MPs, councillors, and mayors – and as mentioned in the tool kit – is keen to hear if other members have done so too.
Mission fit
With the channels of communication hopefully more open than ever, will there be some catch or downside when it comes to content and style of commu- nication? In a roundtable discussion on mission-driven government organised by Nesta and The Institute for Gov- ernment in March (
www.youtube.com/ watch?v=sPOaToWa1aM), Claire Ainsley, who was Executive Director of Policy for the Labour Party until 2022, said that most people outside government are used to missions. They work in organisations that make sure everyone knows “this is the goal”, but govern- ment itself is not one of those organisa- tions. She said that Labour now wants there to be “big shared missions that we can get behind”.
It’s not a totally new concept for gov- ernments either. It has been used by the SDP in Germany and Georgina Gould, now a Labour MP (leader of Camden Council from 2017 to 2024) said Cam- den Council turned ‘mission-driven’ after seeing the community react to the imposed missions of Covid and a “level of focus (that) enabled innovation and pace that we’d never seen before.”
Toolkit
Despite all these positive changes there are still lots of ‘dos and don’ts’, conven- tions and common-sense tips to share. The first one in the toolkit is “Under- stand their priorities” which outlines how to help politicians and their teams see the value in interacting with you,
pointing out that “It is good practice to identify their priorities and language, whoever they may be, and to align your engagement accordingly.”
And, whether you already have a posi- tive working relationship with your politi- cal representatives or they are new to you, there are areas that you should research before communication. CILIP worked with public affairs agency, Inflect, to distil these practical steps, to write the guidance and the key messages that will enable CILIP members to effectively contact Gov- ernment, local MPs, and councillors. CILIP Connect starts with the broader contexts, like understanding what politi- cians want and how to define your own key messages. It then goes into detail about how to approach each type of political post holder from councillors through to govern- ment ministers and everything in between. The kit covers organising meetings and visits. This includes advice on how to approach these thoughtfully by assessing what a political representative might want from events – whether they want you to deliver against their priorities through to whether it will help raise their profile. Equally important is timing. A good letter can be sent at the wrong time so the toolkit also includes a “When you should engage” section with a typical year in Parliament to give members the wider context. However, CILIP Connect is designed on the premise that members will have already involved relevant colleagues and key people like managers and your communications teams. These early steps are also important and Libraries Connected recently published Library advocacy: a beginners guide, to look at this. (
www.librariesconnected.org.uk/news/ library-advocacy-beginners-guide)
Professional benefit
As well as raising the profile of library and knowledge services CILIP also points out that engaging stakeholders is a valuable skill for every CILIP member to develop. The process is beneficial to the whole profession, asking members to be aware of key messages from the library and information professions – included in the toolkit – and how to fit them into commu- nications saying members can “effectively showcase your service alongside CILIP’s wider aims for the sector”. Putting together a communications package will also give members a chance to discover the work and projects that CILIP undertakes – with resources such as the Libraries Change Lives campaign, which features more than 180 stories and case studies that members are encouraged to add to and to use.
As well as improving the sector’s commu- nications with external bodies and decision makers, another goal is to boost the flow of information within the sector. CILIP wants members to use its resources but would also like to know how they are being used and encourages contact with membership@
cilip.org.uk for advice or introductions to colleagues with relevant experience. The sharing of information about how resources are used could also help create more opportunities. For example, resources include template press releases forms which, if used, members could send to
press@cilip.org.uk and tag CILIP in social media posts enabling them to be shared more widely where appropriate, and to keep CILIP in the loop.
Members can access CILIP Connect at
www.cilip.org.uk/CILIP-connect. IP
October-November 2024
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 19
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