Are you considering diversifying into the Public Sector?

Have you been getting your share of Local Authority business?

Have you been previously unsuccessful with Public Sector applications?

Are you unsure where to begin or don't know what's involved?

This workshop is specifically designed for the small and medium sized enterprise, and will provide you with...

• The tools and techniques to greatly improve your chances of winning bids.
• A strategy for selecting the right contracts to bid for.
• An understanding of the bid process and how to exploit it to your advantage.
• Techniques by which you will be invited to tender for Local Authority work.

Thus ensuring...
You win contracts effectively and are crucial steps ahead of your competitors.

PRIVATE SECTOR

This is where the Private Sector sets out to meet with the Public Sector, finding ways of influencing, building partnerships, sell services and improve business where political obstacles get in the way. Our knowledge of public sector procurement issues is second to none and our breadth of research and capability training in this area will be a major resource to those seriously aiming to sell to public in all its forms.

Our approach is simple and straightforward asking fundamental questions – what do you want for your organisation. We work to a given formula: Where are we now – Where do we want to be – How do we get there – How do we demonstrate progress

• Political monitoring
• Political surveying and mapping
• Communications auditing
• Government and political relations
• Political monitoring, media and information
• Regulatory advice
• Reputation management
• Crisis management
• Campaigning, Lobbying and coalition building
• Event organisation
• Local political project management
• Select Committee preparation
• Training
• The European perspective

We will then develop advice on how to look after your interests and determine the real agenda behind the issue raised.

POLITICAL SURVEYING AND MAPPING
How are you seen by your target audience, be it government or a wider stakeholder group?

Our services include:

• Stakeholder mapping
• Stakeholder audit
• Reputation studies
• Perceptions audit
• face to face surveys with key audiences
  
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COMMUNICATIONS AUDITING
On many occasions people assume they know how the outside world sees them, but they may not have the full story. The result may be that they take the wrong approach, talk to the wrong people, take an ineffective approach, put the wrong things on the agenda. Our services aim to focus you in the right direction taking the best actions.

• We will advise on your external communications
• Internal communications
• Look at your key opinion former networks
• Help you build political networks
  
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GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL RELATIONS
Our approach is always to work in partnership with clients in order to ensure that their efforts are targeted on the appropriate audience. We check that clients have all the background knowledge they need and advise them on what to say and how to say it - to whom and when. We work with the client in developing briefing documents and constructing detailed information.

We support this with

• Policy research and analysis
• Stakeholder and policy audits
• Strategic advice
• Procedural advice
• Procurement advice
• Network building
• Understanding legislative processes
• Select Committee preparation
• Profile enhancement
• Media management and analysis
• Message management
• Conference and event management
• Speech and presentation preparation
• Team skills building
• Monitoring and progress assessment

Politicians are very sensitive to the media and need to know that a particular issue has wide public support so that they can reap political benefit. Our campagning activities include;

• Creating public relations opportuniies
• Advertising
• Internet, Blog sites, email distribution, web sites
• Opinion polling
• Direct Mail
• Round Table opportunities and conferences

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POLITICAL MONITORING, GATHERING NEWS AND INFORMATION
A vital part of any activity is knowing what is going on within your target audience and the area in which you need to influence. We will work with you in building;

• A knowledge bank from which to draw up plans
• Updates on current thinking as it affects you
• Press cuttings service to follow trends and emerging news

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REGULATORY ADVICE
Everyone is subject to legislation across all business sectors. This ranges across environmental issues to grass roots business development such as mergers and aquisitions, planning and other such issues. We will bring together partners with specialised experience in to pick through the issues that affect you and from that we will indicate key targets to influence such as Members of Parliament, Ministers, Civil Servants and other stakeholders.

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REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
Part of the perception of your company and the all the elements that go together to create an image and a reputation are critical parts of your business collateral. The power of perception is a very real and tangible one, it can wipe way your ability to influence or it can make the whole process faster and smoother.

Reputation affects profitability as well as the level of influence you can exert. We will help clients develop and communicate key messages in order to protect or augment their reputations and build strong releationships with their stakeholders.

We advice on Corporate Social Responsibility. many companies run, help or otherwise fund initiatives in their communities (just as we do, see - www.smallbusinessambassadors.co.uk). Some choose to work with charities; however opinion formers need to understand the aims of those actions.

We will work with you in identifying potential social and community activities and to assess their merit. We will then promote your activities in relevant areas.

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CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Any organisation should have a crisis plan in place, whether it is in defence of a physical disaster or one generated by a political or public relations incident.
The impact on a company’s profits and viability can be disastrous, a reputation, once irretrievably damaged can leave a business fatally flawed.
With our long experience in both public relations and political lobbying we are able to formulate methods of communicating in a speedy and effective manner.

We can take clients through a process of crisis preparation bringing together expertise to solve potential scenarios and to test the strengths and weaknesses of the company’s internal and external communications.

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CAMPAIGNING, LOBBYING AND
COALITION BUILDING
The need for campaigning in order to influence decision makers across all sectors of government has not lessened as more and more regulation has grown.

Using the media in shaping debate is a powerful but sensitive tool that needs careful and appropriate handling. The information society now seeks its knowledge from a wide variety of sources and stimuli, all of which need to be understood and brought into play in an appropriate manner.

Government is well attuned to public relations techniques and suspicious of overtly slick presentations. The Civil Servants will evaluate the content of any argument put to them ad we ensure that this is evidence based and supported by facts.

Our services include:

• Arrange and manage campaign plans based on strategies developed through evidence gathering and the creation of networks, partners and coalitions of interested parties.
• We have been very successful in developing commercial entities in this way, and understand the need for the optimum ‘Glue’ to hold it all together.
• With long experience working in a grass roots organisation, we can instinctively take effective action bringing in to play local people, employees, organisations and community groups to work for particular aims.
• We utilise all forms of media to implement campaign activities drawing on our long experience in commercial public relations and media activity.
• We have a track record in building coalitions, partnerships, consortia to develop various initiatives and commercial enterprises.
  
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EVENT MANAGEMENT
Put simply, we have a very long track record in creating events of all shapes and sizes, whether small groups for focus meetings, or large audiences for conferences accommodating break-out sessions, and more. Our services include;

• Venue finding and preparation
• Facilitation
• Preparation of presentation material, backdrops, staging, IT facilities
• Invitee management
• Associated media management (editorial invites and copy preparation, media packs production)
• Preparation and production of leaflets, flyers, programmes, web support, photography

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LOCAL POLITICAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT
With increasing public/private sector mechanisms being used to deliver local public services and projects, it is critical that suppliers and contractors are aware of political thinking and the different pressures that working in these projects may affect them.

We speak from practical experiece both in delivering joint initiatives, working in public/private partnerships and an in-depth understanding of public sector procurement issues working with local government officials and politicians and MPs alike.

We will assist you by;

• Analysing the political minefelds you have to be aware of
• Help you build appropriate linkages to protect your project
• Bring you face to face with problem areas and seek resolution
• Work with you in bid writing

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SELECT COMMITTEE PREPARATION
When you have been through the process a number of times it does not seem as daunting. We have both presented 'evidence' to select committees and chaired them, our experience therefore being broad and based on personal knowledge of the process from all sides.

It is vital that when givng evidence you are well prepared, your facts concise, your thoughts marshalled and your presentation clear.

We will take you through those factors and further assess what questions might be put, the most effective answers to give and how you relate to the composition of the committee.

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TRAINING
We have been through the processes ourselves and put them into practice. To be more effective in supporting clients, we have always taken the view that preparation is a fundamental requirement so that we are all working on the same wavelength. As members of for example The Hansard Society, we have established relationships with others to enhance our knowledge and to bring other viewpoints and anecdotes to support your development. We will take you through areas such as;

• On camera interview
• Rado interview
• Interview techniques
• Meeting journalists
• Answer the question you want not what they want
• Public speaking and how to present yourself
• What makes a journalist tick, what are editors loking for
• Lobbying processes and techniques (TOP OF PAGE)
  
  

THE EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE
We have established contacts and partners based in Brussels and are no strangers to the workings of the EU Parliament and Commission. We have worked on policies and issues with a wide range of MEPs and senior civil servants within a number of Directorates. Indeed our reach has travelled as far as interviewing the President of the Parliament. (TOP OF PAGE)