AALEP TO PROMOTE GLOBAL PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS IN LOBBYING AND ADVOCACY

The vision of AALEP is to influence the direction of the global lobbying and advocacy profession. AALEP’s aim is to manage, develop and operate certification, education and related programmes for lobbying organisations to benefit the global community by establishing, upholding and promoting worldwide professional standards in lobbying and advocacy. The profession is highly competitive and like many other industries it has become difficult to penetrate the world over without a postgraduate degree or specific qualification, in addition to relevant industry experience.

In emerging markets, where lobbying is still nascent and where mainstream advocacy and lobbying has become an accepted practice, more and more professional lobbyists are seeking to align themselves with recognized and trusted certification bodies around the world. Certification demonstrates that an individual has met rigorous competency, ethics and practice standards for lobbying . Increasingly, professional lobbyists are looking to certification as the global symbol of excellence in lobbying.

Certification brings added depth and credibility to lobbyist-client relationships. Trust is key in developing and maintaining strong lobbyist -client relationships, and employers, practitioners and clients are responding to Certification standards, which include adherence to a strict code of ethics, in which professional lobbyists commit to placing their clients’ interests first.

AALEP intends to work with its  member organizations, practicing professionals and experts from around the world to set standards and certification requirements for the lobbying profession.

The lobbying profession needs to ensure that its voice and ideas are heard. There is a clear opportunity for the profession to improve its perceived value to business and shareholders. Around the world, demand for professional lobbyists and their broad range of knowledge and skills that add value to business continues to grow. As lobbyists take a greater role in business strategy, lobbyists are increasingly seen to be at the heart of business.

For this reason AALEP will launch a Forum- a unique platform that will enable the views and expressions of lobbyists to be represented from a global perspective, looking at what governments, policymakers and professionals around the world can do to ensure a high level playing field.