HOW DID USAID HELP SERBIAN BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS IMPROVE THEIR ADVOCACY AND LOBBYING SKILLS

USAID's Business Enabling Project (BEP) did help Serbian business associations improve their advocacy and lobbying skills by collaborating with them in a process that included:

• Building business support for reforms through outreach to business association members and coalitions of associations;
• Obtaining support for reforms from the government through direct advocacy, outreach and education;
• Partnering with the Government to plan and implement various priority reforms;
• Helping the Government monitor reform efforts

BEP developed business associations' capacities to conduct evidence-based analysis of constraints and opportunities in the business enabling environment. Getting stakeholders particularly government to the table to reach consensus on business environment reforms requires good information and skillful communication. Without facts and data, issues are misunderstood and become politicized and distorted by opponents. Prior to BEP providing them with assistance, Serbian business associations’ advocacy often lacked analytical depth and analysis was usually presented in overly technical communications.

BEP used its own resources and grants to local think tanks to provide analysis that could be used by associations to advocate for key reforms. By increasing awareness of the information needs of policymakers, offering research ideas, and creating links between researchers and business organizations, BEP improved the quality of research relevant to business and helped feed that research into advocacy and public-private dialogue.

BEP supported business associations on particular issues that both they and BEP identified as key obstacles to competitiveness and economic growth. BEP provided technical support on research design, assistance in execution, and public outreach. BEP also provided the associations with tools to measure business environment constraints, particularly an annual survey of businesses and a standard cost model study, and trained the associations on how to use these tools and global surveys like Doing Business to advance advocacy.

BEP also developed business associations' capacities to communicate and advocate for beneficial reforms. BEP worked with its association partners to vigorously publicize research and analysis and insert it into the dialogue on reforms. Thus BEP worked alongside the associations, structuring and running events, setting reform agendas, developing communications and talking points, conducting policy analysis, etc. When the research is new, with compelling data, these help the associations convince the government that the issue needs urgent attention. BEP helped associations develop and implement advocacy strategies and special advocacy campaigns. BEP held numerous roundtables and workshops on policy issues throughout Serbia, always co-organizing them with an association partner.

All of these efforts were supported by strategic communications through the traditional and social media. BEP had tremendous success in gaining media attention to the key business environment issues, and in most cases approaches to the media were made with association partners. Advocacy via the media requires that the quality and reach of reporting be at a somewhat sophisticated level. Thus BEP provided training for journalists and bloggers and developed constructive, collegial relations with media outlets, journalists, and bloggers. BEP conducted formal training on economics and policy reforms, through a grant to a local think tank and provided the media with other resources and tools. BEP’s strategic communications team monitored reporting by media outlets, making note of strengths and weaknesses that shaped capacity building focus as the project evolved.