Outreach to Policymakers
3-Part Online Workshop: November 30, December 6, and December 10, 2021
View a video welcome from Mark Bayer.
Click here for a transcript of the video.
Learn about which strategies are best for sharing research information with state and national policymakers, in a free online workshop for grantees funded by NIDILRR. The workshop, “Outreach to Policymakers,” will be available to participants in an online format, using the Zoom platform. Non-NIDILRR grantees may participate if space is available. Maximum number of registrants: 25
Mark Bayer of Bayer Strategic Consulting will lead this updated interactive workshop presenting proven and research-based strategies for networking and sharing research results with representatives on Capitol Hill and in grantees’ home states. Barbara Shumar, a consultant with Management Concepts, will discuss restrictions on lobbying for federal grantees.
Date and time: November 30 (2-4 p.m. ET), December 6, and December 10, 2021 (2-3:30 p.m. ET)
Location: The workshop used the online Zoom platform.
About the Presenters
Barbara Shumar is a Senior Grants Management Specialist for the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (GCERC), where she manages grants to restore the gulf after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Prior to accepting the position at GCERC in 2019, Ms. Shumar was a Financial Analyst for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) where she spent many years performing monitoring visits to FAS’s grant recipients to ensure compliance with FAS/USDA policies and regulations. After leaving FAS’s Compliance Branch, she joined FAS’s Food Assistance Division where she was tasked with closing out the backlog of old agreements and then move into the Program and Administrative Branch where she provided guidance on grants policy and regulations, drafted policies and procedures, monitored financial reports, processed claims when necessary, and responded to endless questions regarding grants management policies and procedures from grant recipients and FAS staff. In addition, Ms. Shumar is a consultant with Management Concepts where she teaches Grants Management classes. Ms. Shumar has a BS in Accounting from York College of Pennsylvania.
Mark Bayer is the founder of Bayer Strategic Consulting, a boutique advocacy and training firm focused on helping scientists, engineers, and technical professionals master the keys for successfully interacting with policymakers and other influential stakeholders.
Formerly a Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives during a 20-year Capitol Hill career, Mark spearheaded significant legislative initiatives that led to enactment of high-impact laws, including a landmark aviation security measure signed into law by President George W. Bush that closed a dangerous air cargo loophole after 9/11; the first-ever bill creating a national strategy to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease—the National Alzheimer’s Project Act—signed into law by President Obama; and an historic bill signed into law by President Obama to enable Americans with disabilities to use the latest telecommunications and video devices and services, including smart phones for accessing the Internet, closed captioning for online video, and audio descriptions of television programming.
Touted by his former boss, Senator Ed Markey, for his “decades of superlative experience,” Mark uses his deep expertise to teach his clients proven, true-to-life techniques for building high-performing coalitions that advance their priorities, how to develop and deliver messaging that attracts the interest and involvement of policymakers and staff, and actionable related strategies and techniques to achieve their goals. Mark has been published in Science and The New Yorker. He is a frequent speaker and workshop presenter and the creator of the Savvy Scientist Advocacy Training Program, a series of online, on-demand training webinars. Mark received his master's in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He is a magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Cornell University.