By Esther Foreman and Andy Williamson, published in the Guardian Professional,
Anyone can email an MP or peer, but what can you do to make your campaign stand out from the crowd?
The campaigning landscape has changed significantly over the past 10 years, as organisations have started to encourage members of the public to use online campaigns as a way to influence power in the UK. Lately we’ve seen the rise of organisations such as 38 Degrees and change.org. These groups change the paradigm and bring the way we connect with politicians up to date. Energetic digital campaigners have been able to create a lot of public noise and attention for their cause as a result. Emailing your MP or a peer is a click away. But what is a member of the House of Lords with no administrative support supposed to do with 500 emails a day? Research conducted in the House of Lords last year discovered that the answer is that all too often they switch off. Talking to peers, charities and campaign organisations it quickly becomes clear that there is a better way. One that can work for all of us. It starts with understanding what you want to make happen, because you really can influence the outcome. And perhaps the answer can be as simple as one, two, three. Namely, message, momentum and mass. First, get the story right. As an individual advocate or organisation, it is no good arguing something is wrong. All that does is place you on one side of what is already likely to be a polarised debate. So a three-part story works best: explain the situation you, or your effected beneficaries, will be in if the bill becomes law, then explain why this is a problem and provide an alternative. Make the story personal, write it in the first-person and make it compelling. Above of all, keep it relevant and be clear about what you want to happen. This is where charities are great, as they get this stuff. It’s often what our elected representatives are missing and need to hear. They have formal policy briefings and see what’s written in the newspapers, but unless you provide the human insight how are they going to hear personal experiences or understand the real-life consequences of what they are debating? This is key in turning your advocacy into a compelling case. A drop of water eventually becomes an ocean and the chances are that you are not alone. The next stage is to create momentum. You’re one of many voices shouting for attention and some are louder and closer than others, so you need to make sure that you get heard. The second part of the campaign is to build the advocacy role, find the people who understand the problem and also understand Parliament. Go and talk to the House of Lords; pick the phone up, drop them an email, go and visit them – they are more available then you think. Yes, they are often overlooked but the Lords has a key role in amending legislation and they can be less partisan than the Commons. The third stage is to consider whether you need to create public mass. Some campaign issues need mass public engagement, which can be levied through online campaigning to raise attention to an issue, and others may need strategic partnership with one or two relevant organisations to add clout. Campaigners and organisations need to think hard around this, as there is no right answer and sometimes both are needed. Either way, organisations and charities need to be more open to collaborating over campaigns, especially where each party can bring something to the table, such as a policy specialism, or online campaigning skills. Unusual partnerships show strength and depth, both of which are felt by peers. It is easy to criticise charities and organisations for being unrepresentative and, whether this is true or not, it can weaken their argument when lobbying. Fortunately for charities, social networks mean we don’t have to suffer this accusation much longer. Online campaigning tools such as change.org and gov.uk e-petitions enable everyone to be their own advocate, so charities need to decide how they want to be a part of that momentum. Do they want to lead from the front, or stay in the background, guiding with information, support and advice? There’s power in these numbers. But once the campaign has got going it is all about getting in front of the people that matter – the decision-makers. By all means use the mass-email technique to raise your profile and demonstrate support. But alone it’s as likely to frustrate peers as it is to engage. Back up your story with policy, by explaining what’s happening, the impact if it happens and what should happen instead. Message. Momentum. Mass. Put these together and connect with peers and you have the power to change things. It’s a lot of work and in order to make your campaign successful you will need a network of people with a wide range of skills. This is where it’s important to bring together coalitions of subject-expertise with those that understand campaigning, digital and above all policy. If we’re to persuade our peers then we have to learn to use their language, too. ]]>
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