Effective public affairs is essential for local councils to influence policy; lobby for funding; and build strong relationships with key decision-makers. This guide aims to help councils understand what public affairs is, how it differs from comms, and how to engage effectively with MPs, Government, civil servants and other stakeholders.
Defining public affairs
Public affairs is the strategic approach councils take to influence policy, legislation, and decision-making.
It involves:
- Engaging with MPs, ministers, civil servants and policymakers
- Building long-term relationships with key stakeholders and partners
- Aligning local priorities with national agendas
- Advocating for policy changes that benefit local communities
To demonstrate what public affairs can mean within the context of local government, here are a few different examples of how public affairs can be defined:
- Activities which are carried out for the purpose of (a) influencing government, (b) or advising others how to influence government - Public Relations and Communications Association
- A strategic approach to building relationships with your communities of influence - Local Government Association definition
- A term used to describe an organisation’s relationship with stakeholders - Public Affairs Network definition
Public affairs or communications?
While traditional communications seek to inform and engage the public, public affairs focuses on the decision-makers who shape outcomes—building lasting influence, driving policy in support of local interests, and unlocking critical funding.
The table below outlines some key differences between general ‘comms’ and public affairs. The below descriptions show how comms and public affairs may differ, though there of course remains significant overlap:
| Communications | Public affairs |
|---|---|
| Relationships at organisational level | Relationships at individual level |
| One-side dominates | Two-way discussion |
| Often focused on “here & now” | Prioritises long-term outcomes |
| Large audiences, mass comms channels | Hyper-targeted audiences, bespoke comms channels |
| Resident insight | Political insight |
| Locally-focused: grass-routes | Nationally-focused: policy makers |
| Matters within the authority’s control | Matters outside of the authority’s control |
| Influence behaviours | Influence decisions |
| Above the radar | Below the radar |
How to engage in public affairs
Develop a clear narrative
A strong narrative helps communicate your council’s ambitions and priorities. It should: clearly outline your council’s vision and purpose, bring people together around that purpose, direct action and resources and give people a marker against which a public body can be judged.
A narrative is important as it allows the council to articulate where it's come from and where it wants to be. A successful narrative can translate corporate aims and planned-for outcomes into compelling and emotional language.
You may need two distinct narratives: a corporate (council) narrative and a place narrative. The latter should represent the entire geographical area in which the council operates and reflect the shared priorities of a wide range of partners, not just the council. Some of the key differences between the two are outlined in the table below:
| Corporate (council) narrative | Place narrative |
|---|---|
| Vision, values, key messages | Key elements of places and people |
| What you stand for; why you are important | Location, culture, history, community |
| Plans for the future | Describe future direction while acknowledging challenges |
| About the organisation | About the area |
| A tool for building consensus | A tool for economic development and wellbeing |
| Shaped by councils' leaders | Shaped by councils' partners and stakeholders |
These narratives will be key to build from when mapping and engaging with stakeholders. For public affairs, it is especially helpful if your narrative works hand-in-hand with a topic that is unique to your authority, giving you the authority to speak on this issue. For example, if your public affairs strategy is about housing, you are more likely to have impactful engagement with stakeholders if you are one of the councils with the largest housing stock.
Map, build and maintain relationships with stakeholders
Stakeholder management comprises a lot of the groundwork of public affairs. It is important to first identify your key stakeholders. A useful way of mapping stakeholders is to use the stakeholder mapping template below.
| Satisfy | Manage |
| Stakeholders with a low level of interest but a high level of influence. |
Stakeholders with a significant interest in the outcomes of our work and a high Can help bring others on board. |
| Monitor | Inform |
| Stakeholders with limited interest and low levels of influence | Stakeholders with high levels of interest but a low level of influence. |
Once you have mapped your stakeholders, it is useful to put each stakeholder into one of four categories in the table. These categories should help you identify how it is you should engage with them going forward:
- Manage: actively engaging with them to manage their opinions and expectations
- Satisfy: ensure to actively engage to ensure that they remain onside
- Inform: keep them in the loop about important developments
- Monitor: no direct engagement needed, but important to monitor to pre-empt any possible future issues or opportunities for engagement
Building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders is done by regular engagement, meetings, and briefings to help foster productive relationships. It is crucial that stakeholders are not only contacted reactively, in times of need or emergency, but also proactively either through one-on-one catchups or general briefings. This is what the four categories above can help in identifying.
Here are some examples of key stakeholders that you may have to consider, alongside questions that should help you determine where they may fit in the previously mentioned graphs and categories:
Members of Parliament
- How local are they? How much of your authority do they geographically cover?
- Are they a new MP or a more experienced MP? Have they held past ministerial positions either frontbench or shadow?
- What did they do before coming into Parliament?
- Are they a member of the frontbench, in the Cabinet, or are they a backbencher, perhaps a committee chair or member?
- If they are a frontbencher, what is their brief? If they sit on a committee, which one is it and how can you support them in that role with briefings and local examples?
- Are there any Members of the House of Lords that are residents, and if so, what is their area of expertise?
- What are their areas of interests and policy positions?
- What briefings can the council provide to build your relationship while also promoting the work the council is doing locally?
- How can you encourage a good relationship through inviting them to site visits?
- How can you ensure that you are engaging with them all year round, rather than just at times of need?
- Which Parliamentary mechanisms do you think can be used to further your campaign? Written questions for data? Oral questions for publicity? Back bench debates?
- Do they chair or are a member of an APPG?
Government
- How can you access Ministers, and which ones are important to your local authority?
- What access can you have to senior civil servants and which departments can best help with the council’s objectives?
- Are they local MPs?
Campaign groups (local and national)
- What campaign groups are there locally and what impact might they have on the council?
- Which campaign groups are worth directly engaging with and which should be avoided at all costs?
Think tanks
- Is there any value to working with certain think tanks on certain research and/or best practice?
- How can the council benefit from such a relationship?
Charities and communities
- What are the sizes of local charities and communities?
- Is there a different approach required to different local communities and if so, what strategy can be put in place to deal with each community appropriately?
- Who are the respected leaders within each community that you should engage with?
- What charities align with the council’s corporate objectives?
Unions
- What presence does each trade union have in your local authority?
- How much do these unions align with your council’s objectives?
Blue light service
- Who are they key players within each blue light service?
- How best can you engage with them outside of emergencies and reactive situations?
When mapping stakeholders it is also vital to map already existing relationships. For example, if the leader has a connection to a certain minister or the chief executive has a contact in the civil service, this should all be included in an internal self-assessment of already-established contacts. By bringing together your team and mapping these relationships, you will have a created a solid starting point to build your stakeholder mapping from.
Plan and deliver public affairs campaign
It is important that you define your objectives and desired outcomes in line with and/or incorporated into your corporate/council narrative, corporate plan and place narrative.
The authority should set clear, achievable milestones and use targeted messaging tailored to the relevant audience/s. These campaigns will be what you push at meetings, reference in briefings and include in informal discussions with stakeholders.
Giving the team something to aim towards, with clearly defined objectives, will ensure that public affairs engagement with stakeholders is worthwhile.
We suggest using the below 12 step guide to creating a public affairs guide:
- Identify issues and opportunities – shared ground and outcomes
- Agree outcomes – what is the common plan? How are you planning to get there?
- Map stakeholders – who can you work with? Monitor, inform, satisfy, manage
- Know your MPs – local and national
- Set SMART objectives – what decisions to you want to influence?
- Create your narrative – a story of your ambition, created with partners to inform key messages
- Engagement method and delivery plan – what, when and how?
- Allocate roles – who is your lead?
- Timescales – list key milestones and triggers to engagement
- Budget and resourcing – depending on the scale of your needs and ambitions
- Monitoring and internal reporting – how will you track relationships and manage contacts?
- Outputs and outcomes – has it worked? What has been achieved? What have you learnt?
Putting together a public affairs plan is crucial for local authorities looking to take their next steps in this space. The LGA and our associates have a lot of experience in this area, having hosted general public affairs workshops and gone into local authorities to workshop bespoke plans for their specific public affairs needs and circumstances.
If you would be interested in joining one of our general workshops, or setting up a bespoke session with the LGA, our associates and your local authority, please email [email protected]
Monitor and evaluate your public affairs work
The effectiveness of your public affairs work can vary from year to year, based off internal and external factors. It is crucial that you regularly review your progress by:
- Tracking engagement with MPs and policymakers
- Measuring policy influence and funding secured
- Adjusting strategies based on feedback and political developments
By doing so, you will be able to forward plan effectively to ensure that you are getting the most out of your public affairs strategy.
Navigate LGR tactfully
For further guidance on LGR you can use the LGA’s LGR Communications & Engagement toolkit. If you are a communications or engagement officer working at an authority going through LGR, you can also join our Communications & Engagement LGR Network by emailing [email protected]
If your authority would be interested in the wider support that the LGA is offering around LGR (outside of comms and engagement) you can visit our LGR & Devolution hub.
Conclusion
Public affairs is a powerful tool for influencing policy, securing funding, and building strong relationships with key stakeholders. By developing a strategic approach to relationship management and proactive campaign planning, you can ensure that your voice is heard and that your communities benefit from national decision-making.
Resources and further support
- Narrative development guides
- Engaging with MPs toolkit
- LGA Comms Hub for further resources on local government communications
- LGA Devo & LGR Hub for support surrounding LGR and Devolution
For tailored comms support, you can contact [email protected], Head of the LGA Communications Improvement team. As was mentioned earlier, the LGA and our associates can come into local authorities to help workshop and produce a public affairs strategy, bespoke for that authority.
The LGA also offers support regarding national and Parliamentary issues. For this, you can contact our own Public Affairs Team.