Public affairs and lobbying are often mentioned in the same breath by the general public. There are also common features between the two. But lobbying is actually only a small and final part of the larger and overarching term public affairs. Here we clarify what exactly both terms stand for and what the differences are between them.
What is public affairs?
Public affairs includes all the thinking and actions of an organization with two goals in mind. On the one hand, public affairs is aimed at influencing the policy process. And on the other hand, influencing one's own social position.
Almost every organization operates in a social environment and is subject to a policy. Organizations use public affairs to adapt the policy and the social environment of the organization. In this way, they try to have a policy rule or process adjusted or to improve their own organizational position within the context of an existing policy rule.
What steps does public affairs consist of?
The first step is to determine which organizations, stakeholders or governments are already active on a particular topic. From there you start with a thorough analysis of the positions of the different parties on that subject. When all positions and opinions of all parties are on the table, the influencing phase starts in which you try to influence policy and your own organizational position.
What is lobbying?
If you know that public affairs is about influencing the policy process, you also know that policymakers are the ones you need to get involved in your goal. Here you can still make a distinction between internal lobbying and external lobbying.
With internal lobbying, which is often the first step, you try to convince others within your own organization of the goal and the path that leads to that goal. External lobbying is about actually approaching policymakers to convince them of that goal and the associated strategy.
What exactly is the difference between public affairs and lobbying?
The difference between public affairs and lobbying is that lobbying is only a small part of the bigger picture of all public affairs activities. Public affairs is an extensive process that consists of monitoring, analyzing and determining the best possible strategy and lobbying policy makers. Lobbying is the final step: actually influencing and convincing the competent policy makers.
Why should you use public affairs and therefore also lobbying?
Lobbying happens every day within every organization, often unconsciously and without a concrete plan of action. To really influence the policy process and one's own social position, lobbying alone is often not sufficient in practice.
It takes a clear purpose, a strategy and an analysis of the stakeholders, policy makers and stakeholders and their views to really bring about big changes. And then public affairs comes into play.
An example of the difference between public affairs and lobbying
Suppose that in a city or municipality there is a party that is concerned about road safety. At a certain point, someone from that organization comes up with the idea that safety in school environments could be improved a lot. This often happens after a few incidents. Children must be able to enter and leave schools safely and this is the goal.
A possible strategy to achieve this goal includes additional zebra crossings, traffic-slowing measures and the deployment of supervisors to supervise crossings. The organization can now determine who they need to influence to achieve improvements.
Parents and children obviously have an interest in this, but they cannot do much themselves at policy level. However, the schools involved and the city or municipality can do this. Influencing parents can be a first step to increase pressure on policymakers and thus increase the chance of success.
When we talk about public affairs and lobbying, it is mainly the latter group that you need and that you have to influence. It is the policy makers of the city or municipality who can take concrete measures that improve road safety in school environments.
- The target: Create a safe traffic environment for children through additional zebra crossings, a supervisor and the introduction of traffic-slowing measures.
- The stakeholders: parents, children, schools and the city or municipality.
- The strategy: convince stakeholders and stakeholders that the current situation is intolerable and offer them the measures that are a solution to the problem.
- Lobbying: with the policy makers of the city or municipality.
Outsource public affairs
You can give public affairs a place internally within the organization. However, for large and complex themes it is often more interesting to hire a specialized agency. Calling on real professionals for whom public affairs and the associated lobbying have no secrets only increases the chance of success and brings the actual goal closer.
Of course, you can also engage professionals in public affairs and lobbying to train internal professionals. This way you integrate that expertise within your own organization and you do not have to rely on external parties.
However you structure it, public affairs provides a framework for determining strategy and lobbying is the most effective way to influence policymakers.
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