#24: Finding your public policy voice
A Q&A with tech public affairs expert, Camilla de Coverly Veale
Pass It On is a bi-weekly newsletter bringing the tech and non-profit sectors closer together through knowledge sharing, written and edited by Lauren Crichton.
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Hello!
A massive thank you to everyone who took the time to share their feedback via the last issue. I was especially chuffed that so many of you loved Ettie Bailey-King’s outstanding Q&A on the power of words. Ettie, if you’re reading this: huge props to you again.
If you’d still like to share your thoughts on Pass It On, it’s not too late! I’ll be keeping the short survey open until Sunday:
This week's Q&A is about the power of public policy—how to shape it as a startup or a non-profit. Our guest is Camilla de Coverly Veale; another fellow Pass It On subscriber and an all-round public affairs aficionado.
Camilla works at The Coalition for a Digital Economy (a.k.a. Coadec), an independent non-profit that advocates for the startup and scaleup ecosystem in the UK. As Head of Regulation, Camilla focuses on ensuring that the Government designs regulatory decisions about technology with innovators in mind. In this issue, Camilla explains why it's important to speak to politicians, how to advocate effectively, and why—despite all of technology's flaws—she remains a fervent tech optimist.
Finding your public policy voice - with Camilla de Coverly Veale
Coadec promises to be the policy voice for startups and scaleups. What does "policy voice" mean in this context, and why should startups speak up to their Government?
Startups need to speak up because—to put it bluntly—if you aren't at the table, you're on the menu. Since startups are disruptors, most incumbents will want to box them out, and they can because they have the resources. Most established businesses are part of large trade associations or have entire departments dedicated to engaging the Government and Parliament on their chosen issues. Startups, on the other hand, rarely have those means; that's why Coadec is free for startups!
A good example case from a couple of years ago (we can’t share current ones due to confidentiality) is that of digital VAT refund startup WEVAT. At the time, their app was set to radically simplify the VAT reclaiming process for tourists, but HRMC (the UK’s tax, payments, and customs authority) kept rejecting their regulatory approval application. So we came onboard and helped them reframe their conversations with Government. They resolved their issue and got regulatory approval.
Ultimately, having a policy voice is part of good business strategy. And good public affairs is as much a part of effective business strategy as engaging in marketing, PR, and legal advice. Government typically wants to hear from startups and help them thrive; it just isn't always great at finding them. So the more you raise your hand, the greater the opportunities.
What advice would you give to organisations trying to do their own advocacy?
If you don't have a specific issue that needs addressing immediately, start by asking yourself what will help you grow. Map your risks, opportunities, and key political stakeholders. Ask yourself how your organisation sits across public policy—what issues that raises, and what you could offer your stakeholders in return for their support.
When it comes to preparing for the actual meeting, these are my top tips:
Play the long game
Don't assume one meeting will suffice: cultivate relationships and be prepared to build them before you 'need' them.
Simplify your message
Most people won't understand your issue or your product, so be sure to break it down in an accessible way.
Look for mutual gains
Read the policy papers and big strategies. How could what you want align with what they want?
Empathise with your audience
Understand Government's position on what you care about, what action they're already taking, and what you'd be building on.
Prepare, prepare, prepare!
Have your pitch and your data ready. Make sure the ask and the offer are clear and plan how you will follow up afterwards.
How can charities apply the same principles of speaking up?
For many charities, the most effective change they can campaign for is policy change. So in that sense, they can be light years ahead of startups because they are often more naturally attuned to the power and importance of advocating for themselves.
That said, conviction and understanding will only get you so far. To succeed, you have to be able to convince others. And that requires you to be extremely clear about your position:
Can you break down your ask into a specific policy change?
Is what you want viable—i.e., can the Government actually do it and in what timeframe?
How are politicians thinking about the issue at hand?
What are the consequences of what you're requesting?
In my experience, charities can be susceptible to throwing bombs and getting outraged at politicians, and it's rarely an effective strategy. Politicians are people; they don't like to feel helpless or hated. So the more you can empathise with the humans across the table, the more constructive the discussion will be.
You began your career as a researcher in the UK House of Lords before moving into public affairs. What drew you to the world of tech regulation?
I've been interested in technology's impact on the world since I was a student. My MA dissertation explored the ethics of enhancement and transhumanism—what it will mean for society and public policy once a whole range of non-therapeutic possibilities becomes available to the majority. (Think: editing our genetics to run faster, putting chips in our brains to think faster, wearing glasses that augment our sensory perception. The sci-fi stuff!) So it was only a matter of time before I started to specialise in Tech issues. Technology is changing the world at an astonishing rate, and if we aren't careful, our political and policy response will fall short of addressing our most fundamental challenges.
With everything you understand about technology and how it's changing the world, would you consider yourself a tech optimist?
Yes with a capital Y. I start from the position that Tech will change the world for the better, even though policy has to have a role in shaping that. Technology has always been an exciting, headline-grabbing topic, but it's also been small and fairly niche. No longer. Now, Tech is ubiquitous. Not only do vast numbers of people have access to smartphones or computers, but we have also changed how we use them. To put this into perspective: In 2010, Britain's most downloaded app was iPint, the app that "turned" your phone into a pint of beer. Today, we can bank exclusively on our phones, order groceries for delivery in 10 minutes, and even swipe right on our future soulmate!
While I believe that technology is changing the world for the better, I also think—when considering that policy shapes technology—we need to accept that as technology is people. Take abuse on social media. Do the tech companies behind these platforms need to do more and fast? Absolutely. Is the solution as straightforward as tweaking an algorithm? I don't think so. These are complex problems that require nuance and will always involve hard tradeoffs. Consider the UK Government’s draft Online Safety Bill, which proposes establishing a new regulatory framework to tackle harmful content online. The Bill proposes that companies have a Duty of Care towards their users, a concept borrowed from Health & Safety regulation. This feels highly problematic to me. In the physical world, it would be reasonable, for example, to state that someone will hurt themselves if they fall down a mineshaft. But speech is so different. What is abusive to one person might be offensive to another, and what's traumatic for one person could be healing for another. To me, it also feels disempowering to say that the Silicon Valley execs should decide what might be 'legal but harmful' on my behalf. We have to treat issues like this with extreme caution.
How can the tech and non-profit sectors come closer together?
Through more collaboration!
All the non-profits I have worked with possess deep knowledge about specific communities, honed over decades of work and advocacy. Imagine if that knowledge helped startups design better, more inclusive products?
In the other direction, technology has the potential to scale so many non-profit initiatives and missions. Consider the recent partnership between the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation (BDDF) and mental health platform Just-Ask-A-Question (JAAQ). JAAQ, founded by War Paint for Men entrepreneur Danny Gray, aims to give anyone with a question about mental health quick and reliable access to professional answers. BDDF is a non-profit aiming to advance the education and understanding of body dysmorphic disorder. By recording hundreds of answers from BDD experts (like my father) and applying voice recognition technology, JAAQ can help people quickly and easily obtain accurate information and be pointed in the right direction. I'm so proud of the initiative.
Last but not least: which three books have had the most significant impact on you as a leader and why?
How Music Got Free by Stephen Witt — For forcing me to think about how leadership exists alongside, and has to respond to, completely organic movements for political change.
The Fish Rots from the Head: The Crisis in our Boardrooms: Developing the Crucial Skills of the Competent Director, by Bob Garratt — When it comes to workplace culture and business sustainability, good leadership is critical, but so too is good governance. This book does an excellent job of explaining how and why.
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, by Robert A. Caro — Full disclosure, I'm still reading this biography because it's over 1200 pages! Described as "America's greatest town planner," Moses' life provides an incredible window into the pursuit of power and politics and what it means to shape millions of lives through design.
More questions for Camilla? Drop her an email: camilla@coadec.com
And remember, there’s still time to share your thoughts on Pass It On:
Thanks so much, and see you back here on Nov 10th,
Lauren 👋