Get research papers to support you

I noticed that a lot of groups who are lobbying for legislation today tend to just keep on calling to follow-up on the status of their regulation.

Lobbying for a law is like running a campaign where the goal is to win the hearts of the constituency that will push and approve it.

More than just a talk, an important component for legislative lobbying, as I mentioned in my lessons learned, is research. This would include:

• Research how countries have adopted the legislation and made progress with it. If your country will not have one in the near future, how will it lag behind and affect competitiveness.
• Research the opportunities and risks, with case studies, to demonstrate the importance of the legislation.
• Publish a primer, print or blog, that can be circulated to as many groups and individuals as possible to support the advocacy process.

Research such as this can also provide strong support or basis for the creation of a position paper to push for the passage of a legislation. It is ideal to be collaborating with a legislator at this stage and get their inputs on what information they shall need.

Only those who are willing to do the above will stand a chance to get notice and be taken for seriously for the legislation they are pushing for. Otherwise, it shall be treated as one of the many pending bills being advocated for but no strong and serious commitment to make it happen.