-policy-makers-getting-meeting.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Communicating with Policy Makers: Getting a Meeting |date=21 July 2008 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/communicating-policy-makers-getting-meeting |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2008communicating, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Communicating with Policy Makers: Getting a Meeting}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2008}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/communicating-policy-makers-getting-meeting}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }