Public Affairs 5591: Lobbying and Government Relations

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be prepared to engage in various aspects of lobbying as it pertains to a career in the public sector. 

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Recognize the importance of lobbying in a democratic process and describe types of lobbyists, and identify the essential qualities of successful lobbyists.
• Understand what goes into the profession of lobbying and developing a career as a lobbyist.
• Explain the legislative process and be able to track a bill.
• Identify and research a public policy issue.
• Develop an advocacy agenda/goals and develop strategies for advancing them.
• Perform a stakeholder analysis and implement an advocacy strategy, including key communication pieces (correspondence, press material, persuasive talking points, public testimony, etc.).
• Understand negotiation tactics and implement them along with persuasive communications in advancing an advocacy strategy;
• Appreciate and discuss the financial impacts of PAC/campaign contributions and regulations on lobbyists and advocacy issues;
• Recognize the importance of the state budget bill, from a financial funding standpoint as well as a vehicle for policy changes.
• Describe actions effective lobbyists take after a bill becomes a law.

Texts may be required for this course. Consult your instructor's syllabus for details.

• Class Participation & Exercises (15 points)
  1. Class Participation (7 points of the 15 points)
  2. In-Class Exercises & Team Assignments (8 points of the 15 points)
• Current Affairs Assignment (5 points)
• Lobbyist Interview Paper (15 points)
• Quiz (15 points) & Final Exam (20 points)
• Lobbying Campaign (30 points)

Class Participation
Class participation is an important learning tool as well as one of the best and most reliable ways that you can demonstrate your understanding of the ideas and information presented in class, along with your ability to apply them to real situations. 

The following criteria will be used to assess in-class participation.  Effective class contribution entails providing good answers to questions.  Good answers to questions indicate that you are actively listening to others and are providing comments relevant to the ongoing discussions.  Relevant comments add to our understanding of the underlying conceptual material, challenge and clarify the ideas expressed by others, integrate material from past classes or other courses, and show evidence of analysis rather than mere option or “gut feeling.”  Excellent responses demonstrate that you have thought deeply about the material and can develop creative and innovative insights through this analytic effort. 

On the other hand, effective class contribution does not entail faking answers, monopolizing airtime, ignoring the contributions of others, repeating facts or statements from the readings without analysis. 

Please treat all guest speakers/lecturers with respect as well as your classmates. You may debate on policy and processes but no personal attacks please. Should the latter occur, the instructor will subtract class participation points. Let’s maintain a supportive learning community where people can disagree amicably.

In-Class Exercises & Team Assignments
For most classes students will be asked to work in groups to complete an in-class assignment. The in-class assignment is designed to provide an opportunity for students to apply the concepts, tools, and techniques from each week’s lecture, readings, and guest speakers.  Assignments are geared toward practical, real-world activities/documents that lobbyists engage in during their day-to-day work.  Students will receive one point for each assignment that is submitted during class time.  However, to receive credit, the assignment needs to demonstrate that the student spent adequate time developing the response and has an understanding of the readings and lecture topics. 

Each week a few students will be chosen to lead a discussion on a current policy issue based on a relevant news article, video, blog post, policy, regulation, or bill that is provided by the instructor.  Students will be expected to briefly summarize the policy topic and lead the class discussion on potential lobby interest(s) that may be influencing the issue, and how it relates to class readings or guest speakers. While each student will be graded for the policy discussion they lead, the entire class should be prepared each week to discuss the relevant topics. Students should prepare a short PowerPoint/visual presentation with 3-5 slides to explain the policy issue, denote how it ties into class readings or guest speakers and pose 2-3 questions to stimulate and lead class discussion.

Understanding the profession of lobbying by talking with a lobbyist first hand will provide students with insights into the essential qualities of effective lobbyists, challenges they face, skills they use to establish their expertise and build their careers, etc. For this assignment, students are to conduct an interview in person or by phone with a registered lobbyist. Questions can be similar to those posed by Beth Leech in her book Lobbyists at Work. The paper shall generally transcribe the interview, in whole or in part, and summarize the insight the student gained. The paper shall be 5-6 pages for undergraduates and 7-9 pages for graduate students.

One quiz and a final exam will be given on course lectures, readings and guest topics. We will cover most of the quiz and exam material in lecture, but the exam may cover readings not discussed in class. If you participate in class and complete the reading assignments, you should be prepared. The quiz will be given in class. The final exam will be a take home test that is to be done independently – not in a collaborative fashion with classmates; the final will be cumulative and cover material from the entire course. The final exam is to be submitted electronically by the end of the time period scheduled for our course exam.

You and a classmate or two, depending on class size, will form a lobbying team. Your lobbying team will choose a current or recent Ohio policy issue and/or legislation. The instructor will provide a list of possible topics for your consideration, though, you may select a topic not on the list, as long as it is approved by the instructor. Lobbying affects public policy every day. It would be difficult to find a policy subject, profession or law that has not been affected by a lobbying interest.

The below assignments are designed to give you time in class to work with your team (although you will need to work outside of class as well) to develop and refine your final presentations.

Issue Briefing Paper
This is the first step in developing a lobbying campaign. This assignment requires you and your teammate to provide a comprehensive analysis of a current policy issue. The Brief should be 2-3 pages. Please keep this paper concise and easy to read. 

Prepare an Issue Brief with the following components:

• A summary of the policy issue and/or legislation, including the intended outcomes/goals. Articulate the vision and goal(s) for the public policy work.
• The current status of the policy issue in the legislative and/or administrative process.
• A historical background on the policy subject from your perspective with an understanding of the lobbying efforts that have been used to shape the policy subject to date.
• A stakeholder analysis that includes the likely supporters and opponents and an assessment of each stakeholders’ ability to influence the process.

Campaign/Lobbying Plan
Lobbyists often find themselves working with colleagues, other lobbyists, competitors, coalitions and/or interest groups on policy matters. This assignment requires you and your teammate to think and prepare a policy briefing and strategy as if you’re lobbyists briefing an organization, association, or corporation attempting to influence legislation. This exercise is to demonstrate that you understand the components of a lobbying campaign, strategy, and tools discussed in class.

Prepare a Campaign/Lobbying Plan with the following components:

• Develop a campaign/lobbying plan with strategies and tactics designed to influence a policy decision (support or opposition).  Your plan should include recommendations for lobbying strategies including targeting arenas of influence as well as the use of tactics such as a grassroots plan/public relations that your team could utilize to support your view. Examples of a strategic plan, strategies and tactics will be given in class.  This exercise is designed to illustrate that you understand the components of a lobbying campaign, strategy, or tools discussed in class. (6-8 pages)
• Develop Strategic Messaging Talking Points that support your position.  You will need to develop talking points targeted at both decisions makers (i.e., legislators, the Administration, etc.) as well as the general public. In addition to developing talking points, please include a short explanation of why you selected these particular talking points. This exercise is designed to illustrate that you understand and are able to carefully craft your message for different audiences. (1-2 pages)

Written Testimony
Write testimony, no longer than two pages, on your policy topic to a legislative committee/body or executive official notifying them of a position, interest, concern, or support. Make the paper persuasive yet accurate in depicting the issue.

Persuasive-Defensive Presentation with Supporting Interview
Your lobbying team will present a persuasive argument on your topic to the class. Your team should be prepared to defend your position to the instructor and the class. Your presentation should include an overview of the policy issue and a brief stakeholder analysis.  In addition, it should highlight strategies and tactics discussed in your briefing paper that will assist you in your lobbying efforts.

Also, each member of the team is required to interview a stakeholder involved with the policy topic (i.e. two interviews per team). The interview should be sourced and incorporated within the presentation.

Lobbyists’ styles often reflect their personalities. Some lobbyists come armed with facts and others with analogies and presentation. There is no one-way to lobby or present your case. Be creative, unique, have fun, and try something different with your subjects, interviews, and presentations.

The presentation should be approximately 15 minutes before Q & A. Points will be assessed as follows: 5 points for knowledge and content of your subject, strategies, tactics and interview; 5 points for your creativity/presentation style and ability to defend your position.