Leveraging Stakeholders for State Government Relations
As federal activity on key issues slowly grinds to a halt, state government affairs teams are increasingly becoming the tip of the spear for companies’ and trade associations’ advocacy and public policymaking efforts. Critical legislative and regulatory policy fights are popping up in state capitals across the country, and along with them a myriad of different proposals addressing issues that cross state lines - especially in the tech sector. Companies and their government affairs teams are at an important juncture and must identify ways to cover an increasing workload in all 50 states, but often with small teams that are stretched very thin.
One key way to increase the effectiveness of state government relations efforts is to leverage coalitions, third-party group allies, validators, influencers, and other stakeholders that can also advocate on aligned interests. This can provide valuable support in a variety of ways, including:
Advocacy: Where there is common and relevant interests, coalitions, third-party group allies, and other stakeholders can help amplify your organization's interests at the state level. This can include testifying at public hearings, meeting with legislators and their staff, and mobilizing advocates to contact their elected representatives.
Credibility: Having the issue backing or reinforcement from prominent, well-regarded think tanks and similar academic institutions and/or key public figures can lend significant credibility to your public policy advocacy efforts. Particularly in settings such as committee hearings and public events. On the flip side, unknown and/or controversial allies can result in a damaging hit to your organization’s reputation, not on just the immediate policy issue, but at-large also.
Expertise: Subject matter experts at allied stakeholder organizations can be invaluable in developing analysis, research, expert testimony, and public-facing educational advocacy campaigns.
Grassroots support: Allied advocacy groups with issues or politically motivated memberships can provide much-needed grassroots support for your aligned interests in a way that a single state government affairs team never could. This can include mobilizing their members to contact their elected representatives, attend public hearings, and participate in other highly visible/attention-getting advocacy activities.
The most effective advocacy programs are able to maximize all of these alliance benefits on a wide range of issues throughout the year, supporting state and federal government affairs teams and expanding their exposure well beyond their limited staff and lobbyist capabilities. But before allies and validators can help, you must develop an impactful, long-lasting, and robust stakeholder alliance network. Advocacy and government affairs professionals must keep the following recipe in mind to recruit, engage, and leverage these partners effectively:
Building relationships: Issue allies don’t pop up overnight. It is important to build relationships with stakeholders over time. And just like any other relationship, commonality, credibility, time, trust, and understanding are key.
Identifying shared interests: Once you have built relationships with stakeholders and third-party groups, it is important to zero in on shared interests policy interests. At the same time developing a clear understanding of any issue differences is also very important. And it’s totally OK for your organization and stakeholders to disagree on some things as long as it doesn’t conflict with your key issue priorities of course. With this understanding, you will have a clear understanding of what issues certain allies can align with you on versus others where partners might not be able to assist.
Coordinating with your coalition: Once you have identified shared interests, you can develop a joint advocacy plan with your network of aligned stakeholders. This plan should outline your goals, strategies, and tactics - particularly focusing on what capabilities and strengths each partner can bring to the effort. Similar to instrument sections in an orchestra, leveraging each individual partner group’s unique capabilities strengthens the impact of the entire coalition.
In a time where state government affairs teams are shouldering the weight of advocacy and public policymaking efforts, the importance of coalitions and stakeholder alliance engagement can’t be overstated. Leveraging aligned advocates, influencers, and third-party group allies has become a critical strategy in expanding the overall impact of limited state government relations teams. These partnerships offer advocacy, credibility, expertise, and grassroots support, significantly enhancing the reach and effectiveness of companies’ and trade associations’ government affairs efforts.
The recipe for success in this endeavor is clear: it starts with building strong, lasting relationships based on common interests, trust, and understanding. From there, identifying shared policy goals while respecting any differences is key. Lastly, through thoughtful coordination, a joint advocacy plan can be crafted, harnessing the unique strengths of each partner to create a harmonious and powerful symphony of influence. By embracing these principles and forging strong bonds with like-minded allies, state government affairs teams can rise to the challenge, making a meaningful impact on the legislative landscape and the communities they serve.
Nexus Public Affairs understands this unique advocacy challenge and can serve as an extension of your team relying on our seasoned expertise to develop and utilize your issue coalitions and standing stakeholder alliances. Contact me at rob@nexuspa.com to learn more about how Nexus Public Affairs can help you.
