Influence goes beyond access

Our Barnardo's cover story is a great example of this.Over the course of a few years the charity's policy team has been carrying out its own research to back up its views about how the adoption process should be altered; has instigated a collaborative approach with other organisations promoting a similar message; and has taken advantage of the Government's desire for a popular, family-oriented piece of legislation in this year's Queen's Speech.

As Maitland's Kevin Bell observes, there is now 'an increasing value on shifting wider opinion through coalitions of interests'. With budgets now squeezed so tightly, finding ways to influence minsters by joining with others is efficient, as well as mirroring the structure of the coalition Government.

Among the essays in this supplement is some interesting debate on the extent to which the public affairs professional's quality of access to key individuals is really the biggest feather in their cap. As Lionel Zetter argues, who you know is just as important as what you know, as trust equates to a receptiveness to your message. For PLMR's Elin Twigge, the success of a campaign is more about achieving public buy-in, well before you think about targeting Parliament.

Claire Murphy, consultant editor, PRWeek claire.murphy@haymarket.com

 

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