CLARIFICATION OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

At current best practice, the public affairs function combines both sophisticated communications and influencing strategies and processes (internal and external) with analysis and management of the external social and political issues that affect a business. By doing so, it contributes at a high level to the achievement of a company’s business imperatives.

Public affairs specialists in some companies are playing an increasing role in business planning through a variety of ways including stakeholder and issues analysis and general monitoring of future socio-political environments. This is to inform planners and line managers of the context for their decision-making and the socio-political impact of acceptability of various products, investment or process options. Accordingly the Public Affairs function is increasingly ‘at the table’ when these decisions are made. 

The other link to strategic planning is the primacy of the plan and the plan imperatives in prioritising and shaping the public affairs objectives and program. One consequence is the shift from a sub-functional focus in public affairs planning (i.e. operating independent communications, media, government and community relations, stakeholder relations plans) to a focus on using each of these ‘tools’ of public affairs as instruments in pursuit of the key strategic imperatives for the business and the management of issues that might threaten their attainment.

While routine monitoring of issues created by others (such as regulatory and taxation) will always be important tasks, many companies have become proactive, seeking to put issues onto the public agenda and change the policy environment to facilitate the achievement of corporate goals. In doing so they use a combination of the various public affairs tools (such as media, community relations, leveraging industry association involvement, influencing and mobilizing opinion leaders, employee communications etc;) to build their strategy. Where companies are highly affected by public policy outcomes (for example, chemical companies by environment policy), banks (by financial regulation), and utilities (by price regulation), commitment to analysing the drivers of public policy and influencing its outcomes can be deep. 

A related element of government affairs is building and maintaining constructive relationships with politicians, public servants, and regulators. The establishment of comfortable familiarity and respect is a conventional goal. For clever companies, the steady flow of useful information and feedback to better inform government of market place realities in an environment free of controversy is seen as most valuable. Helpful information and marketplace insight is seen as the currency of exchange in building mutual understanding, trust and consequently informal influence with government on legislative and regulatory issues of significance.

Public affairs teams manage sophisticated programs to build relationships with community-based opinion leaders and ‘issues drivers’. Stakeholder consultation and the establishment of dialogue is seen as a means to break down barriers, find common grounds and, by better understanding and adjustment of expectations/actions on both sides, build closer alignment of goals and activities between business and opinion makers.

Whole new approaches are being developed to relate with corporate critics and issues adversaries- motivated in part by the perceived lack of political leverage corporations have on issues of public sensitivity, the huge collateral damage that conflict with activists can have on a corporate reputation, and the consequent desire to avoid high profile win/lose conflicts. The development of strategy and facilitation of dialogue with these groups is a clear accountability of today’s private sector public affairs.

Community relations as a corporate activity is normally managed as a sub-function of public affairs. It includes community consultation but will often extend beyond that to include various forms of community engagement with strategic purposes such as local community employment programs, financial contributions to local organizations, community development or welfare programs and employee voluntarism. An important extension of community relations has been meeting the demands for greater transparency and involving communities where necessary, in business decision making processes.

While in some firms there is a distinct functional separation between public affairs and corporate marketing, some major companies have moved to integrate them organizationally. The link is the inter-related concept of corporate image, corporate positioning and corporate reputation. This development is based on the acknowledgement that reputation or image is a non-tangible asset of considerable value, affecting the attitude of customers, suppliers, employees, investors and regulators (actual or potential). 

And these organisational linkages, where they are made, also stem from the overlapping communications skill set, and the interdependence of brand and reputation generally with the management of issues, corporate behaviour and general external relationships. This organizational linkage between public affairs and marketing communications also brings together most elements of the sponsorship-philanthropy continuum that goes from product market sponsorship (e.g. sports events) through causal related marketing, image building sponsorship to philanthropy.   

Public Affairs Roles Core Sub-functions                       

• Public policy and advocacy
• Government relations
• Industry Association co-ordination and strategy
• Media relations
• Stakeholder analysis and relations
• Other external communications (speeches, publications etc.)
• Issues analysis and issue management
• Interest group strategy and relations
• Internal communications
• Community relations and ‘risk’ communication
• Corporate sponsorship/events
• Community involvement and sponsorship
• International public affairs
• International political risk