At Cogitamus we build public affairs campaigns working closely alongside community groups, trades union, local authorities, businesses or charities. Having understood the objectives of your public affairs campaign, we will work to mobilise political, media and public opinion in your favour.
We do this by developing a public affairs campaign strategy capable of bringing together a diverse range of actors and institutions to meet the needs of your organisation. This is where our strapline Think.Plan.Do really does come into play.
Crucially, at Cogitamus we are able to mobilise our team of political and public affairs experts – renowned for the consistency and quality of our work and our ability to build alliances – to tailor a public affairs campaign to meet your specific needs.
We are especially well known for public affairs campaigns in the rail, transport, construction and environmental fields.
Our reputation in public affairs campaigns has been validated by our nomination for several awards, including our shortlisting at the Public Affairs Awards of 2014 as a finalist in the ‘Best In-House Consultancy Collaboration’ category, and our success in the 2012 Public Affairs Awards as the winner in the ‘Private Sector Campaign of the Year’ category. The public affairs campaign that secured this award is described below:
Bombardier Transportation UK Campaign
In 2011, we were appointed by Bombardier Transportation to coordinate a public affairs campaign for the survival of its Derby train manufacturing facility, following the award of the Thameslink fleet contract overseas.
We liaised with MPs, peers, local authorities, trades unions, journalists, the business community and members of the public to create the biggest industrial public affairs campaign in a generation. Our public affairs campaign exposed that Government procurement policies under successive administrations had failed to take into account the wider socio-economic benefits of placing orders with UK suppliers, and had over-literally interpreted European Union procurement rules in ways not practised by other Member States.
The effect of our public affairs campaign was to trigger a complete review of UK procurement policy not just in rail but also across the economy. This also led to the first ever Transport Select Committee inquiry into rolling stock procurement.
Cogitamus then helped to secure for Bombardier another Government-backed train order that helped keep the Derby site open for business. This contract helped to keep over 1500 people in full time employment and resulted in Cogitamus being presented with the 2012 Private Sector Campaign of the Year award at the Public Affairs Awards.