Public Risk Assessment — Fortune 50 Company

The situation

A leading computer systems company realized that its government relations efforts were not being leveraged to their fullest potential. Senior management engaged Public Strategies to conduct its proprietary Public Risk Assessment™ in order to analyze the company's government relations infrastructure, assess how its government relations strategy affected overall corporate objectives, and evaluate stakeholder perceptions of the company's federal position.

Public Strategies' solution

Public Strategies performed extensive research, including a comprehensive review of news articles, industry trade journals, and political publications. It also conducted a series of in depth interviews with key stakeholders and opinion leaders, including employees, trade association representatives, and federal, state, and local policymakers and their staffs.

• Public Strategies' research revealed that the connection between the client's government relations team and the rest of the company was tenuous, and communications between them were inconsistent.

• Public Strategies' recommendations included creating a public policy business unit within the company, led by a full-time senior-level executive; expanding the client's Washington, D.C., team; requiring the government relations team to develop a business plan; enhancing communications between the team and the rest of the company; and establishing a Public Policy Committee within the client's Board of Directors.

• Public Strategies' research revealed that though the client belonged to 18 trade organizations and retained lobbying and legal counsel, the company's government relations team didn't have the resources to fully participate in and benefit from these affiliations.

• Public Strategies' recommendations included tapering the client's memberships and consultants, and using the remaining affiliations more effectively.

• Public Strategies' research revealed that stakeholders essentially did not know the client's positions on its priority issues, and that there seemed to be a lack of focus on government relations within the company, along with a perception of executive-level indifference to public policy.

• Public Strategies' recommendations included leveraging the client's reputation as a forward-thinking business leader in order to raise its profile in Washington, D.C.; establishing an individual person as the company's government relations spokesperson; communicating more frequently with policy-makers and the Capitol press corps; identifying and building relationships with a diverse group of legislative and regulatory "champions"; and creating a political action committee.

Client benefits

Prior to engaging Public Strategies, the client lacked a focused, cohesive federal government relations program. With our help, the client now has a government relations division that is well-known and respected as one of the best and most effective in Washington, D.C.

"Public Strategies examined how Dell managed public affairs objectives and identified opportunities for strengthening our Washington presence. We now have one of the top government relations programs in Washington."