Introduction

Being a great neighbour and an excellent citizen is good for business. Research into the reasons why change initiatives fail has revealed that the most common cause is failing to take account of all those affected by or who can affect the desired change. If your local community or government opposes you, it makes success unlikely. For this reason – if no other, any organisation should take these relationships very seriously. This KC Academy training course on Community and Government Relations is a comprehensive grounding in the discipline of key stakeholder relations.

Every organisation needs to interact with governments and government agencies locally, nationally, regionally and to build successful relations with its neighbours – the local communities affecting all of their activities. To achieve this you need policy, an action programme, intelligence gathering and analysis, leadership, communication and successful advocacy.  Our exciting training course enables every participant to understand how to influence, share information and foster mutually beneficial relationships within a strategic framework.

This training course will highlight the following key topics:

• The dynamics of government and community relations
• Research, analysis and stakeholder mapping techniques
• Developing strategy and policy
• Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental, Social and Governance
• Developing transparency and trust

Objectives

By the end of this training seminar, you will be able to:

• Audit your government connections and interests
• Create a map of your community stakeholders
• Develop an intelligence network for government and community activities
• Engage all in your organisation who deal with government and/or the community
• Measure the impact of your programme and use this information to continually improve

Training Methodology

This training course encourages delegate participation through a combination of lectures, peer-to-peer activities, group discussion, practical exercises, case studies, video clips, and breakout sessions designed to reinforce new skills. The course design includes ample opportunity for discussion of your own key interests with tutor feedback, mentoring and support.

Organisational Impact

Major benefits to the organisation include:

• Consistent government and community relations strategy
• Improved control of relationships with government agencies and community stakeholders
• Valuable intelligence and analytical capability
• Establishing effective networks of influence
• Improved measurement and reporting
• Greater control of government and community impacts

Personal Impact

Participants will gain the following benefits:

• Improved forecasting and planning ability
• Enhanced communication abilities
• Greater self-confidence
• Increased personal influence and negotiating skills
• Enhanced strategic goal setting ability
• Increased capacity to network and form alliances

Who Should Attend?

This training course is for anyone who desires to expand their expertise in government and community relations best practices, policies and procedures. Delegates do not require any previous political experience to benefit from this training course.

This training course is suitable to a wide range of professionals, but will especially benefit:

• Strategy Development Professionals
• Public Relations Practitioners
• Marketing Managers
• Senior Executives
• Service and customer relations staff

Course Outline

Day 1 

Government Relations

• A comprehensive introduction into the discipline of public affairs.
• Monitoring, researching and mapping your government relationships
• Mapping the contacts of your staff, board and other close stakeholders
• Building your reputation with government officials, politicians and experts
• Being a good corporate citizen and building influence
• How can legislation be anticipated and/or influenced?

Day 2

 Community Relations

• Which are your communities and why are they important?
• Identifying issues – both positive and negative
• Stakeholder mapping
• Supporting community causes
• Getting staff involved and engaged
• Online communities

Day 3

 Developing Advocacy

• Political and social advocacy
• The principles of being a good neighbour and good citizen
• Relationship building, trust and neurosciences
• Stakeholder engagement and the role of influencers
• Build successful advocacy campaigns
• Lobbying

Day 4

 Risk, Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility

• Research and coordination
• Political monitoring.
• Stakeholder Risk Analysis – A Structured Process
• Your CSR and ESG profiles
• Sustainability and environmental concern
• International Standards for reporting

Day 5

 Strategic Planning 

• What is strategy and why is it important?
• SMART goal setting
• Integrating Short and Long-term Programmes and Projects
• Strategic Planning Frameworks
• Engaging briefing and training your spokespeople
• Measuring effectiveness