A bruising election and what's next for local government projects
Time to adapt, now more than ever
Okay, here goes trouble again. I stalled out midsummer with covid and subsequent weeks of brain fog. Then there was that election thing. Now it’s time to regroup and relaunch, because next year we’re all gonna need “better public messaging in local government projects, for authentic progress in equity and inclusion” more than ever. This time:
What the national election outcome implies for state and local government messaging — because I haven’t seen that angle anywhere else.
A quick plug for my freelance availability, because I’m totally available now.
A little recap (“Previously on…”) to merge back into the thought space.
A draft edcal (“editorial calendar”) for what I should cover next, which you can influence.
Post-election: who to blame and how to prep
Spoiler: We need to blame ourselves and do better.
Yes, the presidential election was national — but people’s conscious interaction with the federal government is mostly second-hand via echo-chamber news media, except for the Post Office and IRS. Until they start getting Social Security and Medicare, most folks’ everyday government interactions are at the state and local levels.
Consider the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, for one. With a few exceptions, people don’t see that money directly like they did with pandemic stimulus payments. Instead it filters down through state, regional and local projects, through sub-programs such as NAE (Neighborhood Access and Equity) grants for road projects.
That means apart from the abbreviated Harris campaign, direct public messaging for the flagship economic achievement of the Biden/Harris administration mostly has been in the hands of this Substack’s aspirational audience: state and local government staffers and the agencies they hire.
They’re an insular caste of wonks and geeks (no offense) steeped in policy and planning. Topical mastery can lure them to believe they’re also good at public messaging — but they’re largely untrained and self-sabotaging in that role, failing to make daily-life effects and benefits clear to a general audience. For example, here’s a client’s late-breaking line edit to public messaging, due to a scope change:
“To optimally leverage community impacts and funds, the project will take advantage of synergy opportunities….”
It says nothing tangible or specific. To much of the public, it sounds like either calculated deceit or cult-member babble. Thousands of messages like this across the nation didn’t help the incumbent close the polling gap on “trusted to handle the economy.”
BTW, I rewrote it like this:
“We’ll combine this construction with another project so we’ll only need to close the road once — and we’ll save money too.”
Orange man bad — but
But wait, you might say. Sure Trump uses only short, common words, but he lies and/or makes little sense. Yes, exactly. Short, common words are the first level to clear with the general public, which includes people with all sorts of cognitive limitations. Trump and his surrogates clear it.
But if you’re a state or local government staffer or you work at the public-involvement agencies they hire, odds are that you do not clear it — so you’ve largely been forfeiting your chance to make sense to the public or tell them the real story, no matter how many fact sheets you push out. Could that be part of why your projects’ public participation rates typically are far below the threshold of statistical significance — sometimes by an order of magnitude or more?
But let’s be real: A frequent function of wonk/geek language is to purposely blunt or conceal, which is even worse than merely failing to make clear. If that’s the hole your agency culture is in, you might better serve the public by digging it no further and instead saying nothing.
Otherwise, you have a potential upside. If you can learn and apply the discipline of plain language in your public-facing project communications and you’re at liberty to be forthcoming, then you can help the public navigate the coming chaos.
At this writing, Trump’s nominated cabinet members are mostly commentators for a cable “news” agency whose lawyers have argued that it can’t be expected to deal in facts. With bona fides like that, federal paralysis and unintended consequences are likely. They might even reach a level that people can’t help but perceive as affecting their daily lives. Regional, state and local projects and programs like yours could turn out to be the shield deflecting the worst blows of an inept or even hostile federal organ — but you’ll need to adapt.
Maybe you should hire me
I just wrapped up six years as a public-involvement agency employee, so my side jobs are now my only job. I might be just who you need for what’s coming, because clearly my first concern is not your feelings — so I’ll always tell you the truth how and why I see it. Such forthright interaction is the only path toward meaningful results, but it means I’ll only work freelance in this field now — so I can specifically contribute what I do best, where and when it’s really needed and wanted.
My weird gift is the ability to empathize — not primarily with you, but with your end-user audiences. I can’t help but write to them in simple, vivid, approachable (even warm!) and always truthful terms, or shape others’ work that way as an editor, even when the topic is complicated. This helps captive customers like your constituents to engage and understand — and feel supported enough to participate.
Or you can have me do a page of plain-language editing for free via my “rewards program,” if you refer a friend and they subscribe.
Previously on…
Of course you can push right past just like on Netflix — but here’s a recap with installment links if you need it.
Is this plain language? Part 2: Second-person POV, storytelling and more.
Is this plain language? Part 1: The basic traits, plus the case against “is committed to.”
Getting the most from key messages: Build consistency and relevance into all your project’s comms.
Calling the public to action: If you need the public to care, surely you need them to do something. What is it, and how should you ask?
Better outreach through empathy: How to harness persona and “think outside the blocs.”
Why public-facing writing matters: If public input isn’t relevant, accurate and plentiful, are you really doing public involvement at all?
Edcal draft for the new reality
I have some ideas (below) about what to cover next. In what’s surely your copious spare time, look over this first draft of an edcal (editorial calendar) and let me know what other pain points you anticipate for next year. Use the chat or drop me a line. That’s all for now.
December
Federal follies: Trump has threatened to “rescind all unspent funds” of the Inflation Reduction Act, which would seem to include NAE grants. Could this or related notions put your federally funded projects at risk? How will you assess? What will you tell the public?
Earlier next year
Statistical significance: Per the IAP2 spectrum, some projects “place final decision making in the hands of the public” — yet typical participation is an order of magnitude too small for accuracy. That ain’t equitable or inclusive. How to figure the numbers you’ll need, and how to get there.
Info-access compliance: federal ADA sections, state statutes, and Microsoft Word’s hidden powers for equity and inclusion.
Fact checking, editing and proofreading: You need all of them for authentic public service and for CYA — but who’s accountable, do they know, and do they know how?
The edcal: when and how to use it, and what it implies about the need for intentional, serial content.
Later next year
Style guide, branding guide: Why would you use them, where do you find them, and what’s the difference?
Better words for road and transportation projects: because they’re numerous and crucial.
Claiming v. accomplishing: Unsupported or unfulfilled claims erode public trust. When did these get so conflated, and how can you untangle them?
The serial comma and other timesucks: Stop “debating” already.