TNA

Training Needs Analysis Introduction and Analysis Plan Client: NoRoFo Hamilton, a community organization Problem: Too few local residents are participating in the letter writing campaign, resulting in a weak message of opposition being sent to the BMZA. Introduction: There is a block on Harford Road in northeastern Baltimore where a very large Royal Farms gas station and convenience store have been proposed. On the north side of the block is a 5-way intersection that has been the site over over 120 car crashes in the past 5 year. Additionally, over the past year, over a million dollars has been spent by the city on traffic calming efforts, including making the street two-lanes rather than the four lanes it previously had been. NoRoFo Hamilton is concerned about the increased danger of additional traffic going through the intersection and danger to pedestrians who travel through the area. They are also concerned about noise and light pollution, increased litter, and negative effects on property values.

NoRoFo would prefer not to have a Royal Farms built at all, however, that is not what they are fighting for because Royal Farms can build a convenience store "by right." (They own the property and it is zoned for that level of business.) They are trying to stop them from building the 12-pump gas station because of the impact on vehicle and pedestrian traffic. In order to combat this proposed development, NoRoFo Hamilton works to educate local residents as well as organize letter-writing campaigns, protests, and participation in meetings with the Baltimore City Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals (BMZA).

The goal of this TNA is to identify how training will increase the effectiveness of neighborhood canvassing techniques.

Analysis Plan:

Inputs

Purpose

Method

Active NoRoFo members

Determine what info the public needs What is actually happening Whom the public should call Whom the public should email What meetings the public should attend Determine concerns Is traffic a problem Is safety a concern Is there a lack of gas stations/convenience stores Identify the most effective canvassing methods

Questionnaire

Local residents (who are not active in NoRoFo) A former campaign manager who has directed canvassing efforts (SME)

Survey

Interview

Training Needs Analysis Data Collection Instruments Active NoRoFo Member Questionnaire What do community members need to know in order to best support the NoRoFo agenda?

How can your message to community members be simplified?

What should community members do?

Call officials Email officials Show up to meetings and hearings How can community members show support?

What would success look like?

Hamilton/Lauraville Area Community Survey What neighborhood do you live in?

Are you aware of the proposed Royal Farms development at 5901-5912 Harford Rd? yes/no How do you feel about the development from 1 (negative) to 5 (positive)?

What actions have you taken, if any, to oppose the development?

Written one or more letters or emails to officials Attended one or more community meetings Attended one or more demonstrations Other How do you think NoRoFo could improve its messaging efforts?

What other thoughts would you like to share regarding the NoRoFo efforts?

SME Interview Questions How long have you been involved in organizing canvassing campaigns?

How do you identify areas where canvassing would be most effective?

What tips do you have for developing an effective canvassing message?

What should canvassers avoid doing?

Can you give me an example of how you would design a succinct message for canvassers to use when talking to local residents about this issue?

Distribute this questionnaire by email to approximately a dozen active NoRoFo Members

Distribute this survey by Facebook groups to local residents

Interview SME by phone using these questions, along with follow-up questions

TNA Data Collection Summary: NoRoFo Member Questionnaire Methodology Ideally, this would have been carried out as an in-person focus group, however, as circumstances do not allow that, I emailed the members the questions. 10 out of 13 members responded at the time of this writing. I have compiled, paraphrased, and summarized answers.

1. What do community members need to know in order to best support the NoRoFo agenda?

• Community members need to understand how the development will affect o automobile traffic o foot traffic o safety o litter o noise and light pollution o property values • How their voices matter to elected officials 2. How can your message to community members be simplified?

• I don't know • Less focus on history • Focus on next steps only • It's complicated

• o • o o • o o o • • • • •

3. What should community members do?

Call officials?

Phone calls are ok, but not as helpful as letters or email Write to officials?

Write letters or send emails to BMZA [Baltimore's Board of Municipal & Zoning Appeals] Write letters to city council members Show up to hearings and meetings Join NoRoFo meetings Show up to BMZA hearings Show up to NoRoFo protests

4. How can community members show support?

Join NoRoFo Talk to neighbors Put signs up

5. What would success look like?

Royal Farms would sell land Royal Farms might build convenience store, but leave off the gas pumps

Summary While it seems like all the NoRoFo members are on the same page about the reasons to oppose the Royal Farms development, there does seem to be an impediment in getting that messaging out succinctly. Only one of the members has significant experience in community politics, which may be a factor.

TNA Data Collection Summary: Hamilton/Lauraville Community Survey Methodology In order to distribute the survey as widely as possible, I posted it on numerous community Facebook groups. I had good luck with a previous survey and knew I would get a decent number of respondents, but I was aiming for 100. I got a total of 90 respondents. I’ve summarized and paraphrased the comments.

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What neighborhood do you live in?

13x Hamilton Hills 7x Waltherson 15x Lauraville 5x Westfield 4x Parkville 5x Beverly Hills 3x Mayfield 8x Moravia-Waltherson 1x East Rosemont 5x Glenham-Belhar 5x Overlea 6x North Harford Road 1x Woodhome Heights 1x Coffman/Harris/Eierman/Parkside 3x North Hamilton/Parkville 5x Arcadia 3x Gardenville

Are you aware of the proposed Royal Farms development at 5901-5912 Harford Rd? yes/no Yes 76% No 23% No response 1% How do you feel about the development from 1 (very negative) to 5 (very positive)?

1 (very negative) 64% 2 (negative) 17% 3 (neutral) 9% 4 (positive) 3% 5 (very positive) 7%

What actions have you taken, if any, to oppose the development?

Written one or more letters or emails to officials 30% Attended one or more community meetings 29% Attended one or more demonstrations 8% Other 34% How do you think NoRoFo could improve its messaging efforts?

Nothing Focus on neighborhoods The current organizers need to thoughtfully line up speakers for the public hearing, not just have people talk at random with no organized message Would love to hear a good reason to fight it What other thoughts would you like to share regarding the NoRoFo efforts?

This is the wrong location for this size development The intersection is already too dangerous, this will make it worse

• • • • • • • • • •

I support the development; the vacant lot is an eyesore More fried chicken would be good!

Gas stations are linked to cancer and leukemia Why do we keep having to have this same fight?

The community has already spoken, but BMZA is not listening We need all the businesses we can get I’d rather see a park or coffee shop there Royal Farms has lost my business I support the development, but feel vilified for it There have already been over 100 accidents at that intersection Summary The majority of local residents are aware and in opposition to the proposed development. A very small minority support it for reasons ranging from wanting the vacant lot to be developed into anything, to supporting Royal Farms as a business. (Multiple respondents mentioned liking the fried chicken.) Still, a significant majority do oppose the development, largely due to it being far too large for the nature of the residential area. I was especially struck by one respondent who noted that the NoRoFo speakers at meetings did not seem to have a unified, simple message. I believe developing the equivalent of an elevator pitch would help to get the message across quickly and without extraneous detail.

TNA Data Collection Summary: SME Interview Methodology This interview was carried out over the phone with a subject matter expert who requested to remain anonymous, as she is currently working on a political campaign and did not want her participation in this interview to be construed as an official position of the politician in question. The answers are summarized and paraphrased from my notes.

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How long have you been involved in organizing canvassing campaigns?

I’ve been working on campaigns that involve canvassing for nearly fifteen years. I worked with a number of political organizing groups out of college such as Clean Water Action and from there transitioned into working on political campaigns for city and state-level representatives and delegates.

How do you identify areas where canvassing would be most effective?

That varies greatly, depending on the issue. For politicians, obviously you focus on their district and you work to get to as many of their constituents as possible. However, for issues like this [the proposed Royal Farms development], I would focus on the surrounding neighborhoods, starting with the immediate surroundings of the site and working my way out almost in concentric circles. For this effort, again, it’s important to try to get to as many residents as possible in order to find support in people who are not otherwise engaged in community groups or events. Of course, all canvassing efforts need to be put on hold until the social distancing orders have been removed.

What tips do you have for developing an effective canvassing message?

This is a really important question. It seems fairly easy to say keep it simple, but you really need to figure out how to give the residents just enough information without overwhelming them, or—if they’re not really that engaged—boring them. It takes some practice learning to read the body language of the person you’re talking to and adjusting your message accordingly. You need to approach each door with confidence and assuming the person you’re talking to is going to support your cause. Use positive body language and practice, practice, practice what you’re going to say before you go out to canvass. Make sure you know the issue thoroughly, but don’t pretend to have all the answers if someone asks a question you don’t know the answer to. And most importantly, keep your message short and to the point. Say who you are, why you’re there, what the issue is, and what you need the person to do.

What should canvassers avoid doing?

Hmm, nervous body language should be avoided—it makes people think you’re hiding something and that you can’t be trusted. Use good inflection. Even though you’ve practiced your “rap” (which is what we call the spiel you give to the person at the door) you don’t want to sound monotonous and boring. Be upbeat!

Can you give me an example of how you would design a succinct message for canvassers to use when talking to local residents about this issue?

Off the top of my head, I would say: “Hi! My name is Jane, I’m one of your neighbors and I’m out here today making sure all our neighbors know about the planned Royal Farms development, which is threatening our neighborhood. We’re working to ensure that they don’t build a truck-stop-sized gas station in the middle of our residential area. Our neighbors agree that it would be bad for the area, and an unwelcome addition to that intersection which is already really dangerous. We’re out here today helping neighbors contact the BMZA and our elected officials to oppose this development. Can I count on you to write two letters or emails tonight?” [laughter] That’s just off the top of my head! I might refine it a little with practice, but you get the picture, right—say who you are, what you’re doing, and what you need the person at the door to do. If they need more information, they’ll ask, then you can get into the details.

Summary

Based on the SME's answers, I would say that the most simple way to improve the messaging efforts of NoRoFo would be to do a brief training on how to put together an effective canvassing "rap." Using the SME's guidelines, it would be worthwhile to do a training so that everyone focuses their message more clearly.

TNA Findings and Recommendations Findings Based on the questionnaire, survey, and interview I completed for the Training Needs Assessment, as well as my review of NoRoFo’s literature (brochures and flyers), it has become clear that the messaging is overwhelming and confusing residents with too much detail and history. There has been no training in place for members at all. NoRoFo members have been doing their best with little or no experience in campaigning or public speaking. While community members who are active are generally well aware of the issue and support NoRoFo, there is still a contingent of residents who are not active in community Facebook pages that likely does not know about this issue. Canvassing the neighborhoods would be an effective way to get the message out, once members have some knowledge in canvassing.

Recommendations

I would recommend that all NoRoFo members go through a short training on how to develop an effective messaging strategy for both print and for canvassing. The training could take place at a regular NoRoFo meeting prior to the beginning of canvassing efforts. It would include an introduction to canvassing, basic canvassing guidelines, body language and tone of voice information, and use of active verbs (“we are working to do xyz,” not “we are trying to do xyz”). A job aid would also be useful for NoRoFo members to reference before and during canvassing efforts.