Dear Cynthia,
Good afternoon, and thank you for contacting Ask an Advisor!
While we do not have a research document that specifically addresses your issue, we do have information about advocacy and political process that may help you build a constituency in support of your goal.
Please click on our Learn a Skill graphic at the top of our home page, and then on Table of contents. Take a look at chapters 30, 33, and 24; plus related Toolkit 10.These will give you information about the process of advocacy, the importance of building a supportive constituency, and of developing a relationship with political leaders. All of that involves a process that can take time and can be very frustrating. Build a relationship with several political leaders and explain to all why you see value in your initiative and how it can help build citizen participation in community affairs.
That leads me to suggest you also take a look at chapter 34: Media Advocacy, for guidance about how you might frame your case to the public, and invite citizens to participate with you in making it even better and more relevant to your community.
Good luck!
Ask an Advisor
