Government Relations and Lobbying

Strategic Planning

Capitol Insights Group provides strategic planning to clients regarding their relationship with current laws and regulations as well as developing strategies for the creation and passage of legislation and administrative rules that will benefit clients and developing strategies to convince decision makers not to support laws and regulations that will hinder the success of clients.

Strategic planning includes all aspects of an issue from an analysis of what the impact of a new law or rule will have on the client, what decision makers and interest groups support the law or rule and what decision makers and interest groups oppose the implementation of the law or rule. In addition to an analysis of the issues a cost/benefit analysis is prepared for the client so they may choose the plan that best addresses their needs.

Message Development / Communication Strategy

Message development and communication strategy is critical to any project. Who are we attempting to inform? What do we want to tell them? Where do they get their information? What is the other side telling them? Is the other side's information accurate and if not, what is the best way to provide decision maker's with reliable information?

With the advent of social media fewer and fewer decision makers pick up the daily newspaper to gather information. The internet provides hundreds of thousands of bits and pieces on every topic imaginable, many are accurate but some are subjective and can influence decision makers if they are unable to find contradictory sources.

The message must be clear and concise; "House Bill 1234 is bad for business and bad for the environment because of X, Y, and Z." The conclusion must be backed by objective, third party information and have a strong voice to consistently deliver the message. We are that voice. Our years of experience gathering information, creating a message, delivering the message via multiple outlets as well as testifying before House and Senate Committees as well as administrative agencies make us uniquely qualified to represent clients.

Coalition Building / Grass Roots Organizing

Once a strategic plan has been developed and the message is being delivered it many times includes building a coalition of like-minded entities and reaching out to the "grass roots" to deliver the message in a more personal way. Legislators are more likely to lend an ear to their constituents on an issue than they are to a "hired gun". Identifying a legislator's sphere of influence and finding likeminded citizens within that sphere and recruiting them to the cause brings additional credibility to the message and, increases the likelihood of success. Any success in the government arena is a blend of strategy, communicating a message and having support from as many sources as possible.