How to Conduct a Political Landscape Analysis
A political landscape analysis provides a snapshot of the overall organization politics that impact the nature of decisions and execution of organizational objectives. This analysis can help identify potential opportunities and threats.
Substantive knowledge of participation in landscape issues draws from numerous disciplines including anthropology, geography, social learning and complex problem solving. These fields recognize the relevance of participation for democracy, new forms of governance, environmental justice and sustainability.
Defining the Case
The first step in any landscape analysis is defining the case. This is a vital step that ensures that the actual needs of the community are kept at the forefront of any decision making. For example, when designing a tutoring program for students in need of additional help, it is important to identify the actual needs and desires of the community so that the program can be developed accordingly.
Many landscape planning practitioners—including landscape architects, ecological and cultural geographers, spatial planners, historians, and cultural and physical geographers—come to the field with different substantive understandings of landscape based on their respective disciplines and ontological viewpoints. For instance, some landscape planning discourses promote particular ways of understanding and experiencing the landscape that give greater power to the claims of those who value economic primacy while subordinating those of those with a social justice focus.
Gathering Information
In order to develop a clear understanding of the political landscape, it’s important to start by gathering information about all of the relevant players. This may involve reading news articles or conducting interviews with key stakeholders. Getting as much information as possible will help you to make informed decisions about how to proceed with your project.
Once you have a good grasp of who the players are, it’s time to analyze their strengths and weaknesses compared to one another. It’s also helpful to consider any potential opportunities or threats that could arise during the election cycle.
Using this analysis, you can then develop strategies to address the issue that you’re concerned about. This may include developing messaging that resonates with voters, identifying swing states or creating targeted ad campaigns.
Analyzing
Once you’ve gathered all of the information you need, it’s time to start analyzing. This involves looking at trends, identifying key players and their interests, and assessing strengths and weaknesses.
It also involves considering the impact of various external factors. For example, a PEST analysis takes into account Political, Economic, Social, and Technological pressures that could affect your business. It is important to know how to deal with these factors before they impact your business. This can help you make more informed decisions about how to move forward.
Developing Your Strategy
Once you have a good understanding of the political landscape, it is time to begin developing strategies. This may involve creating a research roadmap, developing messaging that resonates with voters, or identifying potential allies.
It is important to include a wide range of stakeholders in your analysis. This includes students and their families, school administrators who have a clear understanding of the need for tutoring services, and like-minded organizations.
It is also crucial to understand how the different players interact with each other and any power dynamics that exist. By doing this, you can identify opportunities and threats that might not be apparent with a simple SWOT analysis. Moreover, you can create a stronger strategy by addressing your strengths and weaknesses compared to the competitors.
Making Adjustments
As your competitors grow in strength, it’s important to remain vigilant about the political landscape. Tracking their efforts can help you make changes to your strategy to stay ahead.
This means being more open and honest about the power mechanisms that emerge during, and influence, the decision-making process. It also means recognising that all interventions will inevitably lead to the inclusion or exclusion of certain values, experiences or interests.
This type of theoretical engagement with and reflection on ‘the political’ is necessary if landscape planning is to become more fully a democratic practice and bring about meaningful participation. Otherwise it will continue to limit itself to promoting ideals and tools for achieving genuine participation without critically engaging with the political dimensions of differences, conflicts and power.