Information and Knowledge Management using ArcGIS ModelBuilder

Vered Holzmann and Ben Holzmann
We start with an introduction to the arena of political campaigns followed by a description of a typical
project of this type. Then, we present the nature of the raw data that is available at the beginning of a
political campaign, the additional data and information that could and should be collected throughout
the campaign. We discuss the importance of the knowledge base accumulated during past
campaigns and suggest an array of procedures to enrich the knowledge structure. We conclude with
a presentation of a case study of an actual political campaign for the post of mayor of a large Israeli
city, and offer a few comments regarding the contribution of the current research to the academic and
professional communities.
2. Management of a political campaign
Democracy, as we all know, is a form of government that is based on an equal power given to all
citizens. This ancient system was originally initiated in the middle of the 5th century BC in ancient
Greece and as of the first decade of the 21st century it is the most common system of government. In
a Democracy, a free electoral system is required to enable the people to exercise their power by
voting for the candidate that will best represent them. In current electoral systems the winner at the
end of the Election Day is not necessarily the one that has the support of the majority of the total
population but rather the one that has the majority of the voters who actually exercised their privilege
to vote. The results of these elections do not represent either the majority or their preferences
(Przeworski et al., 2003).
Political elections involve several major players who undertake different roles. First, and most
important, are the voters. They include the total population of individuals who are eligible to exercise
their right to elect a candidate by voting for him on Election Day. In second place we find the
institutional election committees and boards representing the authorities responsible for defining and
enforcing the relevant rules and procedures. In third place are the candidates, who may be two or
more individuals who run for office, with or without a party affiliation. Then, there are the campaign
teams. These groups of people include political dignitaries, campaign committee members, campaign
managers, advertising experts, strategy consultants, treasurers, personal aides, and an array of other
volunteers forming a conglomerate of professions and experiences, who are all driven by a common
motivation to win the election (Riker, 1986; Schofield et al., 1998; Shaw, 2000).
Every political campaign is a different project. A project is defined as “a temporary endeavor
undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result” (PMI, 2008, p.5). Although it is well
established that “one size does not fit all” (Shenhar, 2001), we believe that the type of projects
common in the political arena carry distinctive attributes and require a special effort in order to
achieve their single objective of winning the election. A campaign has the most rigid schedule
possible, with no option for delays or deviations, it ends on Election Day, hence defining the start and
finish of the project by an official governing board announcement, forcing the campaign team to plan
and execute all the required activities within that predefined timeframe. Yet, a political campaign is an
extremely dynamic project that is subject to numerous changes due to the high level of uncertainty
that characterizes any political environment. Budget management in a political campaign is based on
the quality of the donation management, which means that the budget is accumulated step by step
and the project managers must adjust the project’s activities to fit the availability of funds at any stage.
The pressure compelled by the budget constrains is actually only an introduction to constrains
imposed on the management by the nature of the working teams that are mostly composed of a mix
of volunteers, a few professionals and temporary hired help. The volunteers are normally difficult to
manage, but do not strain the budget, while the professional and temporary employees are more
restrained but are very hard to come by and might be extremely expensive (Newman, 1994; Trent and
Friedenberg, 2008).
During the campaign project, the volunteers and professionals are working together to identify
supporters. Figure 1 represents the major groups that play in the political campaign arena. Among the
total eligible voters there are two major groups: those who are not interested in the election and will
not be actually involved in the campaign and those who support or tend to support one of the
candidates. The first order of business is to identify those voters who are interested in the election
and plan to cast their vote. Then, they are contacted in order to confirm the identify them as
supporters, opponents, or undecided. The voters who are not yet sure about their vote, i.e., the
undecided, should be approached personally in order to influence their decision. On Election Day the
actual voters participate in the democratic process.
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