a system that could bring some structure to the legislative advocacy ecosystem — listing all bills online; organizations and constituents would create accounts and post input in a structured, transparent way with outward anonymity but real names and addresses sent with messages to lawmakers in a way that could be easily processed by offices... th…

the Commission had joined forces with one of Europe’s most powerful foundations to keep the European debate on track "... developing new ways and instruments to reach and engage the public”... the Bertelsmann empire is stepping into the breach. With its staunchly pro-European ideals, deep pockets and broad reach ... could end up giving Europe’s a…

The EU Lobbyist's quick guide to "influencers"

Engaging Europeans with the EU requires a new Brussels Bubble culture - fourth of several posts written in reaction to Luc van den Brand’s Reaching out to EU Citizens: A New Opportunity.

As a believer in the 80/20 principle, whenever I list out the key players involved in deciding on any piece of EU law, I come to around 500 men and women across Europe. Over time, around 100 of them are more heavily involved and influential, and the vital decisions are taken by about 20...

to boost donations and promote their brands... organizations to sensationalize their coverage, which can, in turn, distort public perceptions about the nature of social problems... The NGO sector includes organizations with annual budgets that rival those of small countries, yet many operate with minimal oversight. News organizations can help a…

Not only are lobbyists often blamed for the rot in our political process, so too are the corporations who hire those lobbyists. And the media is often eager to simplistically separate the good (those who don’t hire lobbyists) from the bad (those who do)... Environmental Working Group and the Center for Food Safety ... raised more than $42 milli…

I developed a metric to identify gatekeepers, who increase your influence, and flak-catchers who reduce it. I tested the GREEDY FRAGILE algorithm developed by West Point for drone targeting decisions, which measures how much an individual participant in a network makes it more or less centralized. The results were fascinating. - An x-ray of Bru…

If you care about EU democracy you need to care about European media, particularly as the upcoming US media invasion gets underway. They'll be pushing on an open door when they get to Brussels.

via @bloggingportal. @poljourno finds no smoking gun: "... the European Union is still seen as a niche topic by the media in most EU member states. Ask the man on the street about the activities of the Brussels Bubble and you will also be met with a shrug and a ‘who cares’, in the majority of cases. But a fascinating documentary The Brussels Busi…