Making the Case for Government October 2013

Public Works is dedicated to building public will for the common good. We equip community leaders, advocates and public servants with the skills and knowledge they need to be articulate and vigorous supporters of the role of government in a functioning society.

In this presentation, we will share with you the lessons we have learned from a decade of research into how Americans perceive government and of fieldwork with public policy organizations, coalitions, advocates, and others interested in building support for a well-functioning public sector.

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America is at a Crossroads

There is a heightened awareness of enormous public challenges we face together – whether they be health care, climate change, or economic recovery. But, possible solutions to these challenges seem hard to envision. In part this is because we have lost faith in the ability of our government to play an active role in addressing our shared challenges.

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By Thomas Hawk

Dominant public perceptions of government undermine efforts to engage citizens in the day-to-day work of the public sector and the many challenges, decisions and competing priorities that face our public systems.

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Research

In 2004, Public Works collaborated with the FrameWorks Institute on a research project to understand how Americans reason about public issues. From this research, we learned how Americans think about government and ways to engage the public more effectively in conversations about the role of the public sector. In 2009, we teamed up with the Topos Partnership. This team of researchers re-tested and validated the strategies and findings of our initial research.

Since the original research was completed, Public Works staff have been working with organizations across the country implementing the ideas from these research and building upon them to make an effective case for the essential role that government plays in our society.

To understand the challenge of current thinking and develop strategies for better communication

What we are trying to understand

Unlike traditional polling, which looks for visible attitudes,

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our research was focused on understanding the hidden -– more obscured-- reasoning that Americans use when they are considering public issues.

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Default Thinking on Government

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GOVERNMENT From our research we learned that the American public is only dimly aware of what government is and does. Most of their top-of-mind images of government are negative. In particular, the research uncovered two dominant stereotypes about government and stance towards government – all of which distort thinking about government.

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The first of these dominant images is that government is

“JUST POLITICS.” When Americans think of government using this mental construct, they think of it as political theater where partisans squabble. They ascribe all the attributes they dislike about politics to government; they think of it as corrupt and focused on special interest. They see it as a spectator sport, and they see themselves as outsiders.

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The second image they have of government is as a

MINDLESS BUREAUCRACY. When they think of government from this perspective, they see it as an undefined bureaucratic blob. They are uncertain of its purpose and what it does. And, they believe that whatever it does, it does it inefficiently and wastefully. They believe it causes more problems than it solves.

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Lastly, they think of

GOVERNMENT AS A VENDING MACHINE. They see themselves primarily as consumers – or customers -- of government. This narrows their relationship with government to a transactional one. This “what’s in it for me” perspective undermines the civic mindedness that we need.

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• These dominant and resilient images consistently misdirect thinking.

• Concrete images of the systems and structures of government are missing from Americans’ perception.

• Consumerist thinking narrows understanding and a sense of responsibility.

The Challenge The Good News • The “idea” of government is not

lost. People see a need for government to achieve its essential purposes.

• Americans value responsible citizenship. They are pragmatic; they want government to build consensus and solve problems.

• Americans see stewardship and planning for the future as unique roles for government.

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Openings for New Conversations

In addition to identifying the challenges presented by Americans’ top of mind understanding of government. Our research also revealed that more productive perspectives provide openings for new conversations.

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Recommendations for Changing the Conversation

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Overcoming Top-of-Mind Understanding Despite these stereotypes that dominate the American mind, we found in our research – and now in our field work – that when people are reminded of the public goals of government and given concrete images of the public structures necessary to achieve those goals, they can engage in questions about government in a more reasonable, pragmatic and problem-solving manner.

Our research three key ideas that are necessary to rebuild a more robust understanding and appreciation of government: • We need to remind Americans

of the Mission and Purpose of government. • We need to help Americans see

the Systems and Structures that make up our government. • We need to reinvigorate Civic

Thinking.

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Focusing on Mission and Purpose Helps to overcome a sense that Government is “Just Politics”

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Mission and Purpose

Our research revealed that public discourse about government is missing a clear articulation of the unique mission of government, of why it exists and what differentiates it.

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To overcome Americans’ lack of understanding of the unique mission of government, we recommend talking about government's embodiment of broadly shared values that we all hold dear and highlighting the roles of government that the public recognizes as ones that government is uniquely positioned to fulfill.

VALUES • Common Good • Quality of Life • Community Wellbeing • Public Purpose

ROLES • Protector • Manager & Planner • Steward • Consensus-Builder

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Revealing Systems and Structures Helps illuminate Government is more than a “Mindless Bureaucracy”

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Systems and Structures

of Government When people are caught in an image of government as a large and wasteful bureaucracy, it is difficult to grasp the many concrete and essential activities of government. The systems and structures that make up our government – from our court systems and the post office to the services that support families – are obscured.

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To Bring into Focus the Systems and Structures that make up Government….

…We recommend emphasizing the systems and structures of government. We can broaden Americans’ understanding of what government is and does by:

• Providing concrete and vivid images • Explaining that our public systems and

structures were purposefully created to address our public challenges

• Revealing how these systems work • Reminding people why these systems are

important

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Changing the Limited View of Our Relationships with Government

Currently, many people see an “us” and “them” relationship to government, in which their primary role is to elect leaders.

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Rounding out the Story

We can round out this understanding by reminding people that government is based on “we the people” (elected leaders and the public) working together to build and maintain the public structures* that yield benefits for the common good. This gives people a different understanding of their civic responsibility for, and relationship to government. It is this perspective that allows people to contribute to public discourse about government action.

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Describing Public Structures

Public structures * such as the legal systems, the public school systems, the public water works, the communications grids are the foundation of our society and fundamental to our prosperity, stability, opportunity and a strong middle class. Using this descriptive construct triggers an appreciation of the role our public systems play and the ongoing need to create and maintain the public structures that are essential to our quality of life.

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Elevating Civic Thinking Helps overcome the consumerist stance towards government

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The dominance of a “consumerist” mindset towards government has undermined the kind of “civic-thinking” that we need to underpin an appreciation of the role we all have in a democracy. It is civic thinking that promotes the important perception that government is “us.”

Citizen Thinking

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To create a citizen stance …. …We recommend: • Reinforcing notions of interdependence,

explaining that our quality of life and prosperity depend on us working together;

• Using “ownership language” to refer to government to emphasize collective ownership and responsibility of “our” government;

• Focusing on the shared community benefits of the public services and structures we build and maintain; and

• Emphasizing our shared responsibility for government.

We can overcome these Dominant Narratives…

Just Politics Bureaucracy Vending Machine

. . .can’t solve anything . . . not my responsibility 28

By Purposefully Telling a New Story About our Government….

Mission & Purpose Systems & Structures Citizen-Thinking

. . . our tool for solutions & the common good . . . 29

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Our Story about Government

VALUES

We must articulate the public good behind the policies and programs

SYSTEM THINKING

We must help reveal our essential public systems and structures.

AWAKEN THE CITIZEN

We must help people see our shared stake and responsibility.

Building on Story Elements that Work

For more information about changing the conversation about government, we encourage you to visit www.publicworks.org.