I am sometimes asked why NGOs are so active in lobbying and campaigning. I find it a strange question. My basic response is “why would they not be”?
My second level response is “NGOs use lobbying and political campaigning to deliver policy and legislative change to support their conservation etc. goals”.
In case I am asked the question again, I thought it is about time to write a more elaborate answer.
I’ve worked as a lobbyist and political campaigner for WWF and IFAW. I enjoyed working them to deliver successful lobbying and political campaigns to change EU policy and laws.
WWF and IFAW invested in lobbying because, over the long term, effective lobbying and campaigning works.
Sometimes, you’ll encounter ineffective lobbying and campaigning. That does not work. It does not work in that it does not further your policy and legislative goals. Often, it harms your interests.
If you encounter ineffective lobbying and campaigning, the most painless thing to do is close it down immediately. You can start afresh.
Lobbying and political campaigns are not in the original DNA of most NGOs. When you read the ‘from the beginning genre’ memoirs of many environmental organizations, you’ll see they transitioned into lobbying and campaigning only as a means to deliver their core coals.
Reading the memoirs and speaking to those who were there at the beginning, you’ll see that delivering on your conservation, welfare and environmental goals, may not be possible if the basic laws and policies are designed against you. When you realise that, you start to invest in lobbying and campaigning, and gradually, dedicate a relatively small amount of core funding to deliver changes in law and policy.
Even today, lobbying and political campaigning is a very small part of the work of most conservation and environmental organizations. In my experience, they stick to their core. Indeed, I know of very successful lobbying and campaigning efforts that were dropped by the host NGO because they departed too much from the members’ core interests.
Yet, even if it is an add on, it is taken seriously, with appropriate funding, for the long term. The long-term focus is a key to a lasting influence. Importantly, there is often a conscience decision to invest in the long term by framing the policy debate. This involves bringing policy expertise to the table. This can be a way of employing policy expertise, alongside process experts, commissioning independent reports, putting out high quality analysis, and bringing a flow of world-class experts into meet decision makers and influencers.
This takes money. By my own reckoning, NGOs outspend industry in people hours equivalent lobbying than industry, and often in actual outright spend. As someone who has worked for all sides of the table, this is something that does not escape my attention.
Personally, I don’t think there is much difference between industry or NGO lobbying. They all require policy and process expertise. In my personal experience, NGOs and Industry spend equally too much time on internal dialogue, usually manifest in conference calls. The secret to many successful campaigns is avoiding the inner dialogue and go and work on the coal face.