Audience: Conservatives & Republicans

Up your impact this session and learn advanced techniques for educating policymakers, drawn from a comprehensive review of research.

Recent acts of violence and injustice—here in Minneapolis–St. Paul and in communities across the country—are not only social and political crises; they are health crises. As we navigate ongoing harm and uncertainty, it is essential that we care for ourselves and one another.

The WaterHub and the Climate Advocacy Lab collaborated on research to investigate audience perceptions of government investment in and responsibility for disaster resilience. Though support was widespread for a government role in disaster resilience, those with the strongest support for a government role were more liberal, and held more progressive values, such as environmentalism and compassion, and believe in government involvement and community-based solutions. A test of four natural defense message frames (Collectivist, Equity, Individual Benefit, Cost Savings) found that they all increased support generally, especially among conservatives. In terms of likelihood to take action, the Collectivist and Equity frames were only effective among non-conservatives, whereas the Individual Benefit and Cost Savings frames were only effective among conservatives.