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Summary Public Affairs
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Public Affairs – SamenvattingPart 1: Community Relations
1.0 Introduction
Public Affairs (superficial meaning)
= influencing the political decision-making process
→ Companies wish to keep relations with the government & a few groups who are also interested in the same
decision-making (s.a. mass media, action groups, etc)
→ Often considered political relations
• PA & lobbying = often mixed up in the media
• Lobbying is of all ages: everyone tries to sometimes influence on ‘people of power’
• Lobbyist is often considered a mysterious person > false! Lobbying has become a serious profession
• PA as a communication course relatively new (due to increasing democracy, growing social pressure on
companies, transparentness, etc)
Public Affairs (true definition)
= a management function focusing on the relationship between an organization and society in which it operates.
Its purpose is to influence the decisions of political decision-makers and/or to react to changes in public opinion
and attitude that are to beneficial. Therefore it tries to map stakeholders involved (neighbors, action groups,
etc) this includes monitoring their viewpoints, approaching them directly and undertaking the necessary actions
• PA focuses on 2 specific stakeholders:
o Local community in which it operates
o Governmental institutions
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, PA practitioner
are often simply referred to as’ lobbyists’ > their work is more wide-ranging:
→ use their understanding of the political system to offer political and public policy advice to their clients
(clients may include private sector companies, trade associations, charities & non-profits)
→ keeping abreast of political developments > to advise clients on a possible response
→ key info is sought from personal contacts, a range of media sources, political intelligence & monitoring
→ lobbying plays a vital function in a healthy democratic system > by providing political/technical info that
lawmakers otherwise wouldn’t know
• Specific tasks:
1. Lobbying
= they may need to influence stakeholders on specific policy or legislation propels, they devise strategies on who
to lobby, on what issues and advise at what stage in the legislative proves to get involved
2. Monitoring
= it’s essential that any PA work > based on most up to date information, therefore monitoring is essential
→ It includes:
o Statements, releases from national parliaments, European institutions, political parties, local governments,
pressure groups
o Debates, committee inquiries and legislative proposals
= Researching, forecasting and evaluating the effects of public policy on an organization > risk impact matrix
• SEAP (= Society of European Affairs Professionals) (check online wat zij doen)
3. Media management
= PA practitioners often carry out what are seen as traditional PR activities but with a political focus. In many
cases, the media can be a significant stakeholder to the organization > media help them to influence public
perception
4. Organizing and attending events
= practitioners may organize events in order to provide opportunities to meet with stakeholders
o Attending parliamentary committee meetings, party conferences, related seminars, conferences
o Maintaining regular contact, in person and in writing, with politicians, civil servants and/ or staff local
authorities and regulatory bodies to brief them
o Establishing and maintaining two-way communication with relevant official bodies and stakeholders
5. Providing information to stakeholders
= it’s essential that practitioners are able to convey info to stakeholders in an efficient and honest manner,
through government consultations, answering letters from MP’s, writing internal & external briefing papers (=
position papers and producing newsletters by holding one-to-one meetings
2
,6. Political marketing
= many corporate companies are keen to sell products to the public sector, practitioners may be used to
increase the company’s chances of making the government a client
7. Networking and contacts
= PA practitioners need to be confident at networking, it’s down to the skills of the individual but these skills can
be learned by anyone > it’s about having the confidence to approach people and strike up conversation
Considering all things above: it’s all about:
o Representing your interests
o Convincing others
o Retaining a good relationship with specific stakeholders;
— Environment/ community (neighbors, schools, etc)
— Interest/ action groups/ political parties
— Government (local, Flemish, federal, European)
• PA practitioners accomplish:
√ Protect an organization from the perceived threat of a new policy, regulation
√ Offer protection against adverse comment being made about the company by the government, political
decision-makers by keeping them informed
√ Influence public opinion (citizens, companies, factions, etc) > to gain a positive attitude towards your company
√ Protect and enhance the reputation of the organization
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, 1.1 The intangible target group
Public opinion
= an aggregate of individual views, attitudes, and beliefs about a particular topic expressed by a significant
proportion of a community
NOT organized: Inhabitants of neighboring streets, inhabitants of a city, country, the world population for a
multinational
→ Thé public opinion does not exist
→ Public opinion cannot be directly contacted
→ Map it carefully
— One has to feel what lives outside the company walls
— Map the public opinion or public perception
— PR requires knowledge
— Good PR = good monitoring
— Scan your environment
1.2 The tangible target group
Civil society (= maatschappelijk middenveld)
= the collective name for all kinds of organizations and associations that are not part of government but
represent professions, interest groups or sections of society
Action group Interest group
o Local/ regional o National/ international
o Short term o Parmanent
o Spearhead o Package of interest
o Loose movement o Structured organisation
o Action minded o Consultation orientated
Difference between these 2 groups = not always clear
Action groups have a lot of tools at their disposal to address their message to companies or corporations
• How are they taking action?
→ Through mass media (manifestations, media-oriented actions)
→ Internet/ social media
→ Complain to the government: petitions, open letters > petition handovers usually generate media coverage
→ Shares
→ Notices of objection
→ Individual stakeholders
• NIMBY-effect: Not in my backyard effect = begrip uit ruimtelijke ordening om aan te duiden dat veel mensen
wel gebruik willen maken van voorzieningen, maar er geen hinder zelf van willen ondervinden
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