Over the past two decades, leaders of virtually all organizations -- public and private, big and small
-- have come to understand that external forces can exert more influence over an organization than
management itself does. Legislation and public opinion, for example, can greatly expand or
restrict what an organization can do and how it can do it. As a result, many organizations now try to
monitor these external forces, looking for signs that new controversies or new opportunities may
be brewing on the horizon. One technique for early identification and response to these external
forces is "issues management."

Emerging issues, like storm clouds, do not appear out of thin air -- they are the product of
recognizable changes in the environment. These changes may be rooted in demography,
economics, the political environment, social values, technology or other areas. When changes in
these external forces begin to coalesce as a specific concern, they become an "emerging issue."

Although legislative action may be the most familiar path for an emerging issue to take, it is not the
only one. In fact, an emerging issue can follow many different paths to resolution. For example,
instead of becoming the subject of a new law, an emerging issue can eventually become the
subject of new regulations under an existing law (e.g., regulation of wetlands under the Clean
Water Act). Or it can become the topic of new litigation under an existing law (e.g., suits to protect
old-growth forests citing the Endangered Species Act). Or it can enter the media spotlight instead
of the legal spotlight, making it appear that an organization is acting unethically if not illegally. Or an
emerging issue can be translated into new employee or consumer expectations, making existing
practices uncompetitive but not illegal (e.g., consumer preference for smaller, fuel-efficient cars
following the 1973 oil embargo).

In many instances, an emerging issue will follow several paths simultaneously or, meeting
resistance along one path, will switch to another. Consequently, decision makers hoping to
understand and capitalize on emerging issues should not concentrate their efforts solely or even
primarily on legislative outcomes.

One of the primary benefits of issues management or any early warning system is not only that it
alerts people to what's coming but that it gives them time to make the most of this advance
warning. Instead of waiting until an issue becomes an emergency (taking the form of legislation or
litigation, for example), an early warning system allows decision makers to deal with an issue early
on, when it is more amenable to change and when action is more likely to prevent problems and
create opportunities.

For this reason, the information surfaced by an issues management system is not just "nice to
know" -- it is a strategic tool that gives an organization more control over its future.

Organizations use issues management for three primary purposes:








.


What is Issues Management?


Issues management is a process for (1) identifying, analyzing and anticipating emerging issues
and their implications for the organization and (2) developing strategies to capitalize on -- or
circumvent -- anticipated change. It is both an early warning system, alerting an organization to
potential opportunities or controversies on the horizon, and the linchpin of planning and strategy
development.

Issues management (IM) is based on three central premises:






.

Issues management employs a five-step process: (1) identifying issues; (2) analyzing issues; (3)
prioritizing issues; (4) developing issue strategies; and (5) implementing and evaluating
strategies.

Issue identification typically involves systematically "scanning" an organization's external
environment for signals of emerging change, primarily although not exclusively through monitoring
of the media. (The term "media" in this case is shorthand for both print and electronic resources of
various forms and persuasions. An IM program typically includes a targeted mix of scientific,
popular, trade, fringe, news and "influential" media.) Other particularly rich sources of information
about emerging issues are unenacted legislation, speeches, surveys and opinion polls,
conference agendas, interest group fundraising and promotional literature and, to some extent,
on-line forums and news groups.

No organization can scan all possible information sources, however, and the first stage in
developing an IM program should be to define its scope. Once the parameters of the program
have been established, an IM specialist typically scans for three types of "data": (1) information, (2)
changes in the tone or texture of discussion and (3) patterns and linkages between issues.

Information surfaced by an IM program may pertain to new research (e.g., scientific findings,
academic papers, interest group surveys), new ideas or specific events (e.g., scandals,
conferences, lawsuits, speeches, legislation proposed). Equally importantly, an IM specialist would
look past the "information" to watch for changes in the tone or texture of discussion. How is an
issue being discussed (literally and symbolically)? Who is talking about an issue? How are these
dynamics changing? Finally, in order to either detect (if one currently exists) or build (if one does
not) a conceptual framework for evaluating the issues, an IM specialist tries to identify patterns and
linkages between issues.

The gathering of data, while a core objective of any IM program, does an organization little good if
it is not analyzed and circulated. To this end, the second component of an IM program is issue
analysis. The objectives of issue analysis are to:








Key questions that should be answered during the issue analysis process are outlined below.
(Some organizations have developed "worksheets" for issue analysis to provide decision-makers
with critical issue information at a glance. Most have adopted a less formal, more flexible
approach.)








The answers to these questions lead directly into both the development of targeted issue
strategies, if appropriate, and the organization's operational and strategic planning. The analyses
themselves may take the form of factsheets, reports, memos, white papers, newsletters or
briefings, depending on the organization's structure and needs.

Just as no organization can scan all possible information sources, so no organization can respond
to all emerging issues. Issues must be prioritized in order to focus organizational resources on
those issues with the greatest potential to impact the organization, positively or negatively, over the
long term. To prioritize issues, an organization may examine (1) where its interests lie, often
focusing on high-impact issues, high-positive or -negative issues and leadership issues; (2) what
its resources are and (3) what it is capable of doing.

The possibility of nuclear war, for example, or an asteroid collision with the earth would be a
"high-negative" for most organizations. But working to prevent nuclear war or an asteroid collision
with the earth is also outside most organizations' purview and resources, rendering these low
priority issues.

The objective of issues management is to not only better prepare the organization for the future but
also to better prepare the future for the organization. In other words, how can we make the world a
more hospitable place for us? For this reason, issue strategies may target not only the internal
planning of the organization but may also seek to influence the organization's stakeholders and,
ultimately, the organization's operating environment. Consequently, issue strategies are typically
multi pronged, coordinated internally and externally, to leverage limited resources by weaving
strategies through existing programs, services and functions and making use of partners, allies
and coalitions with similar viewpoints on a given issue.

Once implemented, issue strategies must be evaluated: What were the actual vs. the intended
results? What implications, if any, are there for future action on this issue?


Building an IM system


The ultimate design of an issues management system is highly individual, reflective of the unique
structure, interests and expectations of the organization. For this reason, the initial step in
designing any IM system should be to first assess the existing ways and channels by which the
organization currently learns about and prepares for the future.

In building an IM system, several factors are important to the program's long-term success:









The benefits of a well-designed, well-executed issues management system are considerable.
IM can:








Issues management is an essential element in an organization's effort to make sure the future
happens for you, not to you.