Urban Myths

04 Oct Urban Myths

Dear Here to Help,

I am in a group with other businesses and professionals and we were recently discussing how to get better results from government. Some members of our group said “don’t bother” – government won’t change their minds based on the likes of us. Other people said that we should first talk to government, so they can tell us what their plans are, and then we can formulate our wish list based on those parameters, because government will never go outside what it has already decided. Other members of our group thought it would be better to first determine what we actually want as a group, then engage with government.

What is the best way to get better results from government – base our wish list on government’s plans, or create our wish list before we engage with government?

Thank you for your query.

This is an interesting question – can just one person, just one business, just one charity, just one not for profit, just one group of small businesses, etc influence government decision-making?

I have heard countless times that only the big end of town can influence government decision-making, or that government has already made up its mind – so what’s the point to try and talk to them, or even don’t talk to government – you will make yourself a target for future audit activity.

I can tell you that these “urban myths” are untrue. Government’s role is to make our community the best it can be. Now, there are different ways to interpret that and we might not all agree on what makes things better. However, one thing that most of us can agree on is that government – and the community – can find ways to make our communities better.

If you have ideas on how government could do things better to help your business, your community or your industry, it is always worthwhile engaging. Here are the top ways I have found work to positively influence government decision-making.

(1) Groups are stronger than individuals – work with your industry association, community or business group to put your proposal to government as a group.

(2) It can always be useful to talk to government and find out their priorities as an input to developing your solutions for issues you identify.

(3) Don’t limit yourself to what you think government wants or might be prepared to do – be bold and identify your best possible option. You might have to negotiate another solution. On the other hand, you never know – you might end up with your best possible option. Aim high.

(4) Develop your proposal and present it to government – something well thought-out, well written and well presented has a better chance of success.

The moral of the story is that government decisions can be improved with the valuable input of ordinary people, whether in business or community groups.

This article comes from my column entitled “Here to Help” in the Local, October 2022. If you have an everyday problem just begging for a simple, real world solution, send it to “Here to Help” and let’s see what we can achieve.

Elaine Abery has a closet full of great ideas and empowering solutions. She’s also the Director of Unravelling Red Tape, a company dedicated to helping everyday people, not-for-profits and companies change the world through improved decision-making and legislation.