1. Strategy Consulting

• Personal Consultation
• Communications Concepts
• Strategic Planning
• Workshops
• Coaching
• Situation Analyses

2. Political Analyses

• Analysis of Political Positions
• Risk Analyses
• Trend Explorations
• Force Field Analyses
• Scenario Analyses
• Presentation of Political Processes
• Issue Prioritizing and Management

3. Stakeholder Management

The Swiss Public Affairs Society (SSPA) is a professional association having for purpose the increase of awareness among authorities and the public of the reason and value of political, economic and cultural lobbying and its contribution to the democratic decision-making process. The SSPA counts about 230 members.

Purposes

The Austrian Public Affairs Association (OePAV) was founded in September 2011. Membership is open to public affairs professionals in companies, trade unions and NGOs or self-employed public affairs consultants.OePAV members work in various business fields. OePAV aims to unite key areas of public affairs – Lobbying, Government Relations, Issues -and Stakeholder Management and Corporate Social Responsibility.

The Association of Professional Political Consultants (APPC) is the self-regulatory body for UK public affairs practitioners. As well as its traditional membership base of consultancies, APPC membership is available to trade associations, in-house PA teams and individuals.

The APPC has three main roles:

Corporate and non-governmental organizations exert a growing influence over public policy formulation at local, national and international levels. Many see this as a legitimate and necessary means of promoting and defending the interests of organisations and their stakeholders. US style professional lobbying has proliferated, first in Europe and then in the developing world. Many organizations are vociferous and effective advocates in shaping public policy, in ways that now go well beyond the narrow short-term defence of their own interests.

It is our belief, that the GR industry should have a system to ensure quality in the performance of GR engagements by its members. Professional standards should integrate ethical issues, structural issues and service quality issues, all of which are interdependent. Standards would be needed at both the corporate and individual levels. A corporate standard would allow GR firms to show that they have met certain requirements; an individual standard could extend to those working in-house as well as for freelance consultancies.

AmCham EU put forward the following set of recommendations for consideration:

1. Intensify effort by the Commission towards a smart enforcement strategy that facilitates the transposition of EU rules in Member States, in the least trade-restrictive manner. In doing this, the Commission would foster and enhance the integrity of the internal market, being the guardian of the treaties.

The anatomy of a deal is comprised of three basic components: the expected return, upside potential, and downside risk. Another way to describe this is to ask: 

• What do I expect to happen?
• What is the best possible scenario?
• What is the worst possible scenario? 

The goal is to have a fair expected return, a huge upside, and very little downside.

Choosing the right GR firm for the work you have at hand is critical because it can bring an objective, independent point of view to help you achieve your communications goals vis-à-vis public authorities. External GR consultants are exposed to different organisations on several different levels; they can apply the best solutions to your GR communications challenges, using a variety of new ideas and tools along the way. You end up with clear, objective thinking and proven strategic and tactical solutions.

Ethical practice is the most important obligation of a GR Practitioner

ADVOCACY

The GR Practitioner serves the public interest by acting as a responsible advocate for those he/she represents. The GR Practitioner provides a voice in the marketplace of ideas, facts, and viewpoints to aid informed public debate.

HONESTY

The GR Practitioner adheres to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those he/she represents and in communicating with public officials and the public.