How can organisations influence politics most effectively? A former SpAd’s view

Mat Ilic is the Chief Development Officer at Catch 22, a social business that designs and delivers public services to transform lives and communities. As an expert in rehabilitation and the justice system, Mat was appointed by former Prime Minister Theresa May to be a Special Adviser on justice and home affairs, working in No.10 to give advice and bring forward policy solutions. In this role he worked alongside many organisations seeking to influence policy and I asked him to share his insights:

You were working in the charity sector when you were appointed as Special Adviser to former Prime Minister Theresa May on justice issues. What was it like being in the heart of government?

Most of the experience was an honour and a privilege. The highlight was meeting campaigners, all real people, who felt heard when they came in with petitions or to have a discussion on the back of some correspondence. It was also immensely difficult at times: there were days where you would feel completely powerless in the face of big events, that happened or were happening and being amplified by the media circus.

Like all great roles, it created opportunities for challenge and personal growth – I also think we made some good things happen, like introducing the Domestic Abuse Bill to Parliament or creating the Youth Endowment Fund.

There were many organisations seeking to lobby you during your time in this role. What do you think makes an organisation effective in influencing policy?

Consistency in message (on a technical sub-level as well) is really important, as is the ability to build coalitions of support, through pragmatism and diplomacy.

Most of the lobbying and advocacy we got at the centre felt like noise in an extremely noisy environment of ever competing priorities. Where things worked well, is when we were served specific solutions to specific policy challenges at the specific times we were trying to fix them, whether this was about how you might reform prison sentences or how to prioritise skilled migration in a post-Brexit immigration system.

You’re now back leading the development of a large charity. What do you see as the opportunities for charities and social purpose businesses to engage with the policy-making process?

The opportunities lie in being able to do the real work, learn from it and use the insight to inform structural barriers to further progress. In my view, to do this you have to focus on doing the day job well and be politically savvy as to not burn goodwill with decision makers but use influencing and escalation routes in a sparing and timely way, when the return on any risk-taking is likely to be best.

I have no doubt that some organisations spend millions of pounds of charitable resource on campaigns (aimed at politicians and/or the public) or on lobbyists – but there is nothing in my experience that suggests that either of these methodologies is the right one for making change happen and stick. There is an extent to which we have to accept that progress can be slow, incremental and circuitous, what John Kay refers to as ‘obliquity’.   

And finally, if you found yourself in the lift with the current Prime Minister what would be the one request you would make?

I’ve only ever seen one episode of the West Wing, but I came across this quote while in government: "It's not our job to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It's our job to raise it." It’s a short lift ride.