Lobbying in the United Kingdom
Formal procedures enable individual members of the public to lobby their Member of Parliament but most lobbying activity centres on corporate, charity and trade association lobbying, where organisations seek to amend government policy through advocacy. Companies and individuals who operate in this sector commonly use the terms "public relations", "public affairs", "political consultancy" or "corporate affairs" to describe their activities (though this was also a reaction to the negative publicity surrounding the word "lobbyists" following the 1994 Cash-for-questions affair). Professional public affairs agencies, representing multiple clients, undertake a significant proportion of lobbying activity in addition to individual organisations conducting lobbying on an in-house basis.
Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs
The Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management is a specialized four-year honours degree dedicated to the study of public policy within an interdisciplinary framework. Students completing a Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management are required to complete a series of "core courses" throughout their undergraduate career. Each student must complete a one-semester (0.5 credit) capstone seminar as well as an undergraduate thesis: an Honours Research Essay (HRE) in order to graduate. Students pursue these courses according to their area of specialization.