Public Policy and Public Will

Whenever foundations work with government officials, there is a danger that the result could be an elitist project remote from the needs and desires of the general public. Indeed, one can point to examples, such as certain programs in President Lyndon Johnson's “War on Poverty,” where this has happened. To guard against this tendency, foundations should make sure that public will is taken into account in all of their policy activities. Thanks to the pioneering work of the Union Institute (Jones and Siegal, 1993), we have a working definition of public will: “The collective recognition of the need for change in a societal condition that leads to making choices, setting goals, and acting to achieve those goals. It is generated when individuals come together, out of concern for the public good, to influence the policy process and demand accountability from those with influence and authority over the lives of citizens.”

Public will is important, not just as a vaguely democratic concept but in the very practical sense that foundations and government ignore it at their own peril. As Jones and Siegal (1993) note, “Some initiatives fail because policymakers set goals and establish programs without popular support or even popular understanding of the need for them. This lack of connection to public will allows initiatives to be undertaken in a vacuum. Without the public's recognition of their importance … such attempts are doomed.” One way to determine public expectations and understanding is to conduct stakeholder analyses and to carefully evaluate outcomes of funded projects. The lessons learned from these activities can help foundations to gauge the current state of public will but also can suggest methods of building public will to support needed social changes.

Foundations are perfectly placed to ensure that public will is represented in the formation of public policy. As discussed elsewhere in this book, in all grantmaking, whether or not that grantmaking has a policy dimension, principles of best practice demand that the needs and desires of the people affected by the project be taken into account and that these stakeholders have a real say in how the project is conceived, planned, executed, and managed. You should bring these people together on advisory or management boards, listen carefully to them, and heed their wishes. Foundations should also share project outcomes with key audiences by means of strategic communications and social marketing in a conscious effort to build public will. In short, consideration of public will should be an integral part of every project funded by a foundation.

If it is, then the inclusion of public will in the policy process will be well-nigh automatic. All stakeholders of the project should be involved in policy-related activities and be included in meetings with and communications to policymakers. The result will be a policy initiative that is connected to popular understanding and that has the chance to gain popular support.