Life is a highway, and your communications plans are like road trips. Session presenters Mai Tran and Jennifer Clark used the extended metaphor of road tripping to lead the audience through “The Carpool Strategy”of planning and execution that allows program and communications teams to be their most effective together. Before the trip begins, make sure to establish common ground between teams. This is the most crucial time period for laying out the groundwork for success. Get clear on the destination (where are we going?), the route (how will we get there?) and who is doing what. During the trip, call shotgun and keep asking for a front seat. Your perspective is inherently different, and valuable. Be open to recalibrating your strategy as the project progresses. At the end of the cycle, take time to stop, pause, and reflect on evidence-based insights. This is critical to being viewed as an expert when it comes to your communications and media strategy. What worked? What didn’t? These are your opportunities for growth. By reinforcing the common ground, you carry it forward.

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Conscious Coupling:
What Happens When Communications and Program Teams Work
TOGETHER to Maximize Awareness for an Issue
Jennifer Clark
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
Mai Tran
ECMC Foundation

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WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
● Get tips for collaborating with
content/program experts to build a drumbeat
on a particular issue
● Better understand how communications
insight can help program leaders articulate
vision and desired project outcomes.
● Learn how communications teams between
foundations and grantees can team up to
meet their common goals.
● Hear A LOT of car puns.

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DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
3
WHY WE CARE ABOUT THIS TOPIC
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
ECMC Foundation

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ABOUT YOU
Which scenario best describes the
dynamic between program teams and
comms teams at your organization?
B
C
A

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ABOUT YOU
Which scenario best describes the
dynamic between program teams and
comms teams at your organization?
B
C
A
Solo Journey 🚗
Separate cars on different routes.
Program reaches out to comms 3 days
before project is finished to plan rollout
and dissemination strategy.

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ABOUT YOU
Which scenario best describes the
dynamic between program teams and
comms teams at your organization?
B
Caravan 🚗 🚗
Separate cars following the same
route. Program and comms meet in
advance to agree on a strategy, but
each team works in parallel tracks.
C
A
Solo Journey 🚗
Separate cars on different routes.
Program reaches out to comms 3 days
before project is finished to plan rollout
and dissemination strategy.

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ABOUT YOU
Which scenario best describes the
dynamic between program teams and
comms teams at your organization?
TO VOTE:
1. Go to slido.com
2. Enter event code #W313
3. Click “Join”
B
Caravan 🚗 🚗
Separate cars following the same
route. Program and comms meet in
advance to agree on a strategy, but
each team works in parallel tracks.
C
Carpool 🚐
Same car, same route, same map.
Program and comms meet or check in
regularly to establish goals, identify key
audiences, and refine key messages.
A
Solo Journey 🚗
Separate cars on different routes.
Program reaches out to comms 3 days
before project is finished to plan rollout
and dissemination strategy.

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ROADMAP
THE CARPOOL STRATEGY
A framework for bridging the gap between comms and
program.
IN PRACTICE WITHIN ORGANIZATIONS
How to use this strategy internally
IN PRACTICE ACROSS ORGANIZATIONS
How to use this strategy to collaborate externally
RECAP
Q&A

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OUR ASSUMPTIONS

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OUR ASSUMPTIONS
NO ‘ONE-SIZE FITS ALL’ FIX
Each organization is different!

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OUR ASSUMPTIONS
NO ‘ONE-SIZE FITS ALL’ FIX
Each organization is different!
THIS IS JUST ONE APPROACH
Experiment with approaches that fit for you and your organization

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OUR ASSUMPTIONS
NO ‘ONE-SIZE FITS ALL’ FIX
Each organization is different!
THIS IS JUST ONE APPROACH
Experiment with approaches that fit for you and your organization
YOU’RE HERE FOR A REASON
Even the most functional teams have areas they wish to strengthen
and improve.

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OUR ASSUMPTIONS
NO ‘ONE-SIZE FITS ALL’ FIX
Each organization is different!
THIS IS JUST ONE APPROACH
Experiment with approaches that fit for you and your organization
YOU’RE HERE FOR A REASON
Even the most functional teams have areas they wish to strengthen
and improve.
YOU MAY KNOW A LOT OF THIS ALREADY
We’ll discuss ways to apply what we know as comms professionals
to navigating comms-program dynamics

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THE CARPOOL STRATEGY
how to fuel your strategy forward &
reach your destination together

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TIPS FOR
EFFECTIVE CARPOOLING
BEFORE THE TRIP
Establishing common ground
DURING THE TRIP
Navigating the journey
AFTER THE TRIP
Reflecting on the ride

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IN OTHER WORDS

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BEFORE THE TRIP
establishing common ground

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ARE YOU READY TO GET
IN THE CAR TOGETHER?

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ARE YOU READY TO GET
IN THE CAR TOGETHER? 1
Establish trust
between comms +
program teams

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ARE YOU READY TO GET
IN THE CAR TOGETHER?
2
Agree on shared
goals, responsibilities,
and priorities.
1
Establish trust
between comms +
program teams

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DURING THE TRIP
navigating the journey

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WHERE ARE YOU GOING
& HOW WILL YOU GET
THERE?

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WHERE ARE YOU GOING
& HOW WILL YOU GET
THERE?
3
Call shotgun – and
keep asking for a front
seat.

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WHERE ARE YOU GOING
& HOW WILL YOU GET
THERE?
4
Audience = destination.
Make sure you’re talking
about the same location
3
Call shotgun – and
keep asking for a front
seat.

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THEIR NORTH STAR
The ~6 other people who have studied
this specific topic full-time for years
● Reads the footnotes and source list
● Dedicated their career to
understanding the nuance of this
topic
25
KNOW THE AUDIENCE
YOUR NORTH STAR
State policymakers
● Informed, but not necessarily experts
● Busy
Are you and your program teams pointed in the same direction?

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WHERE ARE YOU GOING
& HOW WILL YOU GET
THERE?
5
Be the GPS. Map a
route with comms “rest
stops” along the way

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THE REVIEW PROCESS CAN
BE YOUR ally

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IWPR RESEARCH REVIEW PROCESS

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IWPR RESEARCH REVIEW PROCESS

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EXAMPLE: ECMCF Review Expectations & Goals

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WHERE ARE YOU GOING
& HOW WILL YOU GET
THERE?
6
Recalibrate. Take
detours and U-turns as
necessary.
5
Be the GPS. Map a
route with comms “rest
stops” along the way

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AFTER THE TRIP
reflecting on the ride

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YOU’VE ARRIVED.
NOW WHAT?

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YOU’VE ARRIVED.
NOW WHAT? 7
Look in the rearview
mirror: analyze and
reflect together

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YOU’VE ARRIVED.
NOW WHAT?
8
Gratitude goes a long
way
7
Look in the rearview
mirror: analyze and
reflect together

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RECAP:
CARPOOL TIPS
ESTABLISHING before the trip
1. Establish trust
2. Agree on shared goals
NAVIGATING during the trip
3. Call shotgun
4. Make sure you’re talking about the same
location
5. Map a route with comms “rest stops”
6. Recalibrate as necessary
REFLECTING after the trip
7. Look in the rearview mirror
8. Gratitude goes a long way

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ROAD TRIP!
carpooling with other organizations

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ESTABLISHING BEFORE
THE TRIP
● Established common ground: mutual
goal to understand more about single
mothers in college.
● Integrated comms insights in
proposal process on both sides.
● Included goal of incorporating more
voices of single mothers in the
research project.

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NAVIGATING DURING
THE TRIP
● Outlined key audiences and networks,
both mutual and separate.
● Used each organization’s comms
strengths to build a drumbeat across
many channels.
● Joined forces through op-eds and
conference presentations to gain
visibility in new venues.

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RFLECTING AFTER THE
TRIP
● Did these efforts raise awareness on
the specific experiences of single
mothers in college? How so?
● Which comms strategies paid off?
Program teams respond to evidence.
● Shared insights beyond the team to
other project teams and boards.

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INCREASED AWARENESS…
Combining program expertise and communications strategy led to more research shared in more
venues

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INCREASED AWARENESS…
Combining program expertise and communications strategy led to more research shared in more
venues

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INCREASED AWARENESS…

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…LEADS TO PROMISING POLICY OUTCOMES
Increased visibility boosted existing programs and inspired new policies at state and federal level.

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RFLECTING AFTER THE
TRIP
● Did these efforts raise awareness on
the specific experiences of single
mothers in college? How so?
● Which comms strategies paid off?
Program teams respond to evidence.
● Shared insights beyond the team to
other project teams and boards.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS Establish common ground
and build trust BEFORE
project starts
Use comms insights to
navigate dynamics
DURING the collaboration
Reflect and share
evidence-based insights
AFTER the project
3
2
1

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QUESTIONS?

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THANK YOU FOR SHARING
YOUR time AND insights
WITH US!

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ROADTRIP PLAYLIST!
https://spoti.fi/2kHdCot
Or, search “ComNet19 Cruisin’ Together”

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JENNIFER CLARK
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
clark@iwpr.org
51
BECAUSE FEEDBACK IS
A TWO-WAY STREET…
MAI TRAN
ECMC Foundation
mtran@ecmc.org