Intro to Field - National Democratic Training Committee

Intro to Field

By Kelly Dietrich
45 min
Field

What You’ll Learn

  • The basic functions of the Field team
  • Common aspects of a successful Field plan
  • Winning tactics for your campaign’s Field program
  • How to create your various voter universes
  • If you aren’t a Field staffer, you will learn how your work relies on and interacts with Field

Why This is Important

Your campaign’s Field team is the key to victory. Field folks are on the frontlines talking to voters and turning them out to vote, and your campaign’s Field numbers drive every strategy your campaign will develop. No matter your role on a campaign, you’ll interact with the Field team, and you should know the basics of their work and how your work intersects with theirs. If you’re a Field staffer, experienced or even brand new, this course will reinforce the best practices successful Field teams use to win. Field is critical to your campaign’s success, and this course is a high-level overview of this core work and how it impacts all areas of a campaign.

Key Resources

  • Annotated Canvass Script
  • Annotated Phone Bank Script
  • Aisha Iqbal’s Field Plan
  • Template Field Plan

Related Trainings

  • Field Tactics — Your volunteers are key to your Field efforts, but their training is what makes them successful. Take this course to learn how to train volunteers and manage your canvassing and phone banking efforts
  • Targeting Voters — Most campaigns don’t have the time, money, or people to talk to every single eligible voter. You need a targeted approach to voter contact, and this course will help you determine which voters your campaign should communicate with
  • Running a Persuasion Field Program — The work of your Field team during the Persuasion phase of the campaign is instrumental to your success. Learn how to create your persuasion universe and develop a layered approach to direct voter contact so you can hit your vote goal on Election Day

Kelly Dietrich

Trainer

As founder and CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee (NDTC), Kelly Dietrich brings more than 20 years of experience on dozens of Democratic campaigns across the country.

Kelly started NDTC in 2016, where at the time it was a collection of videos covering an array of campaign topics, available to campaigns and their volunteers for free. Five years later, those videos grew into a fully fledged training program with hundreds of courses, videos, and articles about running effective campaigns. Kelly’s expertise in various areas — fundraising, staff training, sci-fi (maybe not as much) — have shaped NDTC into an industry leader in Democratic politics.

Originally from Missouri, Kelly lives in Chicago, IL with his wife, daughter, and dog, Tulip, who is allegedly part cat. Beyond work, Kelly is a diehard Kansas Jayhawk and an avid poker player. Kelly also serves on the board of directors at his local park, Sheil Park. This is where he “plays” basketball, which according to his wife can only be loosely considered a hobby. Even with all these interests, Kelly remains committed to making sure high quality tools and training are available to any Democrat who steps up to run for office, work on a campaign, or make their community better.