Two often overlooked aspects of lobbying are professionalism and coalition building. An example of a lobby which has a strong case and has worked reasonably well on accessing political parties is the public transport lobby; however, NI’s comparative roads versus rail spending ratios continue to trend towards the former. This is because the public tranport lobby needs to professionalise, and win wider support than those with a direct interest.
I recall a meeting I held alongside Trevor Lunn, probably in 2008, with a group who wished to build a Belfast “Rapid Transit” system. Certainly in my case they were preaching to the converted – more than 10% of my youth was spent in Germany in the company of trams (even in relatively small cities like Bielefeld), the benefits of which, in transport terms alone, are immediately obvious. The problem was, the documentation presented was amateur (leading me to wonder whether they really were capable of delivering), and there was no one supporting them (or even the wider case). It was a classic case of trying to win political support for a case merely on the grounds of the case alone – sadly, no politician is going to react to that, no matter how favourable their instinct is. The skill is to demonstrate professionalism and much wider support, so that the politician knows he/she will not be embarrassed by supporting the case/project, and will be rewarded by broad popularity at the polls for doing so.
What was required, first off, was really professional documentation (and perhaps a presentation), to give the impression of a business which not only talked a good game but was professional enough to deliver on it. I have no idea whether the two gentlemen present at this meeting were capable of delivery or not, but their documentation alone left me to wonder – despite the fact all the information I would likely want was contained in the file they gave us.
Secondly, there is little point in even the most professional company arriving at Stormont, handing over a file or delivering a presentation, and then expecting full backing for their case. Politicians’ currency is votes, they will need evidence that there will be much wider support for the proposal than just those advocating it in the room. Here, public affairs companies can help with “coalition building”, to demonstrate broad support (and likely popularity).
In short, politicians will support an unlikely proposal with likely support over a likely proposal with unlikely support. To deliver likely support takes internal professionalism and external coalition building.
A very good article whose essence can be applied to any walk of life/endevour where one seeks to change an organisation’s direction