NWA Leadership Academy: Establishing the Value Proposition of WIC Part 1 of 4: Be a Voice for WIC Series

Originally aried Tuesday, October 2, 2012, Time: 3:00–4:00 PM ET

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Housekeeping Items

Learning Agenda for the Webinar Series

Packaging the story of WIC and establishing WIC’s value proposition and the difference that WIC makes in the lives of clients and communities.

Learning about the nature of advocacy, marketing and the activities that will serve to disseminate the WIC message.

Identifying specific action steps for effective advocacy and marketing.

Learning how to engage with WIC clients to obtain personal stories on the benefits of WIC.

Part 1 Objectives

Understanding the Definition

of a Value Proposition.

Establishing the WIC Value

Proposition.

Learning the difference

between advocacy and

lobbying.

Learning about examples of

advocacy activities.

What is a Value Proposition?

An analysis or statement of the combination of goods and services offered by a company to its customers - BusinessDictionary.com

A business or marketing statement that summarizes why a consumer should buy a product or use a service. This statement should convince a potential consumer that one particular product or service will add more value or better solve a problem than other similar offerings- investopedia.com

Determining Your Agency’s Value Proposition

A Question to Consider: What are the most distinctive purpose-driven forms of value your State or Local Agency creates or will create for its current and future stakeholder segments?

Why Do WIC Agencies Need to Develop Value Propositions for WIC?

To be able to communicate the value of WIC to…

Clients and potential clients, to encourage participation

Community members, to be known as the go-to nutrition and breastfeeding support program

Local organizations, to provide opportunities for partnerships

Policymakers, to demonstrate success, ensure the program receives necessary funding, and to appropriately shape policy

Media, to ensure a favorable public opinion of the program to help enable all of the above

Establishing WIC’s Value

Proposition

• Essential to clearly describe

the services provided by WIC

clinics

• Essential to describe how WIC

services add value Achieves Medicaid savings;

Decreases infant mortality;

Improves birth outcomes and

reduces low and very-low birthweight infants;

Improves overall health of

women and children;

Increases breastfeeding rates; Contributes to the local

economy.

Focus Your Value Proposition Communications

The program targets nutrition health risks to prevent unfavorable health outcomes:

Clients are assessed for specific nutritional needs, given targeted nutrition education, and provided with a food package tailored to them

Share one or two success stories

The program works:

Provide data from your agency (# clients served, health behaviors, health outcomes)

The program has long-term benefits:

Improves health behaviors and health outcomes

Contributes to lower health care costs

Children arrive at school ready to learn

Improves access to healthy foods

WIC has the potential to benefit numerous future clients

Contributes to the local economy

Making the Value Proposition

▪ WIC offices need to actively educate their constituencies: clients, the public, health professionals, local organizations, policymakers, media

▪ Broadly distribute messages about WIC’s value

Press releases

Email

Blogs

Videos via YouTube

Other social media like Facebook

www.nwica.org – Advocacy section

What is Advocacy?

Advocacy refers to speaking out on issues or supporting a

proposal or a cause

It is a means of educating various stakeholders:

• The public;

• WIC clients;

• Policymakers.

Why is WIC Advocacy important?

•Ensures targeted audiences understand

The scope and focus of WIC;

The value of WIC to individuals,

communities, local economies,

and the nation

• Ensures that WIC is not confused with

entitlement programs such as SNAP.

• Provides opportunities to describe the

value-proposition of WIC in many ways

• Ensures that the efficiencies of the

program and the cost-savings (to other

programs such as Medicaid) associated

with WIC are fully understood

Advocacy and Marketing

▪ “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” American Marketing Association

▪ “Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications.” American Marketing Association

▪ Reach one, teach one; teach one, reach one

Do you have to lobby to

advocate for WIC?

NO!

Lobbying is just one type of advocacy

What is Lobbying?

A direct lobbying communication …is any attempt to influence legislation

through communication with any

member or employee of a legislative

body or any other government official or employee who may participate in the

formulation of the legislation through

communication that refers to specific

legislation and reflects a view on that

legislation.

A grassroots lobbying communication is

any effort to influence legislation by

attempting to affect the opinions of the general public or any segment of the

public through communication that

refers to specific legislation and reflects a

view on that legislation.

Why are WIC Offices not permitted to engage in lobbying?

Federal funds generally cannot be used for lobbying, or for the procurement of more contracts or grants.

The “Byrd amendment,” (31 U.S.C. 1352) prohibits recipients of federal grants, contracts, loans or awards from using federal funds to lobby for a grant or renewal of a grant.

Some non-profits that administer federal grants and/or assistance programs are subject to the provisions of the Hatch Act. Check your grant agreement for specifics.

Why You are Permitted to Lobby on Your Own Time

It is your democratic right, protected by the first amendment.

Limit lobby efforts, e.g. sending an action alert letter, to coffee breaks, lunch breaks, after work hours and other personal time not considered “work time.”

Advocacy is NOT Lobbying

NON-LOBBYING ADVOCACY LOBBYING

Explaining all NWA key messages and talking

points about the importance of WIC

Contacting a legislator to ask them to vote for a specific piece of legislation.

Explaining impact of current funding levels—

i.e. with this year’s allocations, we have had to

reduce clinic hours of operation, which

inadvertently reduces caseload to stay within

budget, but we may not be reaching families

who need WIC that cannot get to the clinic

during those hours.

If a bill is introduced that contains a provision

that cuts WIC funding, speaking out against

that funding cut measure to a Congressional

staff member. Or, asking for a particular

funding level.

Educating about the benefits of the WIC

Program and dispelling myths about the Program.

Telling a member of Congress to support the President’s budget proposal for WIC.

Examples of Non-Lobbying Advocacy Activities

Educating the public and members of Congress about

WIC.

Highlighting the achievements of WIC clinics in the media.

Hosting events that promote, celebrate, or inform about

WIC.

Hosting a member of Congress to tour your WIC clinic.

Offering to be a resource of information for Congressional

staff in the future.

Examples of Non-Lobbying Advocacy Activities

Providing data on your state or local agency.

Describing personal stories of WIC impact in your clinic(s).

Describing the importance of Breastfeeding Peer Counselors.

Explaining the benefits of EBT to WIC.

Explaining how your clinic responded to budget cuts.

Summary

Advocacy refers to speaking out on issues

or supporting a proposal or a cause. It is

educating.

Demonstrating WIC’s Value Proposition

Educating legislators and the public on the

value proposition of WIC promotes both the

program and better health for women and children.

In the Next Webinar…

Grassroots Advocacy and WIC Clients

How WIC benefits from Motor-Voter.

The role of grassroots advocacy in disseminating key messages via the web and other media.

Choosing the messages that convey the value proposition of WIC.

Examples of practical “hands-on” presentations and recommendations for presentation.

Resources to Help You Develop a

Value Proposition

for WIC

• Visit the NWA website

“Advocacy Action Center” and

“Position Papers” sections for

more information on: Advocacy vs. lobbying

National WIC statistics

How WIC plays a role in solving

important public health problems,

like improving breastfeeding rates

• Visit the “Local WIC” section on

NWA’s website to find state

profiles with WIC-related data for

each state

Thank you for Participating!