Building Buy-in
The Journey of Building Buy-in: Principles & Practices
We have distilled members’ lessons learned into a representative successful journey toward building buy-in:
The journey shown here highlights the following fundamental principles — and their associated best practices — for building buy-in:
Principle 1: Envision.
Understand, equip and engage key audiences and co-create a strategic vision.
Understand the audience.
Understanding the audiences to tailor buy-in strategies based on their needs, core interests and values. Key audiences include leaders, staff and the public.
Equip audiences to engage.
In response to the needs of the audience, lay the groundwork for effective engagement. This may require activities like: 1) socializing the benefits and efficacy of green infrastructure; 2) organizing training and education to increase the audience’s comfort with green infrastructure; and 3) sharing case-making research with leaders (like department heads and elected officials).
Engage early and be consistent.
Bring audiences in early to help understand, address and adapt to their concerns. Engage throughout to build trust and bring audiences along in the process. Plan to circle back at the end of the program/project to reinforce buy-in.
Co-create a strategic vision that integrates audience interests.
Co-create a vision with leaders, staff and the public, aligning green infrastructure goals with the specific interests and priorities of key audiences. When the audiences see their priorities and interests integrated into the vision, they will be more supportive.
Principle 2: Partner + Demonstrate
Generate momentum through short-term wins.
Find, foster and elevate champions.
Identify internal and external champions who can advocate for green infrastructure and influence others. Connect them with the resources and support they need to succeed. Identify property owners that are likely to be strong allies for a green infrastructure program, especially neighborhood anchors like schools, park districts and faith communities, and prioritize them for demonstration projects.
Implement demonstration projects.
Involve community members in developing highly visible demonstration projects that show the efficacy and benefits of green infrastructure. Securing philanthropic, state and federal grant funding can help the development of demonstration projects and make it easier for local decision makers to say yes. Measure and monitor the outcomes whenever possible to help make a data-backed case for green infrastructure.
Celebrate the short-term wins.
Create opportunities for community members and elected and appointed officials to come together and celebrate demonstration projects through groundbreaking ceremonies and ribbon cuttings. This increases awareness, pride and public support for green infrastructure in neighborhoods.
Organize site visits.
Organize visits to existing green infrastructure sites to provide tangible evidence of success and inspire confidence. Spotlight green infrastructure that is well-maintained and successful in managing both stormwater and providing co-benefits that uplift neighborhoods.
Principle 3: Broadcast
Determine when you have enough wins to start broadcasting and spreading the word.
Activate community and public relations.
Develop creative marketing strategies to effectively communicate project benefits and address community concerns. Partner with public relations, community relations or communications departments to assist with storytelling, making the topic accessible by using plain language, and with approachable messaging that resonates.
Build diverse coalitions that help broaden your reach.
Seek innovative collaborations with diverse organizations to expand support and resources. Focus on the shared vision to identify overlapping priorities among audiences, and think outside the box on how to find new project allies and champions. Ensure equitable participation by compensating community organizations and employing local community members who are well-connected and trusted. Demonstrate value in a way that is specific to the audiences.
Leverage key moments to channel public interest.
Following events that focus the public’s attention on the need for stormwater management, seize the opportunity to educate the public about the benefits of green infrastructure and the opportunities to scale this multi-benefit solution.
Principle 4: Advance Effective Regulation
Identify barriers and opportunities in regulation.
Understand the existing regulatory landscape and the barriers to codifying necessary policies, such as funding mechanisms or program requirements. Analyze how current regulations align with your program goals, and identify gaps or opportunities to strengthen regulation.
Activate coalitions to build a supportive regulatory environment.
Collaborate with diverse stakeholders to form coalitions that can advocate for regulatory change. Coalitions can create a more powerful and persuasive voice than one single entity. Diversity within coalitions enhances collective influence, which makes it easier to advocate for regulatory change that aligns with shared goals. Sharing resources, knowledge and expertise allows coalition members to amplify their collective impact. Coalition models help maintain momentum and effectively address barriers to regulatory change.
Example: How Los Angeles, CA Voters Supported a Dedicated Funding Source for Stormwater Projects
Organize for effective advocacy.
Establish clear roles, communication strategies and actions to ensure all members are coordinated and engaged. Acknowledge and value all forms of power — different groups bring different things to the table and can move strategies forward in unique ways. Work together to push lawmakers toward policies that advance shared goals, using collective influence to address challenges and build momentum for supportive legislation.
Collaborate with regulators to ensure implementation.
Once regulations are in place, work closely with regulators and coalition partners to ensure the policies are implemented effectively and equitably. Continue to strengthen support by aligning regulatory actions with long-term program objectives, ensuring that regulations remain relevant and beneficial over time.