Alliance and association management
One voice is ignored. Five saying the same thing become a constraint.
Building, leading and professionalising platforms, initiatives and associations, including running them.
What it is about
The value of an alliance is not the number of members but that they agreed on one sentence none of them could have said alone.
Alliances almost always fail at the same point: members agree on the goal and not on the route. As long as coordination stays informal that remains invisible. The moment a position has to be put in writing it breaks open.
That is why we start with the rules of procedure rather than the press conference: who decides, by what majority, who speaks publicly, what happens on disagreement and how someone leaves. Settling that in advance is uncomfortable and later saves the alliance.
The points that decide
Founding
Legal form, rules of procedure and competition law before the first meeting.
Members
A few who carry it are worth more than many who watch.
Positions
The lowest common denominator is often too low. Choose deliberately.
Secretariat
Without operational leadership every platform falls asleep within twelve months.
How we work on it
Stakeholder & Network
Simply "knowing" people adds nothing. Robust relationships of trust with decision-makers do.
High-Level Strategy & Campaigning
A business strategy becomes a communications programme that reaches its goals faster.
Professional Analysis & Monitoring
Curated monitoring of initiatives, draft legislation and public debate - assessed against your business goals.
Frequently asked
What does competition law require?
Competitors meeting in a platform need clear rules: no prices, no volumes, no market allocation, no sensitive company level data. In practice that means documented agendas, minutes and a compliance reminder at the start of every meeting.
When is a new association worth founding?
When an issue is permanent and finds no majority in existing structures. For single projects a time limited platform is enough, dissolved once the goal is reached. An association that outlives its purpose becomes a burden on its members.
Related focus areas
Interest representation
Representing commercial interests towards legislators, administration and the public, registered and disclosed.
Open pageIssue campaigning
Public campaigns on regulatory and location policy issues, from concept to delivery.
Open pageLocation policy
Support for investment, siting and transformation projects across federal, provincial and municipal level.
Open page
Facing an issue in this sector?
A first conversation usually settles quickly whether and how we can help.