[Question] Creating a position statement regarding how the PWG sees lobbying vs policy

[jawache]

Question

Hey @mrchrisadams and @seanmcilroy29. There’s ongoing concern among member organizations about what exactly we “do” in the policy space especially whether any of it crosses into lobbying territory. This hesitation is a key reason many orgs have been reluctant to engage with the PWG, particularly those with strict no-lobbying policies or highly cautious approaches to advocacy.

To build trust and boost engagement, I recommend that the PWG create a clear, public-facing statement outlining:

• What “policy work” means in this context
• The types of activities the PWG is pursuing or considering
• A working definition of lobbying
• Whether any PWG actions fall within that definition of lobbying

That kind of clarity would go a long way in calming nerves.

I’ve tried to pin down a universal definition of lobbying. Internationally, there’s no single legal standard as far as I can tell. For example, the UK government uses an extremely broad definition that includes even “educating politicians,” which would technically categorize much of PWG’s activity as lobbying. Personally, I’d argue that drafting a policy brief isn’t lobbying—but it’s a gray area, and interpretations vary.

So, rather than trying to resolve this globally, the most practical path forward is for the PWG to define its own stance. Then member orgs can make their own judgment calls.

If helpful, we could facilitate a member assembly (workshop) to co-develop this position, or we can try tackling it during an upcoming PWG call.

Issue dependency with other WG Groups

No response

[mrchrisadams]

@hi @jawache thanks for this.

So, you're essentially asking the WG to come up with a definition of lobbying so member are able to say:

that looks our own "no-lobbying policy" would allow us to take part in discussions and join the meetings

I think that's fair. It's on the agenda to see if we can get some allocate time to get working definition together as a first step with some specific activities, based on previous things we've done, and some future things planned.

[mrchrisadams]

We discussed this in the policy working group meeting today. We've agreed to dedicate time in April / May to get a working version in place for the end of May. This would allow for at least two policy WG meetings to review the current draft before sharing it more widely for feedback.

[mrchrisadams]

There's a live document being worked on here now visible at the link below, that we're referring to in meetings, and discussing asynchronously. If you can't access it, please leave a comment.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z_wk1SMVhUuDOfhciXvsLsX4LUsh1VMIiPqgRCWt5aQ/edit?tab=t.0

[jawache]

Hey @mrchrisadams and @seanmcilroy29 so my understanding is we've completed this right?

Is the next step figuring out where to publish this?

Simplest would be just a blog post which we permalink somewhere on the website, in our menu.

[mrchrisadams]

Yes, the decision was that now we have this, we'd spend some time making sure people know.

I believe it's something we'll be discussing tomrorow, and then figuring out some specific requests for comms around it,