In this paper we study interest groups’ perception of their own success in terms of both agenda setting, influence in the administrative arena and affecting bills in parliament. Group evaluation of influence may be biased or uninformed, but this approach can potentially reveal some of the less formal aspects of group influence. We investigate if groups differ in perceived influence depending on the type of interests they represents, their financial resources, and the national setting they operate in. The analyses are based on two recent national surveys conducted in Denmark (2011) and United Kingdom (2013), and the results will be related to conclusions from analyses based on more objective indicators of access in the same countries. Hereby the paper both contributes to our understanding of who is influential and to the methodological development in the field by comparing results from studies based on different types of data.
