Silence during a crisis involving policy maker advocacy is itself a statement. The first version of a story about this strand of communications and media practice tends to become the reference version. Discussion is anchored to worked examples of the practice within communications and media practice rather than to abstract argument. Participants develop a defensible line of reasoning for the choices they make about policy maker advocacy. Participants who influence this area of communications and media practice without directly controlling it will find the content directly usable. Moving the communications and media practice discipline from written policy into daily practice is not achieved by a single decision. Where policy maker advocacy is measured, it improves; where it is only discussed, it drifts. It treats this aspect of communications and media practice as an operating discipline and equips participants to run it as one. Participants finish with a short, specific brief on this part of communications and media practice ready to put in front of a decision maker.
Expected Learning Outcomes
✓
Measure the effect of communication on policy maker advocacy beyond volume of coverage.
✓
Build community and stakeholder engagement around policy maker advocacy.
✓
Write materials on policy maker advocacy that a journalist can use without rewriting.
✓
Assign clear ownership for each element of policy maker advocacy across the functions involved.
✓
Distinguish the parts of policy maker advocacy that must be standardised from those that require judgement.
✓
Design the crisis response plan for policy maker advocacy with named roles and pre-agreed authority.
✓
Anticipate the objections that policy maker advocacy will attract internally and answer them in advance.
Who Should Attend
✓
Public relations and communications managers responsible for policy maker advocacy.
✓
Marketing staff coordinating with communications on policy maker advocacy.
✓
Compliance and governance staff whose remit includes policy maker advocacy.
✓
Content producers creating material about policy maker advocacy.
✓
Government relations and public affairs officers covering policy maker advocacy.
✓
Quality staff verifying that policy maker advocacy performs as designed.
Course Modules
Open any module to see its sessions and topics.
01
Policy maker advocacy: monitoring, sentiment and early warning
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1What has to be agreed before work on policy maker advocacy starts
Build a stakeholder map for policy maker advocacy and the message each needs.
Archive every statement issued on policy maker advocacy with date and approver.
Remove steps in policy maker advocacy that add effort without adding assurance.
Set the response time target for enquiries about policy maker advocacy.
Session 2Coordinating policy maker advocacy across markets and languages
Distinguish symptoms from causes when policy maker advocacy underperforms.
Sequence internal notification about policy maker advocacy ahead of external release.
Establish what evidence demonstrates policy maker advocacy is under control.
Reduce the variation in how policy maker advocacy is carried out between teams.
02
Policy maker advocacy: crisis preparation, roles and authority
2 sessions · 8 points
Session 1Where policy maker advocacy typically breaks, and why
Localise messaging on policy maker advocacy without fragmenting it.
Review whether policy maker advocacy is aligned with the objectives of the communications function.
Rehearse the hostile interview on policy maker advocacy with a real challenger.
Rank the weaknesses in policy maker advocacy by consequence rather than by ease of fixing.
Session 2The three messages on policy maker advocacy you will not move from
Draft materials on policy maker advocacy that need no rewriting to be published.
Check communication on policy maker advocacy against legal and regulatory constraint.
Define what success in communicating policy maker advocacy looks like, numerically.
Agree the indicators that will show whether policy maker advocacy is improving.
