AALEP OFFERS TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT SERVICES TO CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE

Chambers of Commerce need to play an important role in the public policy arena on behalf of their members. If they are not in the advocacy business they should be. Indeed, increasingly, Chamber members want their chamber to play a role in the public policy space. It’s important to them.

Government Affairs/Business Advocacy programming should be as much a part of a Chamber’s  daily operations or programme of work as membership or any other thing it does. Government affairs should be used as a selling point and a membership benefit.

Many Chambers’ mission statements state that they are the “voice of business,” or  “advocate for economic development,” or “building a business friendly environment.” However, unless they are actually taking positions on issues, actively engaging their members, the community and, most importantly the elected officials, then they are not truly advocating. 

AALEP can assist Chambers of Commerce in being more strategic advocates for their members and help them shape their public policy decisions and/or public opinion on critical issues to the best interest of their membership.

We can provide the following services:

• Assistance in reviewing and evaluating key business issues, which could include meeting with key stakeholders, researching the topic or surveying members for their input.
• Assistance in determining the potential impact to chamber members and the community.
• Assistance on deciding whether or not to develop pro or con positions on the issues.
• Assistance in presenting positions and a proposed plan for appropriate communications and/or action to the Chamber Board for input and/or approval.
• Assistance with the implementation of the approved plan.
• Assistance with seeking feedback from relevant stakeholders after implementation.

AALEP can also coach your current staff about techniques for improving internal and external communications and leverage your business advocacy in today’s political reality.

Topics:

• Developing political coalitions and alliances.
• Preparing issue papers and other materials.
• Implementing and utilizing grassroots networks.

Finally, AALEP is happy to have its members and staff invited as guest speakers at your conferences and annual meetings to speak about business advocacy and public affairs, so feel free to get in touch with us at any time.

Targeted Chambers

• Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Albania (Albania)
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Armenia (Armenia)
• Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (Austria)
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azerbaijan Republic (Azerbaijan)
• Belarussian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Belarus)
• Federation of Belgian Chambers of Commerce (Belgium)
• Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Bulgaria)
• Croatia Chamber of Commerce (Croatia) 
• Cyprus Chamber of Commerce (Cyprus)
• Czech Chamber of Commerce (Czech Republic)
• Estonian Chamber of Commerce (Estonia)
• Finland Chamber of Commerce (Finland)
• Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce (Adriatic)
• CCI France (France)
• Economic Chamber of FYR of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia)
• Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Georgia)
• Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (Germany)
• Union of Hellenic Chambers of Commerce (Greece)
• Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Hungary)
• Network of Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the EU (Islands)
• Association of Italian Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Craft and Agriculture (Italy)
• Chambers Ireland (Ireland)
• Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce (Israel)
• Kosova Chamber of Commerce (Kosovo)
• Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Latvia)
• Association of Lithuanian Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Crafts (Lithuania)
• Chamber of Commerce of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
• Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry (Malta)
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova (Moldova)
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Montenegro (Montenegro)
• Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (Netherlands)
• Federation of Norwegian Commercial and Service Enterprises (Norway)
• Polish Chamber of Commerce (Poland)
• Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Portugal)
• Chamber of Commerce of Romania (Romania)
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation (Russia)
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (Serbia)
• Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Slovakia)
• Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (Slovenia)
• Chamber of Commerce of Spain (Spain)
• The Association of Swedish Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Sweden)
• Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Switzerland (Switzerland)
• Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey- TOBB (Turkey)
• Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ukraine)
• British Chambers of Commerce (United Kingdom)