Late Adopter communities and organizations are described as traditional, skeptical of new ideas and eager to maintain the status quo. They usually wait until a policy or new initiative has been adopted by the majority of other communities and organizations – before implementing it themselves. They may need to be pressured into policy change, or may never adopt the new policy or initiative unless required to.

Strategies to use with ‘Late Adopters’

You can use many of the same strategies for Late Adopters as you would use with Innovator and Majority communities and organizations. However, it is important to understand that achieving policy change is usually a long and slow process and will be particularly challenging with this group. Late Adopters need to be handled with care, as they are generally reluctant to change. For instance, provincial laws may be required to force policy adoption. Considering this, you may want to determine if the timing is right to work with the provincial government to facilitate province-wide change as opposed to targeting these specific municipalities.

  1. Obtain commitments from key decision-makers to learn more about the issue.
    • Late Adopters tend to be wary of new ideas and seek to maintain the status quo. Educating decision-makers about an issue is the first step towards breaking misconceptions and changing mindsets.
  2. Keep decision-makers “in the loop” by providing them with up-to-date information about new evidence, the actions and experiences of other jurisdictions, and changes in the provincial landscape that could influence the issue and policy adoption.
    • Try to stay on the policy agenda, while not aggravating the decision-makers.

  1. Provide evidence to illustrate the scientific and public support that exists in favor of policy adoption.
    • When providing evidence of public support, focus on illustrating the support that exists both within the community or organization and among neighboring places.
  2. Illustrate how communities or organizations with similar characteristics have successfully adopted and implemented the proposed policy.
    • It is important to highlight the positive impact that the policy has had in these communities.
  3. Emphasize the risks and the detrimental impact of maintaining the status quo (e.g., not adopting the policy).

  1. Use opportunities such as elections to develop and strengthen relationships with elected officials.
    • Meet with each candidate early in the campaign and engage them on the issue. After the election, maintain relationships with elected candidates throughout their term and remind them of their pre-election intentions. Focus on those candidates who are most receptive to change.
  2. Develop relationships with key stakeholders and respected members of the community.
    •  Remember that this process may be more time-intensive than with Innovator and Majority communities or organizations, so plan accordingly.

  1. Work with the community or organization to develop an approach to fit their specific needs as well as to create buy-in and understanding for the issue early on.
    • Different communities have different needs and may require different approaches to the same issue. Acknowledging this is especially important when dealing with Late Adopters because they have the most reservations about adopting the policy in question.
    • Late Adopters tend to require more evidence and community-based information to inform action. For this reason, it may be beneficial to conduct a situational assessment.
      • A situational assessment helps determine the needs and strengths of a community. It involves the examination of factors such as the political and economic environment, key stakeholders, literature and previous evaluations, and the community’s overall vision.1
      • It is important to note that conducting a situational assessment requires a great deal of time and energy and is not suitable or necessary for every situation.
    • Recognize barriers to policy change and identify how they can be addressed.
      • When working with Late Adopters, there are often underlying barriers inhibiting policy adoption. These barriers can result from a number of factors, such as a specific ideological standpoint, a lack of resources or limited capacity. To successfully influence the policy direction of a Late Adopter, you must recognize what these barriers are and how they can be addressed.
  2. Debunk myths (about the impact of adopting the policy) and increase the legitimacy of evidence about the issue.
    • Myths often surround proposed policy changes. Unfortunately, evidence may not always be sufficient or adequate to debunk these myths as Late Adopters may be skeptical about the legitimacy of the evidence or its source.
    • An effective way to increase the legitimacy of evidence is by working with community members who are wellrespected, receptive to change and who are willing to work towards the policy adoption.
  3. Be prepared to counter the arguments of the opposition.
    • Work with key stakeholders to anticipate likely arguments against the proposed policy and develop possible responses.
  4. Provide resources (e.g., money, in-kind time, materials) to overcome barriers (if available).
    • Identify possible resource pools available to the community. For example, community coalitions can often apply for grants to support policy advocacy. Local or provincial not-for-profit groups are often good sources of templates and materials that can be used in support of the policy development.

  1. Empower receptive members of the public to take action on the issue.
    • Pressure is often needed to facilitate policy change with a Late Adopter, so it is important to engage the public and encourage them to take action.
    • Employ media advocacy as a key strategy.
      • Media advocacy is the strategic use of the mass media, coupled with other advocacy strategies, to influence public debate and encourage policy change.1
    • Make available a range of resources, such as letter templates and sample petitions, to make it easier for the community to take action.
  2. Work to gain public support, and then use this support to engage decision-makers.
  3. Connect to the public using evidence and examples of success.
    • It is important to encourage public dialogue and to work with different stakeholders, such as the media, local nonprofits and receptive members of the community, to build community acceptance of the issue.
  4. Consider strategies that publicly ‘shame’ the community or organization.
    • Generally speaking, communities or organizations do not like to be called out as Late Adopters, so negative tactics may work in some circumstances. This is a more aggressive strategy and requires careful consideration of the potential consequences for current and future relationship-building efforts. This is best considered only if all other efforts to engage decision-makers have been unsuccessful.

 
In addition to the key strategies identified for working with Late Adopters, click here to view critical policy change strategies (and resources) that apply to all three adopter categories.

REFERENCE

  1. Lawrence, W. and Dorfman, L. (1996). Media Advocacy: A Strategy for Advancing Policy and Promoting Health. Health Education Quarterly, 23 (3), 293-317.