The Charity Retail Association and Equinox Communications joined forces to develop and implement “The Fight for Welsh Charity Shops”. Together, they have been shortlisted for the Public Affairs Campaign category, supported by PubAffairs, at the 2014 CIPR Excellence Awards.
The Public Affairs Campaign Award recognises a campaign which has influenced the public policy agenda or the legislative process, utilising either lobbying or broader grassroots public affairs tactics. The Excellence Awards dinner will take place on the evening of next Tuesday 17 June at Old Billingsgate, London.
The Charity Retail Association and Equinox Communications
CAMPAIGN: THE FIGHT FOR WELSH CHARITY SHOPS
Brief and objectives
The Charity Retail Association (CRA) represents charity shops across the UK. In 2012 Professor Brian Morgan published the Business Rates Wales Review proposing that the Welsh Government consult on limiting rate relief for charity shops to 50 per cent, introducing tighter eligibility criteria for claiming rate relief and limiting the number of premises eligible for rate relief. In Wales charity shops create 900 jobs and over 10,000 volunteering positions and business rate relief is vital. CRA worked with EC to develop and implement a campaign within Wales with the objectives to:
- Activate Assembly Members in support of the campaign to ensure that if the Welsh Government introduced a Bill, it would not have the support required to be passed;
- Run a high profile media campaign to raise the profile of the issue with AMs;
- Develop and communicate a clear set of compelling alternative policies;
- Prevent a Bill being introduced in the Welsh Assembly to restrict charitable business rate relief.
Strategy and tactics (including innovation and creativity)
The 12 month strategy was developed to target the public and key politicians through a high profile media relations campaign, a timed programme of one-to-one briefing sessions, cross party events and the development of compelling alternative policies backed by partner organisations and the charity sector.
Campaign tactics:
1. Activate Assembly Members in support of the campaign against reduction in rate
relief
Equinox and the CRA worked with AMs from all parties to gain their support through 1-2-1 meetings and regular communications. We held an ‘Emergency Summit’ with CRA members and the Opposition Business Spokespeople in the Assembly with excellent attendance. Simultaneously we ran a constituency-based campaign to engage AMs by:
- Providing them with local information on the impact the policies would have on charities in their constituency area;
- Inviting all AMs to visit a charity shop in their constituency during the summer recess – nearly a third responded;
- Activating CRA members, shop staff and volunteers to lobby Ministers and local AMs.
2. Influence Ministers and Assembly Members via a strong media campaign
We devised a series of creative news hooks to build pressure in media:
- January: created a shops petition to the Welsh Government which gathered over 22,600 signatures – the second largest ever received by the Welsh Assembly;
- May: announced CRA formal consultation response highlighting how much the policy would cost charities in Wales and how many shops would close;
- June: held “emergency summit” with CRA members. The Business Spokespeople for the Opposition parties in the Welsh Assembly addressed the meeting and the CRA launched its ‘Five Point Plan’ with alternative policy proposals;
- Released regionalised statistics to media across Wales to generate coverage at local level.
3. Develop alternative policies
CRA contributed to the formal consultation process and launched a ‘Five Point Plan’ outlining a set of alternative proposals.
Demonstrate how these activities directly influenced government
- Professor Morgan on many occasions responded to the CRA campaign;
- CRA emergency summit and briefings generated considerable backbench AM support across all parties. A third of AMs visited their local charity shop and half of AMs had direct contact with CRA;
- In Autumn 2013, Edwina Hart (Welsh Minister for Economy) delayed any decision on a rates relief cut for charity shops, saying: “I have tried to remain neutral even though,I have to say, I have received some intensive lobbying myself, and I know members have had some intensive lobbying too.” Our policy proposals were described as ‘helpful and interesting’ in the final report on rate relief, and the Welsh Government’s response adopted many of the suggestions in our Five Point Plan.
Research, planning, measurement and evaluation
The campaign outcomes were measured and evaluated throughout the campaign in line with CIPR guidelines and against objectives:
1. Activate Assembly Members in support of the campaign
Cross party support was measured through a detailed tracking document which showed AM position on the policy. More than 30 separate briefings and cross party meetings. Ongoing surveying of members and AMs around awareness and support.
2. Influence Ministers and Assembly Members via a strong media campaign
Targeted media campaign focussed on channels most influential with Ministers and
Assembly Members. Media highlights:
- Western Mail - comment piece from the CRA’s Chief Executive; feature on petition; full page supportive coverage of our consultation response; news piece on emergency summit;
- Significant broadcast coverage including ITV Wales and BBC Wales on emergency summit in June featuring CRA Chief Executive and Marie Curie hospice in Penarth; BBC’s ‘Wales Today’ programme; BBC Radio Wales ‘Good Morning Wales’ debate on charity shop rate relief on the day of our petition release and BBC Radio Cymru;
- Extensive online news coverage including ITV Wales, BBC Wales and Welsh language BBC Newyddion;
- Significant coverage in influential local newspapers.
3. Develop clear set of alternative policies
CRA created the Five Point Plan; recognised by Welsh Government and included in its responses.
4. Prevent a Bill being introduced
In the Autumn 2013 statement no Bill was introduced to take the proposals forward.
Highlight any messaging tailored to influence your principal or secondary Stakeholders
- Our Five Point Plan was tailored to show Welsh Government that the CRA was campaigning constructively and able to compromise on key issues, making it acceptable for Ministers to drop the more damaging proposals on business rate relief;
- Our evidence-based approach, based on surveying members, provided statistics and case studies to demonstrate impact of the proposals on a local level;
- All campaign materials, including Twitter, were translated into Welsh which was essential in showing that the campaign was Welsh led.