HELPING NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS MEASURE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS AT EU LEVEL

There is a general acceptance in national associations that they need to be effective at the European level if they are properly to serve the interests of their members. While national associations have a good input into the work of their principal European association, they are not as effective at the European level as they are domestically. It is difficult to be effective at the European level, more difficult than it is at national level. Also the convoluted and lengthy decision taking process means that many more resources have to be devoted to getting the right outcome at European level than is the case at  domestic level. Nevertheless Europe is very important to almost every national trade association and even if the work is long term it is essential that it is done properly if the members are not to be disadvantaged

The following toolkit is designed to help national associations measure their effectiveness at the European level.

Output

• Is the European Association able to have a significant impact on developments in Brussels to the benefit of its members? This can be measured only in the long term and in any event it is very difficult to measure.

Value for Money

The total cost on representational work at EU level comprises membership fee to the European Association, cost of any consultancy, cost of travel and accommodation for meetings in Europe, time spent on meetings, time spent back home dealing with European matters, time spent dealing with European association matters.

The national association should look at the direct cost of representational work in relation to its total budget, its subscription to the European association and then make an assessment of value for money. It should consider its subscription to the European association in relation to its own subscription income and its subscription in relation to the other members of the European association.

Intelligence

• Does the European association have up to the minute information on developments in Brussels relevant to it?

Handling of European matters by the national association

• Is there one person who has an overview role of developments at the European level, for example in respect to intelligence and public policy advocacy work, and is that person effective?
• Do all relevant staff have a sufficient understanding of how matters are dealt with in Europe and the differences compared with the domestic market such that they use the appropriate tools and are as effective on work at the European level as they are on domestic work?
• Do the board and the members generally have a reasonable understanding of the importance of the European work, the long time frame that is involved and the difficulties of getting a desired outcome? Unless there is that understanding the resources may not be made available and there may be unjustified frustration with the performance of the association. A board is more likely to have a good understanding of European issues if it is faced with major issues at the European level.
• Are the right persons involved in the European association? Ideally there should be a mixture of secretariat and practitioners with the secretariat ensuring proper feedback and dissemination of information. The industry practitioners must be the relevant people, people who cease to be relevant must be removed.   The ‘leadership’ of the national delegation must be in the hands of a current industry leader and must not become a personal fiefdom of an elderly statesman or someone whose sole aim is the presidency of the European association.

Approach for handling issues at the European level

• Does the European association explicitly consider how to handle each individual issue at the European level?
• Is the relevant national government department or regulator always kept informed of the association’s work?
• Are coalitions or alliances used where it is considered that they will promote the European association’s interests?
• Is careful consideration given as to how an issue should be handled within the European level?

Communications

A national association must receive information in a timely and user-friendly way from its European Association. National associations are generally under much greater media pressure than European associations and this needs to be reflected in the information flow from the European association.

• Does the European association not only distribute information (for example details of a new consultation document) but also add value with a brief commentary highlighting its relevance to the sector?
• Are reports of the European association meetings circulated promptly and are they useful?
• Does the national association get prompt and proper feedback from delegates on European committees?
• Does the national association have a good system for disseminating information to members about developments at the European level?

Contacts

Representational work is all about contacts, and associations are unwise to leave developing contacts until they have an urgent issue to deal with. A national association needs excellent contacts with, among others: The European association, other national associations, particularly in the ‘major’ countries, the Commission, the Permanent Representation, MEPs, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions.

Review

• Does the national association conduct a regular review of the effectiveness of its work at the European level?

The nature and extent of the review will depend on circumstances. A major review is probably needed every five years or when there is a special factor such as a merger with another association or concerns about the effectiveness of the European association. In between major reviews a brief annual review is probably in order.

National associations must look for European associations that are expert in the communication and public policy advocacy business and work in partnership with them. The most effective associations have outstanding chief executives and are strong in intelligence gathering, networking and influencing. They concentrate on policy outcomes, and recognise that to be effective they have to work in partnership with national associations, other European associations and interest groups. They are well resourced and trusted by their members to get on with the job.