Government Affairs Insight

Public Affairs and its increasing sophistication

As a public affairs recruiter I have what I feel is a privileged line of sight into many private and public organisations wanting to maintain or increase their public affairs activity.

The public affairs discipline has travelled a considerable distance in the last 10 years. It continues to grow in numbers and reputation with increasing satisfaction from those that buy it. By that I mean the decision makers within organisations that purchase consultancy advice or in-house expertise.

This progress is underlined by the increased professionalisation of public affairs and its expanding status in most big organisations as a core function in need of close alignment with its strategy and direction.

More and more, Ellwood and Atfield is asked to recruit senior public affairs practitioners into newly created roles. Recently we were asked by one of the worlds largest companies to recruit a public affairs expert as they had little or no representation in Europe and now was the time to change that.

We find it’s also reflected in the standard of candidates we meet, for whom public affairs is an attractive destination industry in itself, and not a sub-specialism of public relations or regulatory law as has historically been the case. Attractive because public affairs operates best at the very heart of an organisation, with a line to the top table. Where else would you find a relatively junior manager briefing a CEO? Because of this it is viewed increasingly by serious candidates as a place to go if you’re keen to influence and drive change.

It’s not just the practitioners and the process of public affairs that is becoming more sophisticated and professionalised, it is also the purchasers of public affairs services themselves that appear to be better informed than ever before.

The increasing awareness from purchasers of exactly what they are buying, be that in the form of consultancy advice or in-house expertise has also shifted significantly in recent years. As a recruiter I see this in the rising need for experienced public affairs people – it is becoming harder for professionals to cross-over from other disciplines into public affairs. If, then, the practitioners are getting better and purchasers of public affairs are liking what they are buying what is driving the current discussion on regulation?

There seems to me to be a mis-match of reality and image for the public affairs industry. The early years of the current government ushered in a period of change, the product of which has been an overall increase in the transparency and accountability of operators in this space, and in turn a dramatic increase in the need for public affairs practitioners. The industry gains nothing, least of all public confidence and credibility by operating from the shadows.

The credibility of public affairs professionals gets caught in the political maelstrom between policy-makers, business and the media. In January this year and again in May the consultancy industry was called to account on the front page of the national press (Sunday Times) over the alleged infringement of rules designed to keep clear blue water between business and political decision-making. Whether that is a function of unacceptable business practise or arcane rules that protect parliamentarians from vested commercial interest is a moot point.

In some quarters it is seen as acceptable – even expected – that the voluntary sector will bring pressure to bear on legislators, driven necessarily out of self-interest. Yet the goal-posts for businesses and their public affairs representation are still seen somehow to be different and should operate according to a separate set of rules. For evidence of this see the recent Power Report (www. powerinquiry.org/report).

Few people inside or outside business seem willing to stand up and make the case for public affairs espoused the Times’ commentator Peter Riddell. Lobbying, he argued, in spite of its pejorative image occupies a ‘necessary, even desirable part of a pluralist democracy….’

It is against that backdrop that I am pleased to announce that Ellwood and Atfield is taking a leading role in a major new study with the Hansard Society called ‘Lobbying: Friend or Foe?’. This will represent landmark research into the way parliament, public affairs and the media interact and view each other. It will also examine how, going forwards, public affairs can hope to win the battle for hearts and minds.