Private policy roundtables bring leaders, community members, and partners together to discuss how to better support infants, toddlers, and families. These roundtables are not public events and the media is not invited, which often means they are more intimate conversations that can build relationships and get clarity in a less formal space. When structured well, they strengthen relationships, surface practical insights, and help candidates or campaign staff better understand community realities.
Candidates should be participants in your roundtable, and you should host only one candidate per roundtable. However, you need to invite every candidate who is in the race. This means that, if multiple candidates accept your invitation, policy roundtables should be a tactic you repeat multiple times. Accordingly, consider whether your capacity permits this tactic during the primary or if you should wait until the general election.
Why Convene a Roundtable
Roundtables create space to demonstrate expertise to the candidate and communicate challenges facing directly impacted people. They can:
- Elevate PN-3 priorities in a substantive setting
- Highlight lived experience and frontline expertise
- Help campaigns understand implementation realities
- Lay groundwork for post-election engagement
These conversations can also lay the groundwork for continued engagement during the campaign and into transition and governing. However, a well-run convening is less about presentations and more about listening.
Clarify your purpose
Before planning a roundtable, consider what you hope to accomplish. For example:
- Share community experiences tied to PN-3 priorities with the candidate
- Learn about the candidate’s experience and perspective on the issues
- Identify shared challenges or opportunities
- Generate insights to inform transition planning
- Inform future engagement or transition conversations
Clear objectives should shape the invite list, agenda, and follow-up.
Recruit the Right Mix of Participants
A strong roundtable reflects different perspectives and roles, but also is small enough to have a true discussion, usually with six to eight participants. Consider inviting:
- Candidate — only one candidate per roundtable (i.e., multiple roundtable events may be necessary based on candidate responses to invitations)
- Parents and caregivers of young children
- Early childhood providers and educators
- Health professionals
- Community leaders
- Business representatives
- Advocates and coalition partners
- Individuals with lived experience
When inviting participants:
- Be clear about the purpose and format
- Set expectations for participation and tone
- Explain that because your organization is a section 501(c)(3) nonprofit, event participants cannot indicate support for, or opposition to, any candidate. This is not a forum for debating candidates whose policy views do not align with the organization’s.
- Share logistics in advance
- Encourage concise, experience-based contributions
Facilitation Guidance
Strong facilitation determines whether a roundtable produces insight or drifts.
Before the event:
- Select a facilitator who is comfortable guiding discussions and managing time
- Provide the facilitator with talking points to use if any participants deviate from the event’s nonpartisan 501(c)(3) rules
- Clarify the desired outcomes
During the discussion:
- Draw out quieter voices
- Prevent any one person from dominating
- Keep comments grounded in real experiences and practical considerations
- Gently redirect if the discussion becomes overly technical or off-topic, or veers into support for/opposition to candidates
- Capture key themes for follow-up
Reminder to prioritize listening over debate if candidates or staff are present.
Build Relationships Intentionally
Roundtables are as much about trust as they are about content.
- Allow informal conversation before or after the session
- Make introductions between participants who should connect
- Identify opportunities for continued engagement
Connect to Transition and Next Steps
With an eye to the future for the candidate (i.e., potential transition into the role as governor) document what you hear. Capture:
- Key themes
- Repeated concerns
- Implementation challenges
- Opportunities for collaboration
Use this information to inform briefings, follow-up meetings, or transition outreach.
Keep the Focus on Issues
Frame the roundtable around policies and community experience — not campaign positioning. Avoid language that signals support for or opposition to any candidate.
If the Conversation Becomes Political
Conversations can drift toward campaign messaging or partisan debate. Plan ahead so the facilitator is ready to redirect. If the discussion becomes political, the facilitator can:
- Acknowledge the comment and gently redirect to the purpose of the conversation (for example, “That’s helpful context — let’s bring us back to how this connects to the experiences of infants, toddlers, and families.”)
- Reiterate that the goal is to share perspectives and explore solutions, not to debate candidates or campaign positions
- Refocus on lived experiences, community needs, or specific policy challenges
- Invite other participants to share their perspectives to broaden the conversation
- Suggest continuing campaign-specific discussions offline if needed
Setting expectations at the beginning makes redirection easier, and maintaining a calm, respectful tone helps ensure the discussion remains productive and welcoming to participants across perspectives.
