Strategic Influencing
What is it and how should
we do it ?
Sally Campalani
What is strategic versus operational ?
Strategic
Future orientated
Long term
Far reaching
High level decisions
Broad sweep
Operational
Immediate impact
Short /medium
Smaller scale
Coal face decisions
Detail important
Too much detail dangerous
Too little detail dangerous
Whole populations
Greatest good for all
Conceptual
Individuals
Individuals needs
Practical
Why is the difference important ?
 Different
skill set required for each
 What makes for good strategy makes for
bad operational functioning and vice versa
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For example - too much detail in a strategy
will make the strategy unresponsive,
inflexible
Too little detail will make operational function
risky
The four different dimensions of a strategy :
all require different skill sets and approaches
Strategic
Analysis
Strategic
Implementation
Strategic
Planning
Emergent strategic issues
eg targets, RPA, scandals
Who do you influence?
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Who are the key decision makers
Analyse them in terms of power & interest
What is their power base?
What is their power to help you ?
Could they block or hinder you? In what way?
What is their interest in your cause ?
What matters to them?
What are their goals, objectives, fears & threats
How do you align your cause to theirs?
Stakeholder analysis
Plot on a power - interest axis
high
High Power
High Power
Low
interest
High
Interest
power
Low Power
Low Power
Low
Interest
High Interest
low
high
interest
CNS Stakeholder
Analysis
Who are your stakeholders that you
need to influence in order to develop
cancer services for patients?
Power & interest analysis will produce 4
possibilities
Each requires a different approach
LP LI Polite interaction, remember interest/ power
may change
LP HI Keep informed, utilise interest to furnish
information and data to inform strategic
analysis
HP LI, Here is where you need to put your energy
and skill
HP, HI Supply your argument in succinct form and
with supporting data /information.
What are the challenges
involved in participating in
NICaN Groups?
Facilitated group work
Influencing NICaN Group
 How
can you more actively influence
within a NICaN group?
 What
do you need to help you do this?
How do we influence?
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Get your priorities agreed amongst yourselves
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Draft your messages in small ‘easy to grasp’ concepts
and give it some catch phrases which capture the
whole concept e.g. orphan patients., treatment intent.
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Think about the needs of group you need to influence
and be prepared to repackage in the language of the
party you need to influence eg public health. planning,
quality, governance.

Present it on all occasions and do this intentionally and
in a planned purposeful way
Influencing strategies
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Agree a strategy before key meetings
Make strategic alliances with others to support each
others arguments groups e.g.,
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(i) nursing and pharmacy re new drugs,
(ii) Nursing and therapy radiology re need for medical teams
Maximise the volume by spreading the message, e.g. do
not sit with your friends and the like minded. Spread
these champions around the room.
When do we influence
Environmental pressures
Policy
Inputs
Demands
& supports
Feed the
demands &
supports
Policy
Production
Black box
Get high level
political parent
Policy
output
Lots of attention &
effort required –
danger of inaction
Policy
outcomes
Assess outcome &
use to feed
strategic analysis
What are the areas of interest to
influence?
SERVICE IMPROVEMENT AND REDESIGN

Cancer Access Standards
Research & Development & Audit
Workforce Development
Patient and Public Involvement
Improving the patient experience
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Can you help to ‘improve
the patient experience?’
Do you involve patients in
planning, delivering, or
evaluating the service?
Does your role have the
potential to contribute to
skill mix initiatives?
Is auditing the changes,
generating critical
questions, or helping to
implement evidence
based practice of
relevance to you?