Powering up your policy influence: expert tips for charity leaders
During summer 2025, we interviewed nine leaders from across the social change sector all of whom have worked with Lucent Consultancy to find out more about what they had learnt about working with the Labour government over the prior 12 months. What was working to influence policy? They generously shared their tips based on their experiences of working across a wide range of policy areas - from disability to immigration to children’s social care to poverty to transport and environmental issues. We are pleased to share these back to others in civil society working for change.
Stronger together
Joint campaigns and collaborations are having a moment - think End Child Poverty, the Disability Benefits Consortium or the Climate Coalition. And no wonder. If you can stand alongside other charities and speak with one voice to government you will multiply your chance of gaining access and influence many times over.
Deploying the full range of technical expertise from across multiple organisations improves your chances of turning influence into policy change. And when you meet resistance, your collective reach means you can mobilise different communities behind the cause.
So while it is never an easy path to build collaboration, your first instinct should be – who can we work with?
People affected at the centre
Campaign effectiveness rockets when it centres people affected by the issues in play. When the voices of those affected are at the heart of your campaigns, your chances of cutting through to influencers is heightened.
But this is more than a communications issue. If people affected are at the centre of your work, your campaigns will reflect their perspectives, priorities and concerns which, in turn mean those campaigns, if successful, have the best possible chance of containing real world solutions and creating the change that matters most.
Context matters
You may have the right campaign, but is it the right moment? Context really matters when it comes to the success of your policy influencing. It is hardly a secret that the Government is reluctant to consider policies that cost the public purse. Under these circumstances, canny campaigners are looking to changes in the regulatory or commissioning environments which end up costing little or even saving money.
Finding ways through the strong political headwinds is also critical. The rise of Reform has led to a nervous and risk averse government, and many policy reforms are stalling as a consequence. Campaigners are seeing if they can bust myths about public attitudes - amassing their own polling evidence to show where the public truly is and showing the policy tactics that might work best.
In it for the long term
This challenging context is also resulting in a recognition of the long, and often winding, path to policy change and the need for determination and persistence by the bucket load.
It is also pointing some organisations to making investments in the longer term work that help create new narratives, re-frame issues or shift the Overton window. And if your long-term aims feel like they are being put in the “too difficult” box by the government it is time to get creative and think about the smaller “meantime policy wins” that provide baby steps towards your bigger goals.
Relationships matter
Good influencing is built on strong and trusted relationships, identifying and getting to know your fellow travellers. Some organisations we spoke to had the benefit of having built those relationships with people who were now in Ministerial positions over many years. But others had built relationships rapidly, based on their organisation’s insights, credibility and expertise. And all saw benefits in investing in relationships with backbenchers, members of select committees, opposition parties and the House of Lords both for their influence now and their potential to be in positions of power in the longer term.
Be clear about the solutions - not just the problems
Campaigning spotlights problems, and is at its most effective showing the very human consequences of specific policies. However, being clear about the problem is not enough. Being clear about the solutions you are proposing and the specifics of who needs to change what is influencing dynamite. You will further power up your influencing if you can create a sense of urgency with a convincing answer to the “Why now?” question.
A focus on solutions will help build your organisation’s reputation as a pragmatic problem-solver. It will also serve you when the government does pursue a particular policy to be clear about where the gaps are and, critically, which of these gaps really matter to people affected.
Use the full influencing toolkit
Public campaigns and quiet under the radar influencing at the early stages of policy development both have their place in your influencing toolkit. A number of organisations have successfully kept a twin track – challenge in public, pragmatic in private. Others have worked in coalition with organisations adopting insider and outsider roles to good effect.
Get your organisation campaign fit
All campaigning and influencing work takes time and resource but some organisations have had to “hollow out” these functions. Building the right internal infrastructure – or contributing to a collective campaign - is a prerequisite for powering up your campaigning and influencing work. Being campaign fit will also require building a shared understanding of your different approaches to influencing and campaigning. It is important to work with trustees to build a common understanding of the freedoms and limits charities have to campaign, as well as being realistic about the risks of your organisation exercising its voice, as well as the risks inherent in you not speaking up.
Let us know what resonates and works for you - and if you have tips you would like to share drop us an email.