Everything in politics is a cycle or opportunity. There’s an election followed by grant rounds followed by budgets followed by estimates and MYEFO and more – all of which repeats. I love understanding the turning of these cycles – knowing where everything is up to in a timeline gives me comfort because it allows effective planning and goal setting of meaningful objectives, and that also have a good likelihood of being achieved.

Starting the new year for 2023, the cycle of the calendar begins anew and with it an opportunity to consider our goals and priorities for the next twelve months. As a political strategist, I’ve used this time to map out the goals, opportunities, and challenges that will be faced by the sector and how we can overcome them.

We are already keen to leave Oscars slaps, celebrity court cases, and Twitter takeovers behind in 2022 – but what are the big government engagement ‘INs’ and ‘OUTs’ for 2023?

WHAT'S IN?

• Map your organisation’s political footprint and identify your stakeholders

We start the year with a different political landscape. This is the first full year for the SA, VIC, and Federal Governments, complete with redistributions and sometimes changed MPs in seats. If you didn’t get to it last year, it’s time to refresh your stakeholder lists.

• Map your impact in a context government and politicians are interested in

Electorates and ministerial portfolios are the key areas to focus on here. If you can’t report your impact by these two areas, at a minimum, you’re missing 90% of what motivates these stakeholders.

• Develop a plan for what you want to achieve and establish a cadence of engagement

Aspiration without substance and metrics is wasted breath. Set your goals along a timeline, establish the internal milestones for your organisation and match them to the external happenings in the political calendar. Then, get going and start engaging!

 WHAT'S OUT?

• Single points of failure – build your political networks beyond the minister

Networks matter, but more so the depth and extent of them matters most. Politics moves in perpetual motion, and the people in roles does and will continue to change. Don’t fall behind by waiting too late to engage beyond the minister; today’s backbencher is tomorrow’s minister, next week’s Prime Minister, next year’s feather duster and so on.

• Push send and pray – sending a letter/proposal/submission and hoping for the best

Advocacy isn’t easy, but it’s the only way issues progress and change happens. A strategy of “push send and pray” has got to go: it’s the wrap-around work that will get you consistent results. Instead, establish what a sustainable engagement cadence looks like for your organisation – and then stick to it. This approach will help you secure more and better outcomes far and above a latent prayer!

• Language that is technical and/or bureaucratic – keep it super simple

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and a place (and typically it’s with the public service) but regurgitating the technical jargon you are immersed in daily to an MP or minister is an exercise in futility. Stop, think through what the core message and impact of your work is, and translate this back through a perspective an MP or minister will understand. Case studies are a good way to bring things back to the ‘real world’.

With 2023 being the year the new federal government really has to establish itself and make its mark to have good prospects for a win at the next election, it’s crucial to begin preparations now to ensure you get the most from the year ahead. Change does happen, but it rarely happens without a plan – what are your government engagement resolutions?