Designing EU Lobby Strategies

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Designing EU Lobby Strategies

From time to time, I give presentations on designing EU lobby strategies.

The easiest way for me to keep a track of them is to post them. So, here it is. What follows are the notes I use for my talk.

I dislike the word ‘strategy’. It means “a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim.”. It is grossly abused in Brussels. There is little long term thinking. So, I prefer the term ‘EU lobby plan’.

 

Lobby Plan slides Aaron 11119

 

Note 1: Intro

In this talk,  I hope to do three things:

First, I’ll explain why you need a lobby plan.

Second, I’ll take you through a checklist of the key elements to include in a lobby plan.

Third, I’ll outline the two most useful lobbying techniques I have discovered in lobbying, (1) social network analysis and (2) value communications.

You have access to the speaking notes, ppt and template, so you don’t need to take detailed notes. I welcome questions.

Note 2:  Borrowing from others

What follows is no-one way original. It is a simple road map, a method if you will, to look at any given political, policy or regulatory issue, with the aim of influencing it.

The ideas I present were picked them up working for Labour politicians, passing legislation in the EP and the Commission, and campaigning for NGOs like  IFAW and WWF.

What  I found out along the way is that the techniques for winning are not surprising. It is just that only a few people practice them. I have looked to distil some of those ideas down.

 

Note 3: Borrowing from the greats – the importance of reading

I recommend that you read the campaign masterclass by Chris Rose, “How to Win Campaigns” and “What Makes People Tick”. If someone takes the time to give you a masterclass in political campaigning it makes sense to spend around 30 hours to digest, understand and implement those winning ideas.

As an aside, if you want to stay at the top of your field, you are going to have to spend a lot of time reading on your own time.

Personally, I deploy what may seem to be harsh rules of thumbs to filter down conversations. On a few given professional areas, I ask people their views on given writers. If they blank out, I quickly close down the conversation and move on.

  • Chris Rose on political campaigning
  • Cass Sunstein on risk assessment
  • Dan Gardiner on risk communication
  • Vaclav Smil on energy transition

 

Note 4:  Closing the case for lobby plans

I could begin and end very quickly by simply citing Karl Rove.

 

 

 “First comes the message and the theme. But, after you have agreed on what the message is, and what the theme is, you then need to sit down and write out a plan” Karl Rove

As he simply puts it “If you have no plan, you will lose.” And, whilst his comments are directed to political campaigns, they are just as relevant to lobbying.

In fact, I think his wise words (and I say this coming from a different political tradition, deserve copying:

“The length of the plan may be a lot shorter and a lot more concise depending on the type of campaign.

But, you take the elements of the campaign and reduce them to writing and to numbers, and spread them over a calendar so that you have a concrete idea of what it is that you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it, and how much it’s going to cost.

Campaigns that plan tend to be campaigns that have a greater propensity to win because it means that they’ve made conscious decisions about what’s necessary to do, and when to do it, and to make certain that they have the resources in order to execute that plan.

It starts with the message and the theme and you need to take those ideas, what is that you want to talk about, and plan them out, when you’re going to talk about them, and how you’re going to talk about them.

All of this has to be agreed upon at the beginning of the campaign and committed to paper and then reduced to numbers (how much are you going to spend).

You have to follow through and evolve. … If you have no plan, you will lose.”

Whilst I don’t agree with his politics, I agree with his method.

 

Note 5:  Why lobby plans are key

Is there a sure thing to know if a campaign you are going to work is going to succeed or flop? I believe there is.

After 20 plus years in Brussels lobbying and campaigning, I use a simple but highly effective technique to know if you stand a chance.

My simple test is to ask for a copy of a written ‘lobby plan’. Those plans that are clear, well-considered, and brutally objective, tend to lead to victory.

If there is no written plan, the chances of success are low.

For reasons that are still not clear to me, many people reject the idea of using lobbying plans.


Note 6: Checklist

I prefer to use a checklist approach.

It’s an approach that works well for other professions, including aircraft pilots and surgeons.

These checklists have done much to improve safety and save lives for many and improve quality.

The use of checklists is often resisted by ‘professionals’. They’ll often claim that the situation they are dealing with is ‘unique’ or ‘special’. These claims are misguided.

For example, if you chunk down the steps in the journey of an EU Directive, from idea to publication, there are 109 steps (see below).

In practice, there are around 38 key procedures that I use frequently. I use flow charts to follow them.

Many of those steps provide an opportunity to intervene and to influence the process.

Many of those individual steps have particular ‘rules’ of procedure, which, if used knowingly, can assist your interests.

This goes for both ordinary legislation and secondary legislation (delegated acts, implementing acts and Regulatory Procedure measures).

Indeed, some fields of legislation, like financial services, energy efficiency, and occupational exposure,  have their own ‘special’ procedures.

Indeed, in every area I have focused, from fisheries to chemicals, a lack of understanding of the key steps will neuter your work from the very beginning.

For example, in fisheries, the stocks for many North Sea fish are agreed to under a bi-lateral fisheries agreement between the EU and Norway. Whilst the EU may meet in the last days before Christmas at a Fisheries Council to agree quotas for the North Sea, many of the key decision have been taken under the EU-Norway Agreement.

Most EU laws are secondary legislation – I estimate around 97%. The procedures for adopting secondary legislation are much different from ordinary legislation. Yet, as many lobbyists a mono-focused on ordinary legislation, they overlook the contrasting voting rules for secondary measures.

This means that too often people step in at the wrong time, with the wrong arguments, and miss the chance to influence.

 

Note 7:  Clarify your chances of winning early on

Putting your ideas and thoughts about how to deliver them on paper is powerful. Lazy thinking and incoherent jumps of logic are exposed. It’s only through putting thoughts down onto paper that the strength or the weakness of your case is exposed.

Snake oil salesmen, often masquerading as cheerleaders of a cause, may through the spoken word, whip their supporters up into a frenzy, and their wallets open up, to support their lobbying campaign.

The trick when you meet them is to ask for a copy of their ‘lobby plan’. Any such plan will often expose that from the very beginning the weakness of the case.

But, circulating a written document in advance of a meeting gives others the chance to soberly consider the proposed path of action. This often leads to input that strengthens the plan and increases the chances of winning.

 

Note 8: Helps you know what you need to do

The simple advantage of a checklist is that it spells out the steps you need to take and in what order to take them.

In the heat of the moment, you are prone to overlook something, and sometimes you may overlook something important.

For example, in secondary legislation, you are unable to include new ‘essential elements’ that change the enabling legislation. These are technical decisions that cannot stray into the realm of policymaking.  Any attempt to alter the legislative agreement of the enabling legislation should be blocked.

Yet, at odd moments when political expediency leads the Commission to ignore their narrow discretion, you see either the Member States, the European Parliament, or an individual Member State challenging the measure once it has got through. It has happened.

I find the process coldly sobering. Many do not like this. I do. I find the harsh bite of political reality (or procedural and legal reality) helpful.

The alternative to me is like going into a morphine-induced never-world. It may be pleasant, but it masks an underlying condition, that will soon enough appear. It is, in my experience,  it is better to know the reality of your political condition from the very start.

 

Note 9:  Why you will skip a lobby plan

There are many reasons why you may not prepare a lobby plan before you start work. I’ll consider the most obvious.

First, you are a thetan, whose abilities to discern the future are not of this world. As you can walk through walls, shoot fire from your fingertips, moulding EU legislation and policy to your will is child’s play.

Second, you may believe in telepathy or osmosis. If you write a position paper, the thoughts and ideas will mysteriously filter through to the men and women making the decisions. All you need is to write out the position and your work is done.

Third, you may be put off by sitting down for 5 hours to write out the plan, find out who you need to meet, find the evidence to support your case, and craft your message to words that persuade your target audience.

Yes, it is hardly fun. But, with some good music, your work is done quickly enough.

Fourth, and most common, you know from the very beginning that what you are trying to achieve has little to no hope of working out. Instead, you are going through the motions.

Fifth, maybe you are just stringing others along, and fighting on the ‘principle’, realizing that, under a sober analysis, there is little to no hope.

Finally, you have worked yourself into a frenzy of self-belief. You don’t need a plan, because the ‘animal spirits’ tell you are going to win. Whilst ‘animal spirits’ have guided Keynes and others, I prefer to rely on less metaphysical forces

 

Note 10: What’s in the checklist

A checklist provides a sober and objective set of steps.

When you go through the checklist, I find it helpful to do so like a surgeon with a detached analytical framework. The finest regulatory scientist I know has the ability to separate his personal prejudices/viewpoints and look at the issue just as if he were on the other side of the table. At times, his assessments are off-putting. He is able to predict with unnerving accuracy the points that will come up, the best (and worst) responses, and how to present the case. It is like he is able to get inside the head of those making decisions. He does this with the ability to separate this analysis from what his personal viewpoint may be.

 

Note 11: An outline of what is your lobby plan

  1. What is the issue about – short description
  2. Short background about the proposal’s development
  3. What type of legislation are you dealing with: Ordinary or Secondary ( Delegated, Implementing, RPS)
  4. What stage is the proposal: 1. Pre-adoption within Commission, or 2. Post-adoption: First reading, Second Reading, trilogue, conciliation
  5. Short description of why the issue is important
  6. Internal adoption:
  7. Who owns the project
  8. Who is paying for the project
  9. Who signs off on the positions
  10. Who is the team implementing the work
  11. Who decides on any changes in the position
  12. What is your goal? What is your policy objective?
  13. What are your advocacy goals? Are they SMART Goals (Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound). For example, do you have the votes in the EP and Council?
  14. What’s the implication of you not winning? Put it down in writing.
  15. Research Phase
  16. Has a similar vote happened in the past?
  17. What was the outcome?
  18. What lessons can be learned? EU Vote Watch is a very useful resource here.
  19. What are your key messages?
  20. What is the evidence to support your key messages?
  21. What will others respond to your messages/case?
  22. How will you respond to them? They will come up.
  23. Research what your opponents are saying. What’s your response to their position?
  24. Do you have ‘key influencers’ who will carry your message?
  25. What material/ key documents do you have:
  26. Narrative
  27. One-pager / leave behind

iii. Key messages

  1. Q&A
  2. Amendments
  3. Letters
  4. What supporting evidence do you have:
  5. Data
  6. Study commissioned

iii. Study published

  1. 3rd Party review
  2. Rebuttals to other studies
  3. Power analysis: list your potential allies and opponents
  4. Identify the ‘hidden’ decision-makers
  5. List them – key 200/500

iii. Verify their position

  1. List key decision-makers

Note 12. Social Network Analysis – knowing the 500

It may be stating the obvious, but you are not trying to persuade everyone to back you.

You just aim for the majority you need for that vote.

This means you need to focus on trying to bring together coalitions of MEPs and Member States. You don’t need them all.

If you identify in advance who you need to influence, both in terms of Brussels and the national capitals, your job is going to be a lot easier.

In practice, whilst this list may be 500, there are around 200 you need to focus on and 20 who are core.

The challenge is that they don’t publish their names online, and rate their importance.

You’ll need to speak to people or get people they trust to speak to them.

 

Note 13. Answer these 7 Questions

These 7 questions are the same 7 the European Commission ask themselves:

  1. What is the problem and why is it a problem?
  2. Why should the EU act?
  3. What should be achieved?
  4. What are the various options to achieve the objectives?
  5. What are their economic, social and environmental impacts and who will be affected?
  6. How do the different options compare in terms of their effectiveness and efficiency (benefits and costs)?
  7. How will monitoring and subsequent retrospective evaluation be organised?

You need to know the answers to these core questions.

 

Note 14. Value Communications – Helping You Win

What do Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair have in common with Greenpeace? They have all used value communications to win people (or customers) over to their side.

It will not come as a surprise that different people look at things in different ways. Indeed, what may interest some, will be of little interest to others. Sometimes what you say or do can actually have the opposite impact you intended it to have and leave the person you have spoken to an opponent.

Now, for a long time in politics and in marketing, the different value groups in the UK, US, and countries throughout the world have been well known. Parties and corporations update their polling to make sure they know.

Note 15: Value Communications – Who Are the Groups

Broadly put, there are three main groups in Society:

? Settlers are: socially conservative, concerned with the local, known, identity, belonging, and prefer trusted channels and known behaviours. They are wary of change and espouse discipline, are acquiescent, keeping to the rules and wanting a lead from authority.

? Prospectors want to acquire and display the symbols of success in everything they do. They want to make their lives better and to be seen to succeed. They are a higher energy more fun-seeking group. They are early adopters but not innovators, which involves a social risk that they avoid.

? Pioneers are society’s scouts, testing and innovating, and always questioning. They are attracted not so much to signs of success but what is ‘interesting’, including ‘issues’. Some of them are strongly ethical, believing that to make the world a better place they must be better people. Others are more relaxed and holistic and some are into ‘doing their own thing’. They are most at ease with change and most global in outlook of all the groups.

If you want to find out what group you belong to you can find out here: http://cultdyn.co.uk//Process/indexAdagio.php)

 

Note 16:  Value Communications – Uses

Now, this has two immediate practical uses.

First, it helps you get a better understanding of what will drive your target audiences and lets you amend your language and argumentation accordingly.

Second, it helps you design your outreach with a view to the audiences, whether they be settlers, prospectors or pioneers. You’ll find out that different political groups fall into certain value groups. Also, it won’t be a surprise that many civil servants in Brussels are likely to fall into the pioneers group.

There is a good study from the IPPR (link) on how the language of NGOs on climate change in the UK did not work. Worse, it was counter-productive.

Note 17: Value Communications – Who uses it

 Now, there are some masters of this field. Frank Lutz (http://www.luntzglobal.com) has been influential Republican pollsters and adviser. He’s been at the forefront of reframing the public debate in the US.

Another is Lord Rennard, the former UK Liberal Democrat Campaign Director who became known as a Svengali for winning by-elections in the UK. He told me his secret was to use value communication to win a raft of by-election victories. It enabled candidates to appeal to each of the three value groups by speaking to them in their language and talking about the values of their audience.

At the end of the day, as with one client, it is about putting your case with the language and values that the person you are trying to persuade thinks. Your job is easy. Find out what group they belong to, stay on value message for that meeting, and be ready to switch into the other two value sets for your next meeting. Three briefing notes, rather than one, is not a high price for winning.

 

Note 18: References

  1. Alan Hardacre, Erik Aske, How the EU Institutions Work & How to Work with the EU Institutions (link)
  2. Better Regulation, Handbook & Toolbox, European Commission, link
  3. Some Guidelines For Communicating with Settlers , Prospectors and Pioneers, Chris Rose, February 2012 (link)
  4. Chris Rose, How to Win Campaigns, link
  5. Chris Rose, What Makes People Tick, link

 

Note 19: Book Recommendations

  1. Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals
  2. Becky Bond, Rules for Revolutionaries
  3. Chris Rose, How to Win Campaigns
  4. Chris Rose, What Makes People Tick
  5. Robert B.Cialdini, Influence
  6. Robert B. Cialdini, Pre-Suasion
  7. Alberto Alemanno, Lobbying for Change
  8. Roger Haywood, All About PR
  9. Catherine S. Smith, Writing Public Policy
  10. David Chrisinger, Public Policy Writing That Matters
  11. Barbara Minto, The Pyramid Principle
  12. Frank Lutz, Words that Work
  13. Frank Lutz, Win
  14. Sasha Issenberg, Victory Lab
  15. Marton Kovacs, How to Run the European Parliament
  16. Gordon Tullock, Government Failure: A Primer in Public Choice
  17. Ed Rollins, Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms: My Life in American Politics
  18. David Ogilvy, Ogilvy on Advertising
  19. John W Kingdon, Agenda, Alternatives and Public Policies
  20. The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right, Atul Gawade (link)
  21. Robert Greene, Laws of Human Nature

 

Note 20: Chunking down every step in the journey of a law

Step

  1. European Council’s Road Map European  – Council
  2. Commission’s Political Priorities –  Commission
  3. Setting the Commission’s Work Programme  –Commission
  4. Mid-August preparation –Commission
  5. College retreat end August –Commission
  6. State of the Union 9 September –Commission
  7. Work Programme late October  –Commission 
  8. Joint Declaration –  COM/EP/Council
  9. Can new ideas come into W-P –Commission
  10. Political Validation timetable –  Commission
  11. PoliticalValaditiation of  Major Initiatives –  Commission
  12. Political Validation of non-major initiatives –Commission
  13. Tracking new initiatives  –Commission
  14. Road Maps – what & when  –Commission
  15. Inception IA – what when  –Commission
  16. Interservice Group –  Commission
  17. Stakeholder Public Consultation  –Commission
  18. Review of Stakeholder Consultation –  Commission
  19. Draft Impact Assessment  –Commission
  20. Key questions of the Impact Assessment–  Commission
  21. Role of RSB –Commission
  22. Why you can’t lobby the RSB –Commission 
  23. Revision of IA –Commission
  24. Draft proposal –Commission
  25. Validation to launch Inter-Service Consultation –Commission
  26. Who decides on ISC – Services –Commission
  27. Who decides on ISC – Political –Commission 
  28. How long is ISC –Commission
  29. What if no agreement at ISC – Commission
  30. College adopts –  Commission
  31. How does the College Vote –Commission
  32. Who sets the College’s agenda –Commission
  33. When does the College meet –Commission
  34. Commission Proposal  –Commission
  35. Commission Press Release –  Commission
  36. Stakeholder public consultation on a proposal –Commission
  37. Proposal transmitted to EP –EP
  38. Proposal transmitted to Council – Council
  39. Proposal allocated to Committee EP
  40. Role of lead and associated committee –EP
  41. Proposal allocated to Rapporteur –  EP
  42. Role of Rapporteur – EP
  43. Can the Rapporteur be ignored –EP
  44. Shadow Rapporteurs appointed –EP
  45. Role of Group Secretariat –EP
  46. Role of Committee Secretariat –EP
  47. Role of Political Advisers –EP
  48. Committee Draft Report 1stReading – EP
  49. How long can a report be –  EP
  50. How to submit an amendment –  EP
  51. Committee Deadline for Amendments  –EP
  52. Are EP amendments subject to IA? –EP
  53. What happens if you are late –EP
  54. Committee Debate 1stReading –  EP
  55. Recording votes in Committee –EP
  56. How the Groups prepare their positions –EP
  57. When do the Groups prepare their voting lists –EP
  58. Do national groups prepare their own lists –EP
  59. Role of Group coordinator –EP
  60. Role of National coordinator –  EP
  61. The link between national party & EP group –  EP
  62. Voting lists from a national government –EP
  63. The role and power of the Committee Chair –EP
  64. Committee 1streading  – EP
  65. Voting rules in Committee – EP
  66. Plenary Deadline for Amendments 1streading – EP
  67. Plenary Debate 1streading – EP
  68. Plenary Vote 1stReading – EP
  69. Recording votes in Plenary –EP
  70. Groups voting lists in plenary –EP
  71. National group voting lists in plenary –EP
  72. Trilogue mandate by Committee – EP
  73. Trilogue mandate by Plenary – EP
  74. Commission Opinion on EP 1stReading –  EP
  75. Role of Commission in supporting EP –Commission
  76. Commission role in tabling compromise text –Commission
  77. Commission role in supporting Council –Commission
  78. The mandate of Commission Services in negotiations –Commission
  79. Inter-Service Consultation during talks –Commission
  80. Commission role in tabling compromise text –Commission
  81. Discussions Working Party  –Council
  82. Working Party develop ‘General approach’ –Council
  83. COREPER adopt a ‘General approach’ –Council
  84. Council adopt ‘Conclusions’/ Political Agreement –Council  
  85. Role of Presidency  –Council
  86. Role of Council Secretariat –Council
  87. Voting Rules & a Consensus Approach – Council
  88. Political Agreement –Council
  89. Common Position  –Council 
  90. Commission Opinion on Common Position –Commission
  91. Common Position Received –EP
  92. Can the Political Agreement be changed –All
  93. Committee Debate 2ndReading – EP
  94. Committee Draft Recommendation 2ndReading – EP
  95. Committee Deadline for Amendments –EP
  96. Committee Vote 2ndReading – EP
  97. Plenary Deadline for Amendments 2ndReading –  EP
  98. Plenary Debate 2ndReading –  EP
  99. Plenary Vote 2ndReading – EP
  100. What can and can’t be tabled at 2ndreading – EP
  101. Commission Opinion on EP 2ndReading  – Commission
  102. Conciliation Press Release  –All
  103. Conciliation Joint Text –All
  104. EP Conciliation Report 3rdReading – EP
  105. Plenary Debate 3rdReading  – EP
  106. Translation
  107. Final Legislative Act
  108. Can the text be changed?
  109. Signing ceremony