The Public Affairs Council’s report on government relations at associations found deeper investments, though staffing remains small.
Associations are investing more in government relations work, according to a new survey, but typically doing it with small staffs.
The 2026 Government Relations Benchmarking Survey for Associations, released in late September by the Public Affairs Council—an association of professionals in advocacy, lobbying, and public relations—is based on a survey of associations conducted in May and June. It’s the first time PAC has done association-specific research.
“The Public Affairs Council has previously conducted benchmarking research on corporate government relations functions, but had not yet gathered this kind of data for associations,” said Anna Platt, PAC’s senior manager, government relations practice. “We saw an opportunity to fill that gap with comparable benchmarking information and create an association-specific resource for our members.”
According to the survey, engagement with the federal government is high, with 96 percent of associations saying they do so. Moreover, that engagement is the result of a deeper investment in advocacy: Three-fourths (76 percent) of respondents said that they have “increased their government relations or public affairs budgets over the past three years.”
Those findings jibe with ASAE’s 2026 State of Associations report, released in March, which found that associations increased their advocacy/government relations staffing 16.7 percent over the previous year. That report also noted that nearly 40 percent of association leaders said their financial outlook had slightly or significantly worsened due to federal policy shifts.
Three-fourths of associations said they’ve increased their government-relations budgets in the past three years.
The ASAE report notes that many associations have adjusted their advocacy approaches in response: “Associations are adapting their strategies to navigate the current political environment. Respondents report an increase in their federal advocacy efforts, with increased coalition-building and collaborative initiatives to amplify their voices. Associations are also adjusting messaging to align with the priorities of the current administration. As federal engagement becomes more challenging, some groups are shifting their focus to state-level advocacy.”
Despite the more intense focus on government relations, the PAC report suggests that advocacy departments often operate on a shoestring, and aren’t always integrated with associations’ top leadership. The report found that a majority (52 percent) of government-relations teams have four or fewer members, with nearly all (90 percent) using contract lobbyists or consultants. And though most (85 percent) senior advocacy officers report directly to their CEO, only 40 percent said that advocacy and communications functions are “fully or mostly integrated,” Platt said, with another 40 percent saying those functions are “partially integrated.”
A large majority (85%) said that the senior-most association government relations officers report to their president/CEO. Almost 40% of respondents also reported that their government relations and communications functions are “fully or mostly integrated,” with another 40% reporting the functions are “partially integrated.”
Platt said PAC intends to continue to monitor government-relations staffing at associations.
“Associations hold a distinct and important place in the public affairs profession, and this research gave us an opportunity to better understand how they navigate government relations,” Platt said. “We are committed to continuing to create research and resources that our members can use and learn from.”
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