SDIC 2.0 Masterclass

Why the Public Doesn't Trust You

How to consistently get a “Thank goodness you’re there!” reaction from your public, even anti-government opponents.

You Can Be Responsive AND Responsible

Being “responsive” to your public too often means giving into their demands… which amounts to being less responsible. We’ll show you how your team can actually be BOTH — but it’s not necessarily as you, or the public would expect!

Why You Can't Rely on Science

Americans aren’t particularly impressed by scientific evidence or all your solid data. But don’t despair, that doesn’t mean it’s useless in creating more informed (and less political) decision-making.

You're Contributing to the "Us vs. Them"

You’re mission is legitimate and your intentions are genuine, but your unwittingly sending contradictory signals. Anti-government sentiments are on the rise. You can’t afford to play into their fears that you’re one of “Them… evil government.”

Respect & Legitimacy Module:

You’ll learn practical steps you can immediately put to use to prevent, and if necessary reverse the public’s anti-government attitudes towards your organization and project.

By applying the methodology you learned in the in-person training and going through this module’s exercises, you’ll understand what it takes to get a “Thank God you’re there!” reaction from your public — including opponents and anti-government groups — on a consistent basis.

Values Module:

When you walk away from a public meeting or encounter with an opponent feeling like people are “irrational,” that’s a symptom that you don’t fully understand their higher values.

Higher values deal primarily with issues of fairness, rights, freedoms, liberties, responsibilities, duties, etc. While this module isn’t “touchy-feely”, it is going to get to the root of why some people seem irrational. In this segment, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of your opponents’ higher values, and see them as the key to reversing their opposition to your proposals.

Strategic Module:

The rubber meets the road in this module. You’ll learn how to deploy your limited outreach resources strategically.

By the end of the module, you’ll have completed the rigorous and necessary steps to design an Objectives-Driven Public Outreach Program that’s tailored to accomplish the top priority needs (and how to identify them) of any given project.

Tactic Module:

So much of what you’ve probably focused on in the past are Citizen Participation Techniques. During the in-person training, you’ll have already learned not to see any CP Technique as “good” or “bad”, merely as a tool that is either helpful or harmful to the task at hand.

In this module, we’ll share with you some powerful Tactics that not only incorporate what you’ve learned so far, but often take LESS time, use FEWER resources, and yield a MORE informed public discourse… which leads to a more informed decision-making process. You can sometimes accomplish a very challenging Citizen Participation Objective by deploying one or another of these Consent-Building Tactics.