What is Public Affairs?

Public affairs is a term used to describe an organisation’s relationship with stakeholders. These are individuals or groups with an interest in the organisation's affairs, such as MPs, civil servants, shareholders, customers, clients, trade associations, think tanks, business groups, unions and the media. Public affairs practitioners engage stakeholders in order to explain the organisation's policies, provide statistical and factual information and to lobby on issues which could impact upon the organisation's ability to operate successfully. Their work combines government relations, media communications, issue management, corporate and social responsibility information dissemination and strategic communications advice. They aim to influence public policy, build and maintain a strong reputation and find a common ground with these stakeholders.

Public affairs practitioners can be described by a whole host of different words in job titles including: public affairs, policy, government affairs, government relations, parliamentary affairs, parliamentary relations, European affairs, political advisor, political researcher, external affairs, external relations, campaigns, corporate communications, corporate affairs, stakeholder relations and stakeholder management.