Learnable skills or unteachable instinct? what can and what cannot be taught in the lobbying profession

In this article, we make the case that there is a critical set of knowledge, skills and abilities that can be taught to pre- and early-career lobbyists at the graduate professional training level. We acknowledge that, as with any profession, there are intrinsic personal qualities and life experiences that improve the ability of lobbyists to represent their clients and contribute to the policy process. Yet, we also identify three basic areas of lobbying in the literature that can structure a curriculum to prepare prospective professional lobbyists to be effective and ethical advocates for their clients’ interests. First, recent research on interest group politics and lobbying can offer students and practitioners insight into the structure and dynamics of lobbying communities. Second, the literature highlights three useful kinds of knowledge – political process, substantive policy and analytic – that can be systematically taught. Third, the consensus among political scientists that lobbying plays primarily an informational role implies that students should master oral and written communication strategies for effective advocacy. And finally, best practices in building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders in the policy world can be modeled. We then recommend a curriculum that offers training in these areas through a combination of seminars, simulations and a practicum experience that may be delivered in person, online or through a hybrid course.