The Final Word
he General Election is now out of the way with the DUP in a stronger position
Tin London than they ever dreamed of . Back at home the picture is not so rosy with talks going on forever .
Many sectors are on the record about the need to get our main legislature , the Assembly , up and running again . The fruitless talks process has been very frustrating for all those with a vested interest in its existence .
With the Assembly going into deep freeze , public affairs practitioners have had to reign back on their engagement programmes and campaigns without an institution and elected representatives to lobby .
Due to the ongoing purgatory , much of the work of issues based lobbying has been drying up on the consultancy side , whilst budgets allocated to those working inhouse have watched with horror as the funding allocated toward their activity has moved to elsewhere in their organisations .
Those with the medium to long term game in mind have continued to invest in their political programmes but this is not always an easy decision to make when the central institution is lifeless . When things do get back up and running again , many who have put their political engagement programmes on ice will find themselves in a situation where they must get rubber on the road quickly .
Here I have outlined a checklist of actions to get back up to speed again .
‘ New shoes ’ approach to networking
Staying within your own industry bubble is the worst possible thing to do – there are plenty of networking events out there , hosted by a variety of organisations . Watch how other public affairs professionals and
72 www . businessfirstonline . co . uk
Post-Election Public Affairs Tips
by Chris Brown , Director , Brown O ’ Connor Communications
companies go about how they communicate with various audiences and take the best bits and add them to your repertoire . Elected representatives haven ’ t fallen off the face of the earth . They are still taking up invites to be on panels and attending events . Go to where they will be .
Keep your profile up
It is good business sense to ensure those tasked with political engagement in any organisation still network and keep their profile high . Trying to be everyone ’ s friend when the Assembly gets reestablished will smack of desperation and can be counterproductive to positive engagement . Don ’ t just arrive back on the scene .
Run a policy hack
A policy hack is a fantastic way of helping to focus in on the forthcoming priorities for any organisation . The political environment is changing all the time and not being responsive the political context can be detrimental . A hack is a way of getting senior management , members or stakeholders in a room to run through a process which can produce three to five 5 public affairs priorities for the next twelve months .
Rekindle your political early warning system
Political monitoring is the best way of making sure there is a regular scanning of issues that are coming over the horizon . Many good public affairs agencies offer political monitoring and research services . For example , my own company offers bespoke weekly reports for clients and updating them throughout the week if there is anything that may impact directly on their organisation . It can be an inexpensive way of decreasing the risk of being too late .
Targets and Manifestos
Remind yourself of what each of the political parties have outlined what they said they would prioritise . Use this information wisely when updating briefing material , but don ’ t try and ram it down the throats of the elected representatives you are engaging with . It doesn ’ t always go down too well in my experience , so be subtle .
Get moving
Get in first . Our politicians will be inundated once things go live again , so use this downtime now to rekindle or establish new relationships with one eye on the medium to long term gain .
Let ’ s hope that we get a functioning Assembly and Executive back as soon as possible . There is far too much at stake during these uncertain times , especially with the Brexit negations looming . Now is the time for all of us to have skin in the game .
Connect with Chris at Brown O ’ Connor Communications @ CB _ PRandPA