OUTLINE OF A GOVERNMENT RELATIONS PLAN

A good strategy, like a good route through new terrain, doesn’t just rely on the roads you know. It starts where you are, ends where you want to go and provides a good, plausible route in between. What do you want? Who can give it to you? What do they need to hear? Who do they need to hear it from? What actions can deliver that message effectively? With a solid strategy, one that answers each of these questions well, you might change the world. Without a strategy, or with a poor one, you are more likely to get lost and accomplish very little.

Government Relations Plan Outline

Executive Summary (Typically 1-2 pages outlining key strategy recommendations.

1. Introduction

• Background of issue
• Background/history to date of organization)
• Coalition/Campaign
• Purpose, limitations of the plan

2. Goals and Objectives

3. Situational Analysis

Each section should briefly describe internal strengths, internal weaknesses, external threats, external opportunities

• Political environment
• Public environment (public attitudes, awareness of issue, core values most relevant to issues, demography)
• Media environment (quality and quantity of coverage to date)
• Allies (who, their agendas/motivators, leverage they offer)
• Opponents (who, their agendas/motivators/their messages)
• Organisational capacity (ie capacity, resources, positioning on issue, profile)

4. Target Audiences

• Describe who, desired actions, agendas/motivators/potential influencers and profile of each if possible (demographics, attitude, sources of information.
• Primary (Decision-makers)
• Secondary (influencers/opinion leaders, key public)

5. Messaging

Recommended messages

• Criteria
• Rationale (given target audience profile and available opinion research)
• Draft topline messages

5. Strategies/Tactics Benchmarks

• Developing strategic alliances
• Public Outreach
• Media Relations

7. Evaluation Mechanisms

8. Research Needed

• Public opinion research
• Political research
• Other research

9. Work Plan and Timelines (May be general or detail depending on nature of project)

10. Budget and Resources Needed.

Note:

The plan should be reviewed regularly, such as at least once each quarter during the beginning of the programme and at least once each year thereafter.  You should be prepared to make adjustments to the plan based on those reviews. If this ingredient is missing, an existing government relations programme is most likely not as effective as it could be and a new programme will have difficulty getting off the ground.  A government relations plan, needs a road map to give it focus.  Without focus, the participants in the programme may have disparate views of the programme, which will only serve to dilute the programme, if not undo it altogether.

AALEP offers practical assistance in government relations plan development, update and/or revision  through consultation, strategic facilitation of the planning process, and training. Services incorporate interactive collaboration combined with long-term follow-up and accountability.