MCB: Effective Campaigning with MS Societies

18.12.2025

The Workshop on Effective Campaigning: Turning campaigning efforts into success with the right engagement, stakeholders, and alliances, part of EMSP’s Membership Capacity Building Programme, was held in 2023.  In this article, you can explore the main outcomes of the workshop and access the presentation slides for further learning.

1) Objectives

1. Sharing insights and concrete steps on effective engagement techniques, mapping stakeholders and building alliances as part of campaigning
2. Building capacity of societies to map political targets and build needed alliances
3. Showcasing what EMSP has been and will be doing on campaigning

2) Engaging techniques in Campaigning: Caste Study and discussion on effective techniques

By Jimmy Smyth, Director of JKS Communications

To start the conversation, Jimmy Smyth introduced a generic menu of engagement techniques relevant to all members:

• One-to-one briefings, political groups, delegations
• Parliamentary questions, motions, debates, legislative lobbying
• Membership on national policy committees and working groups
• Oversight committee hearings
• All Party Groups, EP Intergroups
• Research, policy documents, manifestos, submissions, position papers, pledges, petitions, charters
• Political networking, think tanks, seminars, conferences, breakfast briefings
• Social media

Methods:

• Surveys, questionnaires, focus groups
• Campaigning workshops/political toolkits
• Political scorecards
• Joint research – NAI, HSE, DFI Neuro Mapping
• Irish Hospice Foundation, LauraLynn , Health Research Board demographics
• Fundraising
• Disease awareness days/weeks

3) Background to Patients Deserve Better

It  was a campaign under the direction of the Neurological Alliance of Ireland (umbrella body for 34 organisations representing 800,000+ people) that targeted the deficit in staffing across Neurology services in Ireland. Staffing levels remained relatively static or even  decreased in some areas despite a significant increase in demand/activity. The challenge was  focusing on one resource need in particular.

This case study contains the key elements required in any successful campaign – evidence based research to identify the need, suggested solutions within the existing policy framework, clear “political asks”, building alliances, identifying and targeting key decision makers.

Significantly, the campaign was rolled out in a non- adversarial way leading to on the record
support from the Minister of State for Health (amongst others).

The impact

• Over 11,000 e mails sent from patientsdeservebetter.ie
• Campaign referenced in 153 questions and debates across both houses of the Oireachtas
• Media Coverage:
  • Press 60+ articles
  • Coverage on RTE six one news March 2022
  • Radio 20+ interviews

This has been a very effective I will not call it a lobby group information campaign which has caught the imagination of Deputies and Senators. It should take a bow. It is a very good way to lobby. It was not confrontational; it was informative. If one wants something done, one should bring people along. That is very effective.”

Minister of State at the Department of Health, Frankie Feighan TD, Seanad Eireann, 22 June 2022

4) Stakeholder mapping and building alliances

Important key points were raised during this discussion:

• Recognising, that each country will have its own political culture, traditions and institutions stakeholder mapping essentially revolves around the same axis
• Understanding the decision making process and identifying the small group of individual vital to your issue(s).
• Ranking key cohorts: political, official, third sector, media into tier 1 and tier 2 audiences will help members to focus on key objectives and audiences. It will simplify your campaigning approach. Tier 2 audiences and influencers can be briefed subject to resources. However, tier 1 audiences will require ongoing engagement on a strategic basis.

The stakeholder mapping sheet was introduced as a simple tool that can help in brainstorming and laying down who the key stakeholders are for each society. You can find the mapping sheet here.

Stakeholder maps should be viewed as rolling “working documents” which will need to be updated after elections, reshuffles and administrative changes. You have to know where to address your representations. Given the fragmented nature of politics across Europe the need to engage across the political spectrum was emphasised.

Decision making maps should be straightforward and easy to navigate. The UK pandemic response chart discussed at the UK Covid response inquiry, is a good example of what not to do. Described as “a spaghetti bowl” its indecipherable and likely to have contributed to a confused response with poor communication, so it’s essential to make it simple and clear.

NAI work on Brain Awareness Week was discussed as good example of alliance building on a broader policy platform. The benefits of including all of the key stakeholders in one forum was highlighted (i.e. clinical leads, politicians and advisers, advocacy groups, patients) in driving a joined up policy response

5) Conclusion

The workshop was interactive with a strong emphasis on sharing information and learnings on an ongoing basis. The creativity behind various campaigns and projects (advocacy and public awareness) is helping to keep MS policy towards the top of the healthcare agenda. Additionally, attendees clearly demonstrated the benefits of collaborative campaigning in recent projects and initiatives.

Actions/recommendations:

• Societies to build a stakeholder map and undertake the ranking exercise
• Progress work on the Barometer in the coming years
• Compile list of EP candidates and target with agreed political asks e.g. MS registry – see pledge card from the first campaigning workshop conducted in November 2022