A Foot in the Door: Leveraging Government Relations Lisa Turnbull and Elizabeth Oakley Toronto and Region Conservation November 16, 2016

Transcription

1 A Foot in the Door: Leveraging Government Relations Lisa Turnbull and Elizabeth Oakley Toronto and Region Conservation November 16, 2016

2

3 What is Government Relations The process of influencing public and government policy at all levels: locally, provincially and federally Involves the advocacy of an organization /interest that could be affected by the decisions/policies of government leaders

4

5 Why does it Matter? To state the obvious good government relations: Build relationships by creating recognition and familiarity between parties Forge understanding of both government and an organization s inner workings Help to get earmarked for program funding

6 Worse Case Scenario What if your organization DOES NOT have a government relations committee? Your organization s goals can t be fully met You have no say in legislation affecting your organization Your organization becomes a spectator rather than a participant in policy making

7 TRCA StaffCollab Model What is the StaffCollab? Internal networking and decision-making framework It does not replace existing organizational structures. It complements them by providing new opportunities for cross divisional collaboration. The key elements of this Framework are Exploratory Working Groups, Project Working Groups, Standing Committees, and the Strategy Committees. Each group will includes staff from several, and in some cases all, TRCA divisions. Why is TRCA doing this? This framework is designed to make TRCA as effective as possible, and to give every employee new opportunities to enrich their working experience. In surveys, staff have consistently requested opportunities to participate in cross-divisional initiatives. This framework will develop TRCA into a strongly networked, innovative, organization in which decision-making is distributed and cross-divisional.

8 Standing Committees What is a Standing Committee? Permanent committees established by the Strategy Committee to provide oversight and guidance on corporate level operations pertaining to one area of activity. Corporate level operational decision making is delegated to the Standing Committee by the Strategy Committee. All permanent fulltime TRCA staff member were eligible to apply to sit on as many Standing Committees as they choose. Applicants will be assessed by the Strategy Committee and selected on merit. All Standing Committees must have representation from every TRCA division, and must include two junior staff. Standing Committees have an Executive Sponsor and elect both a Chair and Vice Chair.

9 A Brief History of TRCA Dealings with Government Prior to 2016, TRCA s interaction with government officials was done on an ad hoc basis Different divisions weren t necessarily aware of meetings with government officials, the purpose, the players, or the outcomes On occasion, the lack of tools and awareness caused duplication of asks and/or confusion Efforts were not strategic and messaging was not clear or targeted.

10 Government Relations Standing Committee VISION STATEMENT OF THE COMMITTEE To create new mechanisms and new opportunities to enable TRCA to be more effective, strategic and successful in the ways in which we develop relationships with Federal and Provincial elected officials to support corporate strategic priorities, strengthen our profile, and make TRCA an authoritative voice to senior government officials on local environmental issues.

11 Mission Statement The committee will achieve their vision, by: Reviewing Federal and Provincial mandate letters, budget bills and agendas to identify opportunities and ways to improve engagement with Federal and Provincial elected officials; Working with senior TRCA staff to identify TRCA s top 10 unfunded priorities; Developing and establishing a Government Relations Strategy and program that supports strategic priorities and: ensures TRCA government messaging is consistent and coordinated across the organization, details a coordinated plan to engage government officials to support TRCA programs (align government priorities to TRCA program areas), provides a methodology to prioritize engagement efforts, provides policies, procedure and tools for staff to use to engage Federal and Provincial elected officials (ensure the messaging is coordinated and consistent), creates a metrics to determine progress and successes; Recommending and facilitating the development of a tracking and monitoring mechanism to help TRCA keep up with the changing political landscape and provide guidance on how TRCA can best engage government in a strategic and coordinated way; and Developing corporate communication pieces that target the interests of Federal and Provincial elected officials and assist staff in having professional, strategic engagement.

12 Action Teams Actions Teams were created to support the high level goals of the committee. High Level Goal #1: Improve engagement of senior elected officials in TRCA programs, services and activities, with an emphasis on supporting corporate strategic priorities. GOVERNMENT RELATIONS STRATEGY ACTION TEAM High Level Goal # 2: Create and roll out corporately tools and information management systems to enable TRCA government messaging to be consistent and coordinated across the organization. TOOLS AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT ACTION TEAM High Level Goal #3: Create and roll out communications materials that ensure TRCA government messaging is concise, consistent and coordinated across the organization. COMMUNICATIONS ACTION TEAM

13 Key Deliverables for 2016 Completion of a Strategic Framework Government Relations Strategy Action Team Consult with key internal stakeholders to compile a list of 10 underfunded priorities and three policy gaps Consult with other agencies that have undertaken a Government Relations Strategy to help inform TRCA's framework moving forward Complete the framework for TRCA's Government Relations Strategy Review of the updated Lobbying Act Complete Government Relations Strategy document Tools and Information Management Action Team Determine whether the CRM is the best tool to track interaction Integration with other databases like Contact Manager Develop parameters for Government Relations CRM Module Regular summary of action in the database for when attending meetings Develop Government Relations calendar to track all meetings with MPP s & MP s Training on new system

14 Key Deliverables for 2016 Communications Action Team Undertake consultation with Federal and Provincial staff to determine key format and inclusions for communications materials Developing a communications kit Following initiatives like Crombie Report & CA Act Review Track political representation at events Undertaking Lunch and Learns to disseminate information to staff Other Coordination of meetings with all MPP s in TRCA s jurisdiction regarding the CA Act Targeted meetings with the Scarborough waterfront MPP s regarding planning initiatives

15 TRCA Government Relations Toolkit Database Created to act as repository of government officials contact information, dates of interaction, discussion topics, outcomes, etc. Information Kits Featuring GIS produced maps of ridings, Environics data and TRCA-at-a-glance information

16 Sample Database Page

17

18 Database Categories MP or MPP basic contact information Riding, website URL Parliamentary history, riding priorities Dates of interaction with TRCA staff Pre-parliament background Social media handles Recent riding announcements

19 Sample GIS Riding Map

20 Sample Environics Information

21 Riding Information Map boundaries, population and age breakdown, amount of greenspace, TRCA project sites, etc. Environics population, number and size of households, education, income, employment type, mother tongue, immigration status, commuting information, etc.

22 What is Next? Corporate Government Relations Strategy will be rolled out to help guide engagement of Federal and Provincial elected officials Government Relations Committee will provide training on the new database through Lunch and Learn sessions for all staff Completion of meetings with MPPs and garner feedback on tools provided in the first draft of the information kits to further refine All tools and communications will not remain static periodic review of mandate letters, budget bills and government agendas will help refine content and show alignments with corporate strategic priorities.

23 Questions, Thoughts or Epiphanies? Thank You.