Meaningful constituent organizing requires a well-defined infrastructure.

Once you have mapped your existing relationships and those that you want to build and strengthen, you will need to decide how you will communicate with each group. This requires a commitment to meeting with leaders, learning about their issues and concerns and asking for their help in finding solutions to their challenges. This also requires a comprehensive constituent contact plan, laying out your various communications with constituents. Again, this will require specific tailoring to the needs or your district, but you'll find a sample constituent contact plan and template below.

The next step in constituent engagement is finding solutions to the problems faced by your community.

Depending on the office you hold, you may have access to teams of researches and constituent contact staff that can continually give you information about the concerns of your district, or you may be fielding calls from constituents on your cell phone. Either way, find tips below on taking an idea, be it from a constituent or your own, and making it public policy.

Camp Wellstone Alumnus Steve Simon, who represents legislative district 44A in the Minnesota House of Representatives, tells us that he believes it is crucial that elected officials look to their values when making policy decisions.