In this episode, Eric Foster, Vice President of Strategy & Research at Banks & Company, discusses how states, counties, municipalities, school districts, higher education institutions, and other public bodies can respond when political division reshapes their relationship with the federal government.

The conversation focuses on what leaders should do when traditional assumptions about partnership, cooperation, and support no longer hold. Eric outlines why adaptation requires more than frustration; it requires a clear strategy that includes alternative revenue streams, public-private partnerships, regional cooperation, fiscal flexibility, procurement changes, and honest communication with constituents.

This episode is for public officials, agency leaders, school administrators, higher education stakeholders, policy professionals, and civic institutions preparing for a more uncertain and politically divided governance environment.

Learn more:www.bankscompany.us[email protected]

In this episode, Eric Foster, Vice President of Strategy & Research at Banks & Company, discusses why many public institutions must rethink their assumptions about federal partnership and begin preparing for a more uncertain and politicized environment.

The conversation focuses on states, counties, municipalities, school districts, universities, and public agencies that may be facing delayed support, funding uncertainty, administrative hostility, or policy disruption. Eric outlines why leaders need to develop transition strategies that include alternative financing, public-private partnerships, emergency fiscal options, clearer public communication, and long-term resilience planning.

This episode is for public officials, agency leaders, school administrators, policy professionals, and civic stakeholders who understand that communities still have obligations to meet, even when federal reliability changes.

Learn more:www.bankscompany.us[email protected]

In this episode, Eric Foster of Banks & Company discusses why educational assessment and policy need to move beyond an overreliance on standardized test scores. He explains how schools, districts, and policymakers can take a broader view of student progress by considering attendance, classroom performance, extracurricular participation, parental engagement, career exposure, and post-high school readiness.

The episode also outlines Banks & Company’s approach to helping education clients connect these goals to policy development, stakeholder engagement, funding strategy, administrative rules, and implementation planning.

This conversation is especially relevant for school leaders, intermediate school districts, parent advocacy organizations, charter and private schools, policymakers, and anyone working to improve student outcomes through smarter education policy.

To connect with Banks & Company:

www.bankscompany.us

[email protected]

313-688-4800

In government relations, money matters—but it’s not the most important currency.

Information is.

Information shapes how decisions get made, how quickly stakeholders can move, and whether your objective becomes a real outcome—or just another good idea that never leaves the meeting room.

I’ve talked about this with clients in a very different context: poverty. Poverty isn’t always just financial. Sometimes it’s informational. People can live inside an information vacuum—without the knowledge, exposure, or context that helps them identify opportunity, measure progress, or make strategic decisions.

That lesson applies directly to public affairs.

In government relations, information drives outcomes in two ways

1) Understanding decision-makers like customers

At Banks & Company, we treat elected officials, senior staff, and agency leaders like customers in a buying process. That means we do deep research to understand:

* who they are,

* what they care about,

* how they’ve acted on related topics,

* what moves them from “maybe” to “yes,” and

* how to communicate in a way that fits their decision-making reality.

When you’re trying to advance public policy, appropriations, administrative rules, or executive action, you are asking stakeholders to buy what you’re proposing—because every decision is a purchase of an idea, a risk profile, and a set of tradeoffs.

That research and persona work is information—and it’s currency.

2) Making sure your “ask” fits the neighborhood it will live in

The second side of information is understanding the environment your ask will operate in.

A bill doesn’t stand alone. It doesn’t “live on an island.” It moves into a neighborhood—surrounded by existing laws, constitutional constraints, judicial precedent, fiscal impacts, agency procedures, and stakeholder pressures.

So if you want a bill introduced, amended, passed, or defeated, you need more than bullet points. You need:

* draft language that fits where it will sit,

* analysis of how it interacts with existing law,

* a clear story of impacts and costs,

* preparation for objections and legal questions, and

* briefing materials that make it easy for legislators, staff, and agencies to do their jobs.

That’s information—and it’s currency.

Why this matters—especially for a firm like Banks & Company

We’re not the kind of firm that shows up with “influence” as our core product.

Our influence is built differently.

Our currency is being able to take complex policy and make it actionable:

* turning objectives into legislation, appropriations language, or regulatory pathways,

* working with staff and technical experts to make it clean and defensible,

* and serving as a practical conduit between clients and the people who can implement solutions.

We’ve applied this approach across sectors—cannabis, education, public health, energy (clean and traditional), insurance, labor, local government operations, and more.

The bottom line

Without information, you’re guessing.You’re hoping.You’re throwing ideas at the wall and praying something sticks.

That’s not a strategy.

If you want strong outcomes and real value for your investment in government relations, you want a partner who uses information as the glue—from stakeholder research to policy drafting to implementation strategy.

If you’re ready to work with a team that wins with preparation, clarity, and execution, connect with Banks & Company.

Connect with Banks & Company

* Website: www.bankscompany.us

* Email: [email protected]

* CEO: [email protected]

Information is currency. How you use it changes your future.

About Banks & Company:

Banks & Company is a premier public affairs and strategic consulting firm specializing in

advocacy, lobbying, stakeholder engagement, and strategic partnerships at all levels of

government. With a core focus on cannabis policy and regulation, clean energy transformation,

and economic and social justice, we provide innovative, results-driven solutions that shape

policy, influence decision-makers, and drive impactful change.

Core Competencies

Government Affairs & Policy Advocacy

Lobbying and influencing policy at local, state, and federal levels, with expertise in cannabis regulation, clean energy policies, and economic justice initiatives.

Stakeholder Engagement & Coalition Building

Facilitating partnerships between businesses, community organizations, and policymakers to drive meaningful legislative and economic change.

Strategic Communications & Public Relations

Crafting compelling narratives and executing campaigns to shape public perception and legislative outcomes.

Market Research & Policy Analysis

Delivering data-driven insights to support decision-making and policy development.

Business & Resource Development

Empowering organizations with funding strategies, grant writing, and economic development planning.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Strategies

Advising corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies on best practices for inclusive growth and community impact.

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Most organizations don’t lose in government because their goals are bad.

They lose because they’re waiting.

At Banks & Company, we think about lobbying the way I learned to think about pancakes as a kid.

My grandmother Foster made the best pancakes I’ve ever had—better than any diner, anywhere. And like a lot of kids, when I wanted pancakes, I used to wander into the kitchen and just… stand there. I figured if I waited long enough, she’d come in and make them.

She looked at me one day and made it plain: standing there wasn’t going to produce pancakes.

So she did something that changed the way I think about outcomes to this day: she taught me the recipe. No waiting. No hoping. No guessing. If I wanted pancakes, I needed to know how to make them—then make them.

That lesson maps perfectly to the difference between reactive and proactive lobbying.

Reactive lobbying is “waiting at the stove.”

A lot of organizations hire lobbyists who operate in a reactive mode:

* They wait for a bill to be introduced

* They wait for an agency to propose rules

* They wait for an executive order

* They wait for budget decisions and appropriations

Then they scramble—late, behind the curve, and usually responding to someone else’s agenda.

That approach can keep you busy. But it rarely gets you the outcome you want.

Proactive lobbying is “making the pancakes.”

Proactive government affairs starts with a different mindset:

If you want change, you don’t wait for government to invent it for you.

You define what you want—then you translate it into the actual vehicles government uses to act:

* Statutory change (laws): pass it, amend it, or defeat it

* Appropriations (funding): not just authorization language, but real dollars

* Administrative rules: shaping what agencies can and will do

* Executive action: orders, directives, and policy implementation

Then you do the hard part: you build the pathway and the coalition to make it real.

What Banks & Company does differently

At Banks & Company, our work is built around a straightforward promise:

We don’t just “monitor government.” We move it.

That means we sit down with you and get precise about:

* Your desired outcome (what does “winning” actually mean?)

* Which lane of government controls it (legislature, executive, agency, budget, local authority)

* Who the real decision-makers are (and who influences them)

* What the “recipe” needs to be (bill language, budget language, rule concepts, executive package)

* How we sell it (stakeholder strategy, messaging, meetings, coalition activation)

In other words: we help you stop waiting on government to “make your pancakes,” and instead we help you put a plate in front of decision-makers that’s ready to approve.

The outcome: you get fed—and you get results

Too many organizations with good missions and serious objectives get stuck reacting:

* reacting to bad bills

* reacting to negative funding decisions

* reacting to rules that should have been shaped earlier

* reacting after the window to win has already closed

Proactive lobbying changes the timeline. It puts you earlier in the process—where the leverage is.

If you’re ready to stop standing at the stove, Banks & Company is ready to help you make the pancakes—and serve them to the people who have the power to act.

Connect with Banks & Company

* Website: www.bankscompany.us

* Email: [email protected]

* CEO: [email protected]

Let’s go make these pancakes.

Common Sense by Eric Foster is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Thanks for reading Common Sense by Eric Foster! This post is public so feel free to share it.