Using the Directory

• Introduction
• Finding People You Know
• Finding Stakeholders You Need
• Non-Legislator Contacts
• Using the Directory 1-Pager

Introduction

The Directory hosts the market's largest database of government contacts, agency executives, and more -- both U.S. and Global (depending on your subscription level). Use it to find any stakeholders or personal contacts who affect your interests.  Access it from the navigation bar at the top of the page:

Click 'All Contacts' to view the entire database or start your browsing process by choosing from the options available in the drop-down menu.

Finding People You Know

When looking for a government contact who you know by name, use the text field at the top to search their name.  The results will adjust as you type.  When you find the match, click on the contact's name to jump to their page in FiscalNote:

If looking for a contact you know of but the name is escaping you, click 'People' in the left-hand menu and use any known information to apply filters, honing your results until you find a match. 

For example, if looking for the Governor of Maryland, first click People, then choose Maryland from Location.  Next, type 'governor' in the Title search filter to browse by title-keyword and see if there are any matches.  If there are none, try adjusting your title using the knowledge at-hand, or using other filters available in the left-hand menu to narrow your focus:

Finding Stakeholders You Need

The Directory is incredibly useful for finding both known contacts and new stakeholders who you don't know of.  It provides browsing of both People and Organizations, allowing you to investigate at both a broad and a granular level. Once selected, each option -- both People and Organizations -- will present you with a list of Filters to aid your browsing efforts.

For example, when looking for new stakeholders, you might employ the 'Organization' Filter at the bottom of the list of filtering options for People.  In this scenario, an employee at a vehicle safety organization might select People, then use the 'Organization' Filter to type "auto" and a list of members belonging to a relevant caucus or committee:

Doing so provides an at-a-glance view of all 'Organization' members, whether that organization is a Caucus, Committee, Task force, or another government entity.  Use the checkboxes to choose several contacts that may be impactful and add them to an Issue.  Or, use the select all option at the top to add all member to an Issue in bulk:

In the future, you can find all stakeholders for that particular topic under the 'Stakeholders' tab of an Issue:

Non-Legislator Contacts

Legislators can be found from a number of avenues in FiscalNote -- they even have their own 'Search' category.  However, non-legislator contacts do not.  Always use the Directory to find international stakeholders or non-U.S. legislator contacts, such as agency executives or state governors.  When browsing these contacts, make sure to select the appropriate 'Contact Type' to find your desired results:

*Click here to learn more details about the Filters available in the Directory.

Note: We are constantly rolling out updates and making improvements to the platform. Please help us keep the Help Center up to date by reporting any information that may need some updating at support@fiscalnote.com.