Chapter 2: Advocacy

Exercise 2: Creating Objectives
Crafting a strategy for success is usually done by trial and error, and since most advocates have never successfully advocated for a skatepark before, they don’t tend to create solid plans because they usually don’t know what to expect. There are six things to consider while formulating the best approach for meeting the goals.

1. Inventory the environment. Talk with the group about any factors in the community that might influence the opportunities for a new skatepark. These things might be positive or negative.

    •    Are there skateparks in the area now? Are they successful?
    •    Is skateboarding in the local news for any reason?
    •    Is the group connected with the local skateboarding community? (Will they be there to support the advocacy efforts when they’re needed?)
    •    Is the local economy healthy or depressed?
    •    Are there any substantial development projects on the horizon?

2. Take stock of the group. This is a difficult exercise. Strengths and weaknesses are going to emerge eventually on their own, but if the group can identify them beforehand it may save time later. Consider the following:
   
    •    Is the group organized?
    •    Is the skatepark process fully understood?
    •    Does the group have the time and dedication to see the project through? (Anticipate a 2- or 3-year process.)
    •    Is the group comfortable dealing with a diversity of audiences such as politicians, administrators, and business owners?

3. Seek a support network. The group is not going to build the skatepark alone. It’s going to take help from lots of different groups and agencies, some of whom have never worked together. As the skatepark agents, the advocacy group will be those to whom people turn to when they’re curious about the project. Being able to locate skatepark supporters in the community is extremely valuable, but keeping them involved and invested (both figuratively and perhaps literally) will be one of the greatest challenges.

4. Define short- and long-term objectives. Advocates should refresh and update the short-term goals frequently. The long-term objectives should remain more or less static, though the goals may change as new circumstances are revealed or opportunities present themselves. Long-term objectives are the vision for skateboarding in the community, whether it’s a simple ledge or pad on an abandoned tennis court or a ten-skatepark system spanning the city. The short-term goals are going to be much trickier to identify until after there’s actual progress.

Short-term objectives might include things like these:

    •    Keep the Parks Department invested and informed about skateparks.
    •    Gather support from the local business community.
    •    Identify and secure approval for an appropriate site.
    •    Create new supportive contacts in a specific organization (Community Council or Chamber Of Commerce, for example).

5. Create a plan for achieving each objective. For each objective, identify a way to reach it. Some objectives might still be too large or vague to plan for, but by breaking them down into smaller and smaller parts, the opportunities should reveal themselves. Two pieces of wisdom will help the group turn ideas into actual plans. The first is that if one doesn’t know something, ask. A well-placed question is one of the most powerful tools at the advocate’s disposal. The second piece of advice is to be patient but relentless. The following examples are the types of smaller objectives that ultimately produce much larger successes:

Establish regular monthly meetings with the Parks planner. This will keep the Parks Department interested and informed about the progress—they’ll come to expect regular successes from the group.

Research “skatepark tourism” and attend a Chamber Of Commerce meeting to discuss regional skateparks as local attractions. This will help build support from the local business community.

Contact the local Department Of Land Use regarding availability of specific potential skatepark sites.

6. Dedicate resources for implementing those objectives. This is more simply said by asking, “Who is going to do all this stuff?” Creating a plan for achieving each objective should yield a pretty good list of things to do. Volunteers within the skatepark group should be willing to share the unpleasant tasks as well as the fun ones. For example, it’s easy and fun to design a logo for the group, but who is willing to research the state’s liability laws or speak in front of City Council? For those goals that aren’t executed as well as expected, the group can figure out what went wrong and look for ways to improve their performance.

The most important people in the skatepark advocacy group will be the ones who are willing to attend meetings or organize projects without much help or reminders. Those meetings that aren’t directly about skateboarding or skateparks can often yield powerful support for the skatepark effort, but this can’t happen if no one is there to represent the skateboarders’ interests. The group needs people, or a person, willing to speak in front of groups or, when faced with yet another little thing that needs to be done, be ready to “just take care of it,” whatever “it” is. These motivated individuals are in high demand, so when the group has one, appreciate that person.

While this second exercise may seem overly complicated, once your skatepark effort is underway it will become clear that staying organized and maintaining clear objectives will keep the whole project on track. With a reasonable grasp of what to expect and how long the process can last, we’re confident that any skatepark effort will be successful.