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ADVOCACY SERVICES
We help places and industries to campaign for public policy reforms
WHAT WE DO
We support places and industry groups to grow their profile, impact and reputation through more effective engagement with public policy.
The foundations of successful advocacy
What are the core organisational components for successful campaigns led by trade associations?
OUR OFFER
Our clients champion their business communities - networks of firms in places and sectors - to the outside world.
POLICY MANIFESTOS
We work with business networks to identify and articulate their priorities for public policy. We know that influential, modern manifestos are not single pamphlets but a family of multi-media content. They are flexible enough to work across local and national political cycles and account for breaking developments. But anchored enough to be clear and consistent. And they earn their visibility not just from the words within them but how they engage people in the process to create them. See our top tips for business groups on writing public policy manifestos.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Places and business networks are more powerful when united around common priorities. Ambitious cities with a consistent message for investors are more effective at winning resources. Business-led policy campaigns are more likely to succeed the broader the support across industry. The key to this unity is a trusting, inter-organisational culture of 'no surprises'. But this takes hard work, patience and skill. PolicyDepartment is trusted by its clients and their partners as a knowledgeable and empathetic facilitator. We convene stakeholder groups around exercises like policy consultations and campaigns to produce shared responses. PolicyDepartment is registered with the UK's Office for the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL).
WHY US?
EXPERIENCE
We draw on years of experience working in lobbying and campaigns for membership organisations; developing policy and strategy in government contexts; building teams, systems and capabilities that work.
AGILITY
Our skills were honed in major 'change moments', including the Coronavirus pandemic; the financial crisis of 2007-8, the Brexit referendum of 2016 and the no-deal Brexit deadlines of 2019.
QUALITY
The high quality of our work is underpinned by our team's multi-disciplinary perspective. We've worked as policymakers, researchers and advocates for business and places. This gives us both the connections and the insight for effective influencing.
VALUE
We don’t have the overheads of a major public affairs agency: we can work with freelancers and others to meet the scale of your needs.
BITE-SIZED COMMISSIONS
We know that sometimes you want direct support but need things quick without the commitment of a major commission. So subject to availability, PolicyDepartment offers a range of super-value, fast-turnaround consulting services for commissions taking between 2 hours and 2 days equivalent to complete.
WHY OUR CLIENTS LOVE US
...a highly valuable consultancy project for us, utilising depth and breadth of experience in the areas of business support, local government and wider economic policy...we’ve been implementing their recommended actions and are already starting to see positive outcomes.
— David Gimson, National Network Manager, Business & IP Centres, British Library