Utah Policy Services & Overview

Publisher: LaVarr Webb

Address: 44 West Broadway, #2502; Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Mission

The public policy business can be fascinating, frustrating, exciting, humbling, fulfilling, devastating, challenging, overwhelming -- and always very interesting.

Not many people who jump into the Public Policy Industry are fully prepared for the diverse set of skills and insights that are required to be really successful.

The mission of UtahPolicy.com is to help leaders in the Utah Public Policy Industry obtain those skills and insights, save time and perform their jobs better.

The information we publish, and the services we offer, are designed to help policymakers accomplish their objectives – to be more effective in providing leadership and vision, campaigning, lobbying, building coalitions, moving policy initiatives through a city council or the legislature,  dealing with the personal challenges of being in the public spotlight, developing priorities and winning support for them, understanding issues, dealing effectively with the news media, and communicating effectively by delivering the right messages to the right audiences.

Our goal is to help policymakers govern skillfully, win in the public policy arena, and have fun doing it. 

Knowledge is Power

“If knowledge is the greatest source of wealth, then individuals, companies, and nations should invest in the assets that produce and process knowledge.”

-- Thomas Stewart, editor of Harvard Business Review, in his book, “Intellectual Capital: the New Wealth of Organizations.”

Money may be the mother’s milk of politics, but information and knowledge are the meat and potatoes. Knowledge really is power. Most political failures are caused by not having the right information at the right time and not having the ability or knowledge to communicate the right messages to the right audiences at the right time. UtahPolicy.com delivers strategic information and public policy intelligence that every political practitioner needs in a more systematic and sophisticated way than has ever been done in Utah.

Leading business and political thinkers agree that we’re in the Conceptual Age, when the ability to “connect the dots,” see the big picture, recognize patterns, and think more strategically and conceptually is crucially important. The right information, data and knowledge are necessary inputs to development of the right policy and solutions. Sometimes one key piece of information can make the difference between success and failure.

Our unique value proposition

• Utah Policy saves time as a one-stop comprehensive source of political and public policy-related news and information packaged and organized by trained experts in such a way that policymakers can quickly be fully informed.
• Utah Policy provides timely and in-depth intelligence reports, campaign information, and data, plus training, networking, and access to other services to help policymakers perform their jobs more competently and successfully, and serve their constituents better.

Our services help members of the Public Policy Community:

• Be better informed
• Be better connected and involved in public policy causes and discussions
• Obtain skills necessary to communicate effectively, campaign effectively, and govern effectively
• Save time
• Improve job performance and be a better leader

Who We Serve:  The Utah Public Policy Industry

1. Utah’s elected officials (federal, state, local)
2. Utah’s top appointed officials (federal, state, local)
3. Judiciary (Utah’s judges and key court administrative staff)
4. K-12 Education
   1. State School Board and key administrative staff
   2. Utah’s school districts, with boards, superintendents and key administrative staff
   3. Utah’s school principals
   4. Utah’s charter schools, principals and key staff
   5. Utah’s private schools, principals and key staff
5. Higher Education
   1. State Board of Regents and key administrative staff
   2. Utah’s colleges and universities, with Boards of Trustees and key administrative staff
   3. Political science departments and professors
   4. Political centers at universities (Hinckley Institute, BYU Center for Democracy & Elections, etc.)
6. Political party leaders (state and county) and staff
7. Legislative district and voting district leaders
8. State and county delegates
9. Active voters
10. Political activists
11. Lobbyists, lobbying organizations (contract lobbyists and GR staff of businesses/associations)
12. Business associations & Chambers of Commerce
13. Advocacy organizations (UPEA, UEA, Taxpayers, environmental groups, school choice, etc.)
14. Think tanks (CPPA, Utah Foundation, Sutherland)
15. Non-profits (United Way, Health Care Policy Group, etc.)
16. News media
17. Top opinion leaders and business leaders
18. Law firms with public policy practices 

UtahPolicy.com Services

UtahPolicy.com effectively serves the Utah Public Policy Industry by providing services that fall into eight categories. Some of these services overlap and elements of some are integrated into others. Some are still under development.

1. Packaged, Organized & Timely News and Information. Members of the Public Policy Industry need relevant daily news, information and political intelligence, as it happens. But they don’t have time to sort through the incredible amount of clutter and useless information that exists out there. We provide editor-managed content, which means we don’t just deliver raw news feeds. Instead, we have real humans who sort and aggregate it, delivering the news and information really needed from all sources, through a daily e-newsletter (Utah Policy Daily), frequent web site updates, e-mail alerts, and through social media communications such as Facebook and Twitter. We emphasize relevant information to save you time so you don’t have to search for it, allowing you to stay fully informed about politics, government, people and events, without all the clutter.
2. Utah Policy Political Surveys. Monthly professional survey. Premium members will be able to suggest questions and will have access to the full cross-tabs and detailed data from each survey.  To determine what elected leaders are thinking and what issues are important to them, we will also take regular on-line surveys of State Legislators, Mayors and City Council members, County Leaders, Higher Education Leaders, Public Education Leaders, Public Administrators, and Business Leaders.
3. Utah Policy University: Intelligence, Education and Training. We provide on-going education and training in public affairs management, public policy communications, incumbent survival techniques, and political campaigning through weekly specialized memos and surveys, regular in-person training seminars, on-line training manuals, and daily tips and guides. We have identified more than 150 training topics covering campaigning, communications/public relations, leadership, public administration, and governing. Trainers are Utah’s top experts in campaign management, communications, public administration and leadership.  
4. Utah Policy Information Center. An on-line, one-stop source for public policy topics, data, and issues information in Utah, tracking trends and the top issues of the day. Authorized members will post white papers, press releases, research, talking points, news stories, op-ed essays, etc., on public policy topics. Interested parties can then subscribe to topics of interest and receive e-mail alerts whenever new posts are made on those topics. Posts will also be featured in Utah Policy Daily, where trends and top issues will be tracked. This section also includes a legislation comment service that state legislators and others can use to quickly view positions and comments of interest groups on legislation.  A legislator considering how to vote on a bill can pull up a page and see in one place what various groups think about that bill.  It will also allow posting of articles, opinion pieces and opinion podcasts to the bill page.
5. Campaign Central. We track political candidates at all levels, in all elections, allowing candidates to post profiles of themselves and links to their own web sites. You can see at a glance who’s running for what, who is being “mentioned” for various offices, and follow candidates through all stages of a campaign. To the extent possible, candidates will also be linked to maps of districts, finance reports and voting records. The section also offers an on-line campaign handbook, written for Utah, with campaign tips and strategies, campaign timeline, and a weekly memo outlining step-by-step what campaigns should be doing that week in the campaign cycle.
6. Utah Policy Social Network. This is a by-invitation, moderated, social network for Utah public policy professionals. Allows you to interact and network with people who make a difference, who are insightful and respectful. Avoid all the silliness and clutter that come with most social networks. It will include forums, surveys, and expert panels answering questions posed by other members. On-line comments and exchanges will be moderated to ensure intelligent, insightful discussions and commentary, rather than the rude, offensive, and often nonsensical behavior exhibited on many discussion and comment sites. Participants are automatically connected to each other, so there is no need to “friend” someone. The network is limited to individuals who are truly members of the Public Policy Industry. It is a powerful way to develop relationships, seek help, offer help, get questions answered, participate in informative forums and discussions, and execute public policy objectives. Open or closed sub-networks will also be established, linking, for example, progressives, conservatives, etc. The Utah Policy Social Network will also be integrated with and provide gateways into other social networks, so those using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., don’t have to maintain multiple profiles on multiple networks.
7. Utah Public Policy Industry Directory.  Database of all categories and everyone involved in the Utah Public Policy Industry (see list above) based on public records, kept up-to-date. Some of this directory will be incorporated in the social network and other listings. Members at premium levels will have access to these lists.
8. The Utah Political Dashboard. An on-line quick glimpse of Utah’s leading political indicators, including the top 20 issues we’re following, compilation of highlights from all Utah political surveys, politician approval ratings, links to campaign finance reports, highlights of Utah’s economic health and demographic data, links to all political resources.

Participate in these services and activities by becoming a member. Click here.

Sales Policy: Anyone not satisfied with their Utah Policy membership may cancel their membership within one month of their subscription date and receive a full refund. Simply send a refund request to: info@utahpolicy.com.