How to involve supporters in campaigning

When it comes to influencing MPs, one of the most important things charities can do is to make connections between constituents and their MPs. MPs work for their constituents so when people bring their lived experience to an MP, about issues in their community that affects them, it can be very powerful. 

 

Scope, the disability charity, influences with people with disabilities about the issues that matter most to them. Jessica Leigh, Campaigns and Mobilisation Manager at Scope, says: “What Scope campaigns on, is what people with disabilities tell us is a problem in their lives. Between our Campaigns and Public Affairs team, we try to connect the dots by bringing the lived experience of the people we support to their MPs.”

 

Digital technology has made connecting those dots easier. But it’s also made it difficult to get cut-through as MPs receive many emails on a daily basis. And they’re also now wise to the tactics that charities use to try to engage with them. So what can charities do to ensure that MPs not only engage with their campaigns but take meaningful action?

 

 

Personalisation is key

 

Epilepsy Action gathered data, through a survey, to find out the impact that the current cost-of-living is having on people with epilepsy. Epilepsy has one of the lowest employment rates for people with disabilities in the UK.

 

So the survey was carried out to determine if the rising cost-of-living was disproportionately affecting people with epilepsy, and the impact this was having on their health.

 

Included in the survey were open text boxes so that people with epilepsy could describe, in their own words, how the cost-of-living crisis was impacting them. Key themes emerged, which included people missing meals or eating cold meals, not using their heating and hot water, using food banks, and worrying about the cost of running medical equipment.

 

Having those first-hand experiences brought the campaign to life and backed up what the data was saying. The charity identified case studies through the survey who then went on to do media interviews.

 

Epilepsy Action signed a joint letter to the Chancellor, ahead of the autumn statement, to highlight the findings of their survey. They also encouraged their supporters to write directly to their MPs, to share their story and to ask them to ensure the recommendations were implemented.

 

“We knew people with epilepsy were already facing huge challenges before the cost-of-living crisis took hold and we wanted to show exactly how it is impacting them.

 

As a result of our campaign and media activity, 40 people wrote to their MPs to demand them to take action. We have also used the results to create our new hard-hitting ‘Cost of epilepsy’ video to bring to life how the crisis is impacting our community. “We hope it will be a powerful campaigning tool for people to lobby their MP and demand fairer treatment for those affected by the condition.”,said Daniel Jennings, senior policy & campaigns officer at Epilepsy Action.

 

 

How technology can be used to drive offline actions

 

Scope’s Let’s Play Fair campaign, aims to make playgrounds more inclusive for children with disabilities. In a co-production session with parents of children with disabilities, it became apparent that parents wanted choice and different levels of engagement when it came to engaging their MP in the campaign.

 

“Digital technology is a democratising force. It enables charities to help people, whether they feel like a campaigner or not, to campaign about an issue that they really care about, whether on a local or national level.”, says Leigh.

 

By offering different ways to get involved in the campaign, through technology, it allowed parents, with the support of Scope, to have the conversations with their MPs that they may have been a little intimidated to have initiated.

 

 

Change up your tactics

 

Both supporters and MPs can get tired of the same campaigning tactics, says Leigh, so it’s important to change up your tactics and think differently about how you can use technology to help achieve your campaigning objectives.

 

For their Let’s Play Fair campaign, Scope tried something new. Using the technology they already had, they found ways to build relationships with campaigners and their MPs and make them even stronger. Campaigners could choose what they were most comfortable with, such as sending an email, arranging a phone call, or inviting their MP to meet them at their local playground so that they could personally show them how it’s not inclusive for children with disabilities.

 

Around half simply opted to email their MP but the other half chose one of the higher bar options, which is a really great result. Scope is now following up with those supporters to find out what the outcome of their action was.

 

Leigh advises that charities should avoid sending mass ‘email your MP’ actions without any personalisation as they can do more harm than good. Personalisation allows for more authenticity and is more likely to get a positive response from an MP.