Digital lobbying. The power of data and the impact of digital innovation on the practice of advocacy and public affairs

What is the impact of digital innovation on the practice of lobbying, advocacy, and public affairs? While the literature on digital transformation is growing in several fields, the research on its effects (actual and potential) on the profession of public affairs is still in its infancy. By relying on a theoretical analysis of the various stages of a lobbying campaign and on a “hands-on” analysis of three innovative software platforms spreading among practitioners in recent years (FiscalNote, KMind, Quorum), this article aims to shed light on the multiple opportunities that digital innovation provides to the management of a lobbying campaign, from its inception (monitoring and analysis stages) through its design (strategy formulation) and actual implementation (action), until its end (evaluation of the results). Through a discussion of the role of data in the public affairs profession, the article also highlights the importance of knowledge management for the transformation of data and big data into “smart data”, proposing a comprehensive definition of digital lobbying.