Lobbying: An art and a science—Five golden rules for an evidence‐based lobbying strategy

• Published date: 01 November 2019
• Author: Iskander De Bruycker
• Date: 01 November 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1949

PRACTITIONER PAPER

Lobbying: An art and a science—Five golden rules for an

evidence‐based lobbying strategy

Iskander De Bruycker

Research Foundation Flanders, University of

Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

Correspondence

Iskander De Bruycker, Research Foundation

Flanders, University of Antwerp, Antwerp,

Belgium.

Email: iskander.debruycker@uantwerpen.be

Funding information

Research Foundation Flanders, Grant/Award

Number: 12N1417N

In the battle for influence, public affairs professionals make crucial strategic decisions

every single day. “Should we go public with this case?”“Who are we going to lobby,

and how?”“Should we form a coalition with other organisations?”Public affairs profes-

sionals often make these decisions based on their experience or their gut feeling. In

practice, lobbying is often more of an art than a science. It is an intuitive and creative

process, rarely involving any insights rooted in science. And yet many public affairs pro-

fessionals are faced with uncertainty about the added value of their activities. “Does

what we do really matter?”“What kind of impact do we have?”“Are we making the

right strategic decisions?”Some colleagues seek to compensate for these doubts with

an overwhelming dose of self‐confidence. An experienced lobbyist recently said during

a lecture: “The day I can measure my influence is the day I can double my rates.”Other

public affairs professionals are a little more modest and try to assess their impact with

key performance indicators. They systematically review the lobbying tactics used. This

systematic approach has gained a lot of traction in recent years. The smoky back rooms,

the cigars, and whisky of the past are now giving way to evidence‐based lobbying,

based on facts, building a bridge between art and science of lobbying.

1|INTRODUCTION

In recent years, a great deal of academic research has been conducted

into lobbying, and lobbyists can draw much inspiration from it. How-

ever, a very wide gap remains between academic research and actual

practice. Evidence‐based lobbying is attempting to bridge this gap by

translating various scientific insights about lobbying strategies and

influencing into practice. Research has shown us which strategies

work well and which tend to fall short. In addition, a large body of

research has focussed on ways to measure lobbying influence. This

article explains how evidence‐based lobbying can strengthen your

organisation, offering you five golden rules that may prove useful in

your next lobbying campaign.

2|RULE 1: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Intelligence and data are the cornerstones of evidence‐based lobbying.

Every lobbying communication plan should include a thorough

situation analysis. Who are the most important decision makers and

stakeholders? Who are our potential friends or enemies? Do we have

public opinion on our side? For every public affairs professional, the

ability to collect, process, and apply information is essential. At the

start of every lobbying campaign, the context must be thoroughly

explored. There can be no surprises. Experience, monitoring, network-

ing, and doing your own research are all crucial aspects. For instance, a

recent study has shown that lobbyists on the international scene

invest more than half of their time in monitoring and research

(Hanegraaff, 2015).

In addition to the traditional networking and information channels,

scientific databases are an undervalued source of information. Gener-

ally speaking, very few lobbyists even know they exist. There are

roughly two types of scientific database. The first type maps the pop-

ulation of all interest groups. This type of database, similar to the

European Transparency Register, provides an overview of all interest

groups in, say, Belgium, the Netherlands, or Europe. Such databases

may also include data on financial resources, the policy domain, and

the type of organisation, thereby providing insight into other players

Received: 15 March 2019 Accepted: 31 March 2019

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1949

J PublicAffairs. 2019; :e1949.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1949

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of419