Getting Through To Governments: Communications Bootcamp

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Getting Through To Governments: Communications Bootcamp is a free, part-time, and virtual Aspen Policy Academy program that helps people interested in getting involved in their communities learn how to write and communicate more effectively to governments. This short course will help you become a stronger communicator so you can influence government stakeholders and achieve real change. Are you a teacher seeking to get your school board to change education policy? An army reservist hoping to improve veterans’ health care? Anybody with a strong idea for how your government could serve you better? This program is for you!

Participants will learn how to:

Make effective arguments for getting governments to change policy,
Deliver effective oral briefings for government officials, and
Write concisely and persuasively for government audiences.

Outside of program sessions, participants should expect to spend 1-2 hours every day during the week on policy assignments and 5-10 hours on a final assignment that will be due after the last day of instruction.

Before applying, please carefully review the Getting Through To Governments: Communications Bootcamp details and eligibility below and review the frequently asked questions at the bottom of this page.

Application Deadline
Sunday, February 22, 2026, at 11:59pm PT

Timeline
January 15–February 22, 2026: Application window is open.

By early March: Participants are notified of their acceptance.

March 30–April 2, 2026: Getting Through To Governments: Communications Bootcamp runs, with daily sessions from 9-11am PT / 12-2pm ET.

Eligibility

We are looking for engaged community members interested in influencing policy in their local community. This course is especially good for those interested in upskilling their writing and communications skills to better engage with government stakeholders. Strong applicants likely have a specific idea for a local policy change they’d love to see, either because they’ve experienced a problem firsthand and want to try to fix it, or because they have professional experience on that topic. Examples include a social worker trying to improve health policy, a parent trying to improve school policy, or a community member trying to get a stop sign installed at their corner.

Graduates of this program will be prepared to provide oral briefings to government officials; submit letters and public comments on local policy questions; and write effective arguments for policy change.

Applicants must be at least 21 years of age and must be participating in their personal capacity. Because this program is for people who want to impact US policymaking, successful applicants must either live or be able to work in the United States.

Applicants must be able to commit to 5 daily 2-hour virtual sessions during the course dates, as well as prepare several policy communication assignments outside of class (about 1-2 hours every day and 5-10 hours on a final assignment that will be due after the last day of instruction).

Where and When
The virtual course is scheduled for March 30–April 2, 2026.

Participants will attend daily 2-hour sessions from 9-11am PT / 12-2pm ET.

Participants should expect to dedicate time to both scheduled “classroom” sessions, 1-2 hours of daily after-class assignments through the duration of the course, and 5-10 hours on a final assignment.

Application Schedule
Admitted applicants will be notified in early March.

Short Course FAQs

We will update the following FAQs as we receive additional questions about our program. If your question is not answered here or in the materials above, please contact us.

What is policy?

Great question, and one we will overview during each short course. In general, policy is defined as a “course or principle of action adopted or proposed by an organization or individual.” It is a set of rules that an organization or individual agrees to follow. Both governments and companies (and many other actors) set policies, and those policies have the potential to affect all of our lives.

Who is eligible for short courses?

Our short courses are open to subject-matter experts who are interested in impacting policy but have little prior policy experience. Depending on the topic, each short course may have additional eligibility criteria. Please see the course-specific eligibility criteria above.

For all short courses, applicants need to also meet the following eligibility requirements:

Applicant(s) must be at least 21 years of age by the start of the course.
Applicant(s) must be fluent in English.
Applicant(s) must be able to commit to 5 daily 2-hour virtual sessions during the course dates. You can find the dates for each open course above.
Applicant(s) must either live in the United States or be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident living abroad.

How is policy writing different from writing generally?

We will cover this in-depth in our policy communication short courses. Policy writing is all about successfully convincing a stakeholder to adopt a solution that you propose. In general, policy writing includes an argument and gets to the point faster than academic or creative writing. Policy writing also occurs in unique formats, such as memos and public comments. Policy writing follows a unique set of norms; for example, emails written in the policy world follow different norms than emails written in other professional contexts.

Why is policy writing important?

Writing is the currency of policy communication, so strong writing skills are essential to impacting policy. Our writing short courses will provide participants with a toolkit for effectively communicating with decisionmakers in writing, along with opportunities to practice.

What is the exact timing of each short course?

Short courses typically require daily 2-hour sessions from 8:30am – 10:30am PT / 11:30am – 1:30pm ET. Each course will also require you to complete assignments outside of the daily sessions. You can see the dates and specific details of each course above.

Will the short courses be run in person or remotely?

All short courses will be run remotely.

What is the attendance policy?

Since all of our short courses are run free-of-change, we require that participants abide by our attendance policy to miss no more than 1 hour of programming over the course of the week barring an emergency or medical illness. Participants will also be required to complete assignments outside of class hours.

If participants miss more than 1 hour of programming or do not complete required assignments, they will be required to pay a $500 fee to cover staff time for running the course.

How much does each short course cost?

All of our short courses are free of charge for all participants. However, if you enroll in the course and miss more than the required time or fail to complete required assignments, you will be required to pay a $500 fee to cover staff time for running the course.

Can I continue to work while participating in a short course?

Each short course is part-time (typically daily 2-hour sessions). We expect your full attention and attendance during the sessions, and you will be required to complete assignments outside of class. As long as you are able to fulfill these obligations, we welcome your participation while continuing to work.

I am on a visa. Am I eligible to apply to a short course?

Yes. Because our short courses are for people who want to impact U.S. policymaking, you must either live in the United States now or be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident living abroad. If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and will be abroad during the course, you are eligible to apply if you are available to attend the course daily from 8:30am – 10:30am PT / 11:30am – 1:30pm ET.

I am a student/recently graduated. Am I eligible to apply to a short course?

You are able to apply to our short courses as long as you are 21 and meet all the other course-specific criteria listed in the eligibility section of the course(s) you want to apply to, above.

I would like to join a short course to learn more about policy, but I don’t have experience in the course topic. Can I still apply?

Yes, you can still apply but we will prioritize admitting applicants who meet the specific preferred criteria for each course. Each course will have a desired audience with subject-matter expertise in science, technology, AI, nonprofits, or climate. You can review the course-specific eligibility criteria above.

I already have significant policy experience. Am I eligible to apply to a short course?

Short courses provide an introduction to policy work and the policy writing process. Applicants who have significant policy experience (e.g., past experience working in a government policy role) may be too experienced for most of our short courses. If you have a significant policy background, we encourage you to explain in your application how you will benefit from the course you’re applying to. Please note that we may prioritize applicants with less policy experience if the course is oversubscribed.

If you feel you have too much experience to enroll in a short course, we may have opportunities to engage you as a policy mentor or on future in-house projects. Please contact us.

What is the application timeline?

Each course has a different application deadline, which you can see above. Applicants are typically admitted 3-4 weeks before the start of the course.

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