These are some practical tips on how to petition decision-makers and/or key role-players:

Engage and Intervene Early: It is usually better to intervene as early as possible in the process of developing policy and laws. By the time an issue is being debated in parliament, within a municipal Council or being finalised in a government department, it is hard to get it changed significantly.

For this reason, it is important for your organisation to regularly check invitations to public hearings in newspapers, and in the media. There are dedicated websites and organisations that alert one to these developments. Examples include the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG). At a local level, it is important to check local papers as regularly as possible.

Research or Data Collection: When government publishes a draft strategy, policy paper, draft regulations or any form of discussion document, you should research the issue properly to be clear about it, and where necessary, collect evidence.

Identify Decision Makers: Analyse who has the power to make decisions on your issue and target your strategies in a very focussed way at specific decision-makers. Remember not everyone will agree with your position. Think how the role-player can benefit from agreeing with you and include this in your arguments.

Realise that your target audience may respond in three ways:

• People who support your position.
• People who neither support your position nor oppose it and who can therefore be persuaded to support you (those who ‘sit on the fence’, or are undecided).
• People who are against you.

In order for your cause/issue to be heard, every effort needs to be made to ensure that decision-makers thoroughly discuss your concerns and do not simply see you as an opponent.

It is important that those who support your cause all agree on the same way forward so that you do not cause confusion among decion-makers. This requires time, patience and lots of communication.

Be Clear About Your Agenda and goals: Only use advocacy and lobbying that will address issues that have jointly been identified as core matters to improve the quality of life of the community, or interests of the group. Ensure that your arguments are tight and clear, and where possible, provide evidence to support your case.

Be clear about your issue and plan your own alternative, or compromise position. Make sure you have thought through all the options. Know what it is that you want. For example, do you want a parliamentary committee to investigate why a government department has not done a certain job, are you asking for a law to be amended, or a by-law or regulation to be scrapped?

This will form the basis of your submission to government, your media campaign, your representations to individual ministers or government officials and your networking with other organisations. It is important to –

• Know your issue (don’t confuse by raising too many issues)
• Know your position
• Decide what you want to get out of the visit for example, a commitment to vote for your issue, to provide information only
• Keep it simple
• Make recommendations to solve the situation, rather than only describe the challenge or problem at length
• If it is a group visit, decide who will start the discussion and put your agenda on the table
• Seek endorsements from networks or organisations that support your position and or submission, bring people from the affected community to also speak
• Only after engaging with the decision-makers, share the entire submission with the media

Propose Solutions: Propose to committee members or government officials a solution that can work. Avoid threats or aggressive language.

Prepare for Resistance and Opposition: Analyse the opposition’s position (to your issue) and develop counterarguments. Often arguments of affordability and resources are used to counter your submission. Make sure that you have sufficient evidence to motivate why additional resources are required to meet your request/demands.

If additional resources are required, or amendments to existing legislation are proposed, try to get professional advice on legal and cost issues.

Listen Well: When making your submission:

• Look for opportunities to provide good information.
• Ask questions to get a better understanding.
• Know your issue but don’t feel you have to have all the answers. Admit when you do not know something.
• Share opinions and concerns of other people in your community.
• Find out how much time you have been allocated for your submission or presentation – and aim to complete it in a shorter time. Often programmes run late, or sudden changes are introduced.
• Take enough copies of your presentation for everyone present.
• Establish who will be presenting to the committee/decision-makers before or after you, if your submission is part of public hearings.
• Make sure beforehand that the time, venue and date have not changed.
• Always assess afterwards what worked well, what may require more work and what your future strategies are.

Never Use Blackmail: Using blackmail, gifts or bribery to persuade someone to take certain action is corruption and unethical behaviour, not lobbying.

Don’t Be Aggressive: Don’t be argumentative or confrontational and don’t get involved in mud-slinging. Be open to counter-arguments, but don’t get stuck on them. Attack with correct facts but avoid personal attacks or insulting slogans. Treat everyone with respect.

Build, Don’t Damage Working Relationships: If the person has supported you in the past then acknowledge them and your appreciation of their support. If they haven’t supported you in the past, they may well do so in the future so don’t turn them into a permanent enemy. Your response might stop them becoming active opponents.

Get Commitment and Support: Try and get a commitment from the person, for example, a written declaration or a public statement, if it is within their powers to do so. If you are unable to get a commitment and the conversation isn’t going anywhere, thank the person and say that you would like to continue the discussion at another time.

Follow-Up: After the meeting, if appropriate, send a thank-you note to all in attendance, or to the chairperson of the committee. If commitments were made in the meeting, repeat your understanding of them. If staff members were present, thank and write to the administration too.

Lobby All Target-Groups / Relevant Authorities: Don’t only lobby one department or entity on an issue. Identify the target role-players supporters, allies, opponents and include all of them. For example, an environmental health matter may require engagement with the provincial health department, the municipal environment health department and the agency responsible for refuse collection, as a start. You should also lobby all political groups, not just the majority party.

Consolidate and Build Your Lobby Group: Analyse which individuals and organisations can influence the decision-makers and/or role-players and try to mobilise them to support your issue. Never lobby alone. People with political power are usually more sensitive to lobbying action which represents their voters.

Brief All Role-Players: Keep other stakeholders informed about what is happening and the outcome of any lobbying action. Use meetings, regular emails, newsletter, SMS’s, phone calls and other social media networks.