HOW THE PUBLIC POLICY ADVOCACY PROFESSION WORKS

There is a need to explain how the public policy advocacy profession works to the news media, to other external audiences and to your own employees.

Public policy advocacy is an essential aspect of policy-making in any government. It works in two ways, one by giving a voice to a certain cause to influence lawmakers to form policies. Another one is informing the public or the parties of interest regarding the stand of policy makers.

The vast majority of public policy advocates never engage in illegal and unethical activities. Public policy advocates need to have a reputation for being trustworthy and knowledgeable to be successful. As government has grown in size and complexity, more public policy advocates are needed to explain how business operates, how technology works, how legislation would affect various interests, and how consensus can be achieved in public policy-making.

The goal of public policy advocacy is to influence policy and decision making processes in order to ensure that an individual’s or organization’s point of view is taken into account. A public policy advocate is a person who is paid to influence legislation as well as public opinion. Most major corporations and political interest groups hire professional public policy advocate to promote their interests as intermediaries; others maintain in-house government affairs departments. Think tanks aim to advocate through regular releases of detailed reports and supporting research to the media for dissemination.

Benefits of public policy advocacy

Public policy advocates offer benefits to the public and to the legislative process.

Helping organizations to get their voice heard

Public policy advocates give constituents a voice. It is a misconception that public policy advocates only act on behalf of big, powerful corporations. Many public policy advocates act as a mouthpiece for individuals and small business groups that might not otherwise be heard. Because public policy advocates are professional persuaders, they have the knowledge, resources and abilities to influence policy-makers in ways that individuals and small groups may not be able to. Many different types of organizations can benefit from using a public policy advocate to get their voice heard in government. From non-profit organizations and associations to large and small for-profit businesses, public policy advocates take their message to policy makers. They enable organizations to draft legislation, develop strategies for new regulations, connect and stay informed and proactively reach out to elected officials prior to new policies being drafted. Many non-profit organizations don’t understand how to do public policy advocacy or don’t have the proper resources to advocate effectively. But government officials need to know, understand and take into consideration the needs of these organizations and the members they represent. There are a limited number of projects and issues that can be funded or legislated and non-profit organizations need to be able to compete to be heard above the noise.  Professional associations can benefit from a public policy advocate to assist them in strategy, communication, contacts and influence.

Public policy advocates are able to notify policy-makers about issues that have not been noticed. They can represent causes that can benefit the public and give a stand to the voiceless minorities. They can give chances for people to articulate their opinions and fight for their rights. They can also reveal the truth about issues and connect them to factors that have previously been unknown to the public.

Research

One practical benefit of public policy advocacy is the research that public policy advocates conduct on behalf of decision-makers. Public policy advocacy distill the mass of information that relates to issues of public policy. Although legislators and elected representatives have staff and support, they have limited time and resources to research and analyze information. Public policy advocates (on both sides of issues) gather information, review and analyze data and explain the advantages and disadvantages of pieces of legislation.

Public policy advocates are privately financed, and they do not use public funds to gather the information that policy-makers need. They organize information and create graphs, charts, polls and reports to represent public opinion. By doing so, they save taxpayer money because legislators and public officials do not have to spend money to collect data and conduct public opinion research.

Education

If policy makers were expert on every subject that comes before them and the issues were fewer and less complicated, there would less need for public policy advocates. But our world is becoming increasingly complex and in addition the size of government continues to grow. As a result public policy advocates spent most of their time educating policy-makers and their staff about complex issues e.g. how science, technology, global trade, security issues, market forces and other factors affect individuals, companies, nations and other constituencies, how current or proposed government regulations can help or hurt various constituencies.

Influence

Public policy advocates seek to influence legislative outcomes by advocating the point of view of the people they represent. They also acknowledge accurately the points of view of those who oppose them. Many public policy advocates try to help-like minded legislators and their staffs strategize for upcoming public policy debates.

Monitoring

Public policy advocates monitor legislative and regulatory issues and ensure that their organization’s interests are fairly represented. In the process, they try to make the needs of their own organization compatible with the public interest.

Mobilization

Public policy advocates mobilize local interests. Although many public policy advocates work to persuade legislators, some also communicate with the public. Grassroots public policy advocates travel, speak, blog and write to increase public awareness about certain issues and to compel voters to act on those issues. By enlisting the community in the effort to influence public policy, public policy advocates involve more people in the civic process.

Corporate Public Policy Advocacy

Companies may come to Brussels to respond to threats, but the act of establishing a Brussels-office sets in motion several reinforcing processes that make companies value public policy advocacy more and more over time. Public policy advocates teach managers about the importance of being politically active and help to point out (and sometimes even create) new opportunities for public policy advocacy. Managers gain comfort and confidence in their ability to influence outcomes, and start to see participation as more appropriate and more valuable. The overall effect that European businesses, once sceptical of government and cautious about getting involved in politics have become increasingly confident and proactive in their public policy advocacy efforts.

There are many reasons why companies get involved in public policy advocacy: the need to protect against changes in government policy (or other government actions) that could be harmful; the need to improve their ability to compete by seeking favorable changes in government policy; the need to maintain ongoing relationships with policymakers; the need to navigate compliance and other regulatory interactions with the EU authorities on a regular basis; the need to respond to critics and counter negative publicity; because other companies in the industry are politically active.