• 5 Government Relations Tools Every Association Should Use to Ramp up Influence

    January 27, 2022 Guest Contributor — Kyle Larkin

    Government relations (GR) can be crucial to the work of associations. It’s a key area of activity that can advance the interests and mission of your members and your organization, ensuring your collective interests are on the radar —  and agenda — of policy makers.  

    What actions can you take to expand your influence? Fortunately, there are a number of approaches that can support your GR efforts. 

    Here are 5 government relations tools your association should consider including in your strategy. 

    Direct Advocacy 

    The oldest tool in the GR toolkit. Meeting with elected officials, public servants, political staff and others on a regular basis is important as it keeps your association relevant and top-of-mind with policy makers. To be effective, you need to be meeting with officials at least monthly, if not more regularly. This allows you to find elected officials who will be your champions and ensure that you’re on top of where current government policies are headed. 

    Media Relations 

    An effective GR strategy needs to be paired with a media relations strategy. Government officials are constantly reading the news, and many policies are influenced by what is said in the media. If you’re looking to influence government in a particular direction, you will need to make sure that you’re engaging with traditional media outlets.  

    Digital Advocacy 

    GR has evolved a lot over the past years, especially in response to new tools that political parties are using to connect with constituents. However, the saying “all politics is local” continues to be true.  

    When an elected official hears from one of their constituents on a particular issue, it’s easier to brush it away. If they are hearing from dozens of their constituents though, it can become a larger priority for them. That is why CSAE’s Digital Advocacy tool is being used by so many associations. Through the click of a button, association members can send a pre-drafted email to their local elected official. This ensures that elected officials are not only hearing from you, but also from their constituents. To learn more, visit www.csaeconnect.ca.  

    Social Media 

    If you have ever spent time around an elected official, you’ll realize that most of them spend a good amount of time on social media. 

    Twitter continues to be the platform of choice for politics and media, and many elected officials manage their own accounts. This means that another way to get advocacy messaging directly to elected officials is through social media. Organic posting, or more targeted paid advertising, can help you get your advocacy messaging in front of the right people.  

    Grassroots Advocacy 

    Associations have a major strength over other organizations, and it’s their members. As stated above, all politics is local, and elected officials cherish the opportunity to hear from and meet with their constituents. Elected officials can better understand the work that your members do at the grassroots level through meetings or through tours of their facilities. Grassroots advocacy is a great way to get your members involved in government relations and get them engaged in your key advocacy issues.   

    About the Author

    Kyle Larkin

    Kyle specializes in government relations, public relations and policy research. He manages and executes public affairs strategies for national and provincial organizations, achieving short-term and long-term objectives. Kyle has successfully changed policies at the federal and provincial levels and helped to create the third ever national self-regulated college in Canada. He has also been featured in numerous media publications, including the BBC.

    Prior to joining Impact, Kyle worked in numerous offices on Parliament Hill, most notably for the parliamentary secretary to the prime minister. During his time on the Hill, he drafted caucus meeting reports and remarks for the House of Commons and media panels. He also liaised with several government departments on numerous constituency and national issues.

    Kyle has also gained valuable experience working at several different public affairs and policy firms in Ottawa. He has created comprehensive in-depth research reports tailored to the needs of national and international clients. He has also managed the planning and execution of numerous policy events as well as facilitated the development of public affairs strategies by communicating with elected officials, political staff and senior levels of the public service.

    Kyle holds an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences in International Studies and Modern Languages, with a minor in History and is fluently bilingual.

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