Political engagement lessons every organisation must learn
The world is changing quickly, and political engagement is more important than ever.
By Andrew Koubaridis
The world is changing quickly, and political engagement is more important than ever. Organisations need government engagement skills, but they also require knowing how to transform that engagement to real advocacy power to make things happen.
Tanck Co-founder Neil Pharaoh will next week lead an advanced session on transforming government engagement into high-impact advocacy at FPA’s November Keynote Series in Sydney. Building on FPA’s March Government Engagement 101 keynote, the session will show how to design campaigns that align with government priorities, shape policy, and build lasting influence.
The Government Engagement 102 workshop on November 6 will examine the strategy, tactics, and frameworks needed to run effective campaigns and advocacy efforts that cut through with decision-makers, Neil said.
“It’s the first battle won by knowing who to call, but that’s not everything and it’s not where your advocacy ends. It’s actually just the beginning,” he said.
What is absolutely critical is being able to take your government engagement to the next level by designing and delivering campaigns that not only match your organisations’ needs and aspirations but also fit with government priorities. It’s only then that real change will occur.
“Successful and effective advocacy will help shape policy conversations, and build sustained influence,” Neil said.
Throughout the workshop, Neil will break down the campaign mindset into clear, practical steps, with one goal in mind - helping you move from ad-hoc engagement to structured, impactful advocacy.
He’ll do this by drawing on his extensive experience leading social sector organisations through complex political landscapes and will unpack what makes a campaign succeed – from leveraging assets and networks, to framing problems and solutions, to knowing when and how to influence elections and policy. Neil will also explain how to define a campaign and set clear goals for everything from funding aspirations to policy changes and shifting perceptions.
The session will delve into why psychometric campaigning and data insights matter, and how the for-purpose sector can use them successfully without big-budgets.
Neil will share the five key stakeholder groups every campaign must engage – some are obvious, but others are less so – but every one of them is a vital step in your advocacy journey.
He will outline how to build your campaign framework, which includes, strategy, research, tactics, and policy alignment and turn problems into solutions. “We’ll do this by reframing technical, political, and media challenges into actionable government options,” Neil said.
Neil has had extraordinary results that have literally changed laws and delivered funding wins worth tens of millions of dollars by working this way.
With many organisations based in jurisdictions around Australia, state and territory elections are as influential as federal ballots, so election readiness is important. The workshop will shed light on what assets and engagement are needed to maximise your influence come election time.
Finally, you’ll get a guide how to measure to measure success and know when you’ve “won.”
“By the end of the session, you will have tools and strategies to run your own government relations campaign with confidence and purpose,” Neil said.
Tanck offers advisory services in government engagement, advocacy, stakeholder strategy, and communications.
We share our political expertise and government experience so you can achieve your funding and policy goals.
