Affaires Publiques Positives® (Positive Public Affairs®)

Faced with the expectations political decision-makers have of companies in the public decision-making process, companies have everything to gain by engaging in resolutely Positive Public Affairs - i.e., based on a contribution approach and a method of expertise - in order to inspire public decision-making, rather than being subjected to it, and to become essential partners of public authorities.
The Covid19 crisis revealed the return of the state to the heart of corporate (over)life. Public authorities need to quickly identify proven solutions that are directly operational in the field.
Public authorities now expect companies to make a commitment to society and to their local communities. The positive impact of companies has now become a strategic imperative, enabling them to get their message across more effectively, gain legitimacy and become a key partner for public authorities.
Only companies committed to making a positive impact on society will be identified by public authorities as privileged partners in public decision-making. Companies therefore have everything to gain by engaging in resolutely Positive Public Affairs - i.e., based on a contribution approach and a method of expertise - to best advocate their positions.
Do you need support in your relations with public authorities? Are you anticipating or experiencing an institutional crisis? Would you like to make your voice heard more effectively by the State, Parliament and local authorities? WEMEAN can support you in your public affairs strategy with adaptable and flexible programs.

A new factory
for public decision-making

The Covid19 crisis marked the return of the state to the heart of corporate life, between strong political regulation, public interventionism and policy planning in the general interest.

Public authorities need to quickly identify tried and tested solutions that work directly in the field To achieve this, national and local elected representatives and public authorities are increasingly turning to the expertise of companies, the ideas of their managers and the know-how of their teams.

Rooted in their local area, companies are the ones who know best the needs, opportunities to be created and obstacles to be overcome on the ground.n: their feedback from the field has become invaluable to public authorities, whose projects are ambitious but whose human and financial resources are modest.

We co-construct our action plans with companies in return for commitments on their part.

Thomas Courbe, Director General of Enterprises - Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Recovery (Acteurs Publics - Interview of November 15, 2019)

Positive impact:
a condition for institutional impact

Because of the human, financial, economic, social, environmental and territorial impact of companies in our country, public authorities expect companies to make a commitment and contribute resolutely to the advancement of society and local communities.

This impact must therefore be positive.f: i.e. lasting, tangible and measurable in the territories, and capable of creating consensus in an increasingly archipelagic society.

Positive impact has now become a condition of institutional impact with public authorities.s: knowing how to demonstrate your real positive impact helps you get your message heard with empathyto stand out from the competition with legitimacy and become a key partner for public authorities with impact.

What's at stake here is the long-term survival of companies and the reason for their existence, not just for not disappearing: the managers who can demonstrate their company's contribution to society and local communities will be the ones who are listened to by the public authorities..

For Positive Public Affairs
®

Our conviction: only companies identified as having a positive impact on society will be considered by public authorities as privileged partners in public decision-making.

Companies therefore have everything to gain by engaging in Positive Public Affairs ® - that is committed in a solutions-oriented approach, based on a positivist method ofexpertise and adopting anethics - to make the best case for their proposals and make themselves indispensable to national and local public authorities.

By contributing to public policy through the transmission of proven solutions and the evaluation of their medium-term impact, so as to be identified as a partner in public decision-making.

Example: better assert the company's position, by assessing the impact of a legal standard in a given territory to identify the obstacles to be overcome and the opportunities to be accelerated.

By providing tangible proof and passing on feedback from the regions where the company is based, to be identified as a key reference for its issues.

Example: support each position put forward by the company with tangible, expert and budgeted evidence.

Through a method of transparency and continuous information to public authorities, as well as open consultation with stakeholders and civil society, to be considered, in crises as in calm times, as a legitimate interlocutor to plead its positions to public authorities.

Example: publish your arguments and data, and keep your contacts informed as you go along, so as to better alert them and benefit from their support in emergency situations.

Your public affairs needs:
our support programs

 WEMEAN can help you define and activate your public affairs strategy, providing you with solutions, ideas and a professional approach on a daily basis.

Whatever your organization's needs, WEMEAN deploys the full force of its strategic consulting and operational activation capabilities through adaptable, scalable Positive Public Affairs programs.

Programs
Positive Public Affairs

Program 1

Objective:

Synthesize your messages and arguments in written, editorialized documents to convey your positions quickly and clearly to public authorities, in line with the agenda of your contacts (see program 2) and upstream and/or downstream of your meetings (see program 4).

Our support : 

  • Appropriation and synthesis of the company's current and institutional content.
  • In-depth interviews with internal experts. 
  • Editorialization of angles and messages according to the public, political and media agenda.
  • Drafting of position papers in double-sided format, summarizing the company's messages, proposals and arguments.
  • Updating and drafting of all corporate documents on an ongoing basis. 

Our added value:

Our mastery of institutional codes and registers enables us to connect your issues to the expectations of public authorities.

Program 2

Objective:

Anticipate risks and opportunities and analyze institutional ecosystems in order to sequence the organization's institutional interventions and interactions with public authorities.

Our support :

  • On the fly: alerts on your themes, in the event of major risks/opportunities. 
  • Every week: A weekly watch bulletin including (i) a summary of institutional news, governmental and parliamentary activity (Questions to the Government, written and oral questions, hearings, press releases, etc.), (ii) the political agenda for the past week and the coming days, and (ii) analysis and recommendations for action to provide ongoing input for your public affairs strategy. 
  • In case of emergency: a secure hotline where we send you emergency alerts in real time.
  • A private online space: where you can consult all the bulletins, watches and alerts we archive. 

And in concrete terms?

Our added value:

Our expertise in public, legislative and regulatory procedures enables us to anticipate stages, customs and institutional power relations.

Program 3

Objectives for the national consultation :

  • Ask civil society through a CivicTech consultation: conduct a consultation on a public policy issue with civil society, using a CivicTech, to question public opinion, receive feedback from the field and identify concrete ideas and proposals that can be taken to the public authorities.
  • Strengthen its advocacy on a national scale based on the results of the consultation: base an institutional discourse on the method and results of this consultation to embody a dual posture of contributor and watchdog vis-à-vis the public authorities.

=> WEMEAN's CivicTech partner platforms enable nationwide consultations.

Objectives for local consultation / territorial public affairs :

  • Anchoring our activities in local areas: anchor the organization's activities in local areas by creating and developing close working relationships with local, regional, metropolitan and regional elected representatives, as well as decentralized authorities.
  • Securing opportunities with local authorities: develop dialogue with local elected representatives to (i) be identified as a committed local player, (ii) secure the long-term future of our economic activities and (iii) identify working synergies with public authorities.

=> WEMEAN's partner public affairs and economic intelligence platforms enable localized, personalized activation of territorial public affairs strategies.

Our support for national consultations :

  • Kick-off interview to identify the priority topic and issue for the organization
  • Technology activation interview with CivicTech partner
  • Conducting and monitoring consultations
  • Note analyzing the results, identifying and prioritizing the consensus/dissensus that emerged during the consultation.
  • Identification of consensus and results that the organization can bring to the attention of public authorities
  • Interview to validate the themes, messages and institutional proposals to be conveyed by the company

Our support in local consultation and territorial public affairs:

  • Analysis of decentralized ecosystems in the target territory (communes, EPCIs, metropolises, départements and regions)
  • Analysis of deconcentrated ecosystems
  • Analysis of socio-economic ecosystems
  • Identification of institutional and economic risks and opportunities
  • Personalized recommendations for concerted action and territorial public affairs.

Our added value:

  • On national consultation: proven expertise in consultation with civil society and strategies for managing public and institutional debate, through high-level partnerships with Civic Tech.
  • On territorial consultation: expertise in local institutional issues and the expectations of local public authorities, through partnerships with territorial lobbying relays and experts in the French regions.

Program 4

Objective:

Directly advocate your positions to public authorities, covering your entire ecosystem, from the technical to the political, in order to establish and maintain a working relationship, and help you monitor the evolution and application of a public decision as closely as possible. This program can be activated for both current and crisis agendas.

Our support :

  • Identification, solicitation, moderation and follow-up of institutional interviews.
  • Grading of the meeting and activation plan, from the political level (ministerial cabinets, Parliament, etc.) to the technical level (central and decentralized administrations, regulatory authorities, etc.).
  • Drafting of scoping and strategy notes: including biographies, summaries of positions taken and strategic and methodological recommendations (proposed interview schedule, prioritization of arguments, sequencing of exchange/interaction times to be sought with the interviewee).
  • Oral preparation before each interview to review the interview objectives, key messages and the proposed flow of discussions.
  • Evaluation after each interview using a dedicated assessment form.

Our added value:

We provide advice and follow-up throughout the interview activation process, from the request for interviews, their personalized preparation (with recommendations on content, messages and form), through to debriefing and follow-up over time.

Program 5

Objective:

 Identify the golden rules and informal codes of institutional interviews in order to train in real-life conditions, acquire the method for interacting with political decision-makers and ensure that your messages are properly disseminated and understood during interviews.

Method :

Learn tacit rules and codes by training in real-life conditions

  • Introduction to the golden rules of institutional interviewing: tacit rules, informal codes and expected postures. 
  • Presentation of the typology of institutional interviews according to format, level of interlocutor, scale and degree of urgency. 
  • Real-life exercises in the WEMEAN studios with former political practitioners and current public affairs and public speaking consultants. 
  • Video and audio recording of each exercise, followed by debriefings and reports.
  • Proposal for a customized structure for the interview opening / elevator pitch

Our added value:

Previous professional experience in a political environment enables us to meet the expectations of institutional contacts in interview situations.

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