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As states across the country continue to pass new data privacy laws, many are taking inspiration from the European Union. In 2016, the landmark General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was adopted, recognizing data protection as a fundamental right and setting new standards worldwide. It has influenced much of the law written on the topic in the United States.
The issue illustrates an important but seldom-discussed point when it comes to policymaking: legislation passed abroad resonates here in America.
Just as state and federal lawmakers influence one another in the U.S., legislative bodies abroad can have a major impact on Congress and state legislatures. The opposite is also true.
The result is that understanding what takes place abroad is fast becoming a necessity for public affairs teams that need a full picture of the policy landscape and want to avoid surprises that can cause a scramble. Quorum International, now with legislative tracking, can help — allowing you to monitor legislation in key countries using the same system you use to track bills in Congress and the states.
“The world is getting smaller,” said João Sousa, managing director of the European office of the Public Affairs Council. “I think more and more, the landscape in which companies, and by extension public affairs teams, have to operate is very much similar on both sides of the Atlantic. Even if you’re focused on the U.S. market, there are just so many external variables that can have impact.”
Creating an International Tracking System
The number of issues that reach outside U.S. borders is vast. Organizations dealing with energy, the environment, defense, healthcare, technology, transportation, trade, and many more issues all have international actions to monitor. The fact that foreign countries use different systems, languages, and rules—and that the politics can be very different—makes it more complicated.
Global organizations with offices abroad will obviously have an advantage. But how does a U.S.-based organization track it all? The truth is that watching legislation abroad is more similar to tracking bills in Congress or state legislatures than one might think. Here are some ideas:
- Start With Technology. Like here in the U.S., tracking large numbers of bills with a spreadsheet and free monitoring tools is likely to be a frustrating exercise in time-consuming manual work. This is especially true when tracking foreign countries, where the system is less familiar. A professional system like Quorum’s International Legislative Tracking can smooth out the process, give you simple reporting functions and make your efforts much more efficient. It ensures that you get the type of early warning that makes legislative tracking valuable.
- Maintain a Local Presence. You need a local expert who speaks the language, understands the politics, and can provide reliable information. If you have offices abroad and can lean on existing staff, you have an advantage. If not, you need to hire someone who understands your mission and can provide you with timely and accurate information.
- Monitor Media. Monitoring events abroad may require you to change your media mix, adding in foreign publications and social media handles that track your issues. Major publications in developed countries are often translated into English. For the rest, there’s Google and other web-based translation services.
- Use Your Partnerships. Organizations that belong to a trade association can look into whether it can contribute to the effort. If the issue impacts your entire industry, then it may have other members interested in tracking and it may be able to provide a valuable service to members.
- Obtain Quality Translation. If you are simply monitoring, machine translation may suffice. But if you truly need to know the precise language in a bill, it may be worthwhile to secure professional translation services. If that’s the case, do so in advance and make re they are ready to work when you need it.
“Resources are important,” said Sousa, a former communications expert at the European Union who has worked in many different countries.
“An effective issues monitoring capability is increasingly important, not just for policy reasons but also for political reasons,” he said. “I think the landscape is more uncertain today than it was five years ago. Having this kind of intelligence is really important.”
Tracking International Bills With Quorum
Quorum International, now with legislative tracking, allows public affairs teams to track legislation and regulations in multiple countries or just in one important location, all using the same system, offering a seamless experience that mirrors tracking congressional bills.
Public affairs professionals can conduct keyword searches, see complete bill text in the country’s native language, review a bill’s legislative history, and compare versions. They can also easily set alerts and prepare reports using dashboards or sheets. Summary data of the number of bills introduced, approved, and in progress is also available.
“Policy is increasingly jumping across borders,” said Alex Wirth, co-founder and CEO of Quorum. “Quorum’s International Legislative Tracking is designed to provide a holistic view of the landscape so that global public affairs teams can be better prepared.”
Quorum products allow you to monitor action in the European Commission as well, setting alerts on European Commission initiatives and tracking how issues are discussed across social media, parliamentary questions, speeches in plenary, and more.
“Technology is definitely important,” Sousa said. “If companies have the resources to hire a company like Quorum or others … it gives you a very, very big edge in terms of your ability to actually scope the environment, know what’s happening, and focus on the intelligence and on the response rather than having to spend your time doing research.”
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