With 2019 rapidly reaching its end, you’re now inevitably reflecting upon what has been at times an unpredictable year. Although reflection is important, now is the time for your business to focus on 2020 and your plan of attack for what is sure to be another busy year.

At Nexus Public Affairs, we have already begun the process of analysing 2020 from a political lens. You may have already seen our thoughts on the 2020 Parliamentary Calendar which you can read here.

One of the learnings from politics over the last few years is that there are not many quiet periods in politics. Despite this, the beginning of 2020 will present an excellent opportunity for business and industry to realign and affirm their direction for the 2020 political year. It’s also great time to develop a political engagement strategy, which outlines the goals, stakeholders and risks facing your business for the given year.

Given there is this quiet period in the beginning of 2020, businesses may be tempted to wait until after the holiday period to commence the planning of their 2020 political engagement strategy.

Although there is temptation to delay the finalisation of your engagement strategy, this quiet period presents the perfect opportunity for you and your business to approach 2020 on the front foot.

As part of your business’ 2020 political engagement plan, the following should be considered:

  • What are you business’ key goals for 2020?
  • What are your business’ key political stakeholders?
  • What are the regulatory risks facing your business and the broader industry?

To ensure your 2020 engagement plan encompasses all of these aspects it may be best to get feedback from an someone outside the confines of your business.

As you may know, engaging with political stakeholders can be hard task with many nuances that have to be considered to have a successful strategy. Although your internal team is likely to be across a number of the issues, you are likely to be approaching these issues from your company’s point of view.

If your business approaches your 2020 strategy this way, it may not allow you to observe the political dimension of your engagement strategy. Without this, your strategy may lack a level of political realism and could affect the success of your 2020 strategy.

This is where an external public affairs team, such as Nexus Public Affairs, can prove to be a useful asset to your business. In formulating engagement strategies, we have a team with extensive experience within the Parliamentary environment and have connections which can help provide a different perspective to your 2020 plan.

With this external point of view, your business will be able to see the whole picture and your 2020 engagement plan can encompass both your internal goals and the political context in which your business is operating within.

For a confidential chat about your business’ 2020 engagement plan, please don’t hesitate to contact the Nexus team.