The document provides an overview of benchmark research on government affairs and public policy groups at leading biopharmaceutical companies. It finds that most participants held director-level or higher positions and that differentiated service levels are common. Nearly half of companies employ regional or hub-and-spoke models to balance centralized and local needs. Government affairs structures commonly follow business units, and intensive communication and goal setting are effective for collaboration.

1. Government Affairs & Public Policy
Excellence: Optimizing Group Structure &
Operations
1
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES,
®
LLC

2. Table of Contents
Table of Contents TOC Continued
•Government Affairs & Policy Funding Levels & Sources:
•Project Blueprint – pg. 3
Examining the Resources Invested for Success – pg. 43
•Executive Summary: Benchmark Insights and Research
•Government Affairs & Policy Group Services: Trends in
Group– pg. 4
Service Levels & Key Priorities – pg. 49
•Government Affairs Group Structures: Key Trends &
•Government Affairs & Policy Responsibilities: Trends in
Drivers of Sub-group Evolution – pg. 11
Forging Accountability & Clear Roles – pg. 60
•Government Affairs Group Models and Structures – pg.
•Communicating the Value of Government Affairs &
28
Policy In a Global Bio-Pharma Company – pg. 67
•Government Affairs & Policy Groups Staffing
•Contact Information – pg. 72
Benchmarks: Key Trends in Resourcing Government
Affairs Groups – pg. 37
Page - 2
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES, ®
LLC

3. Universe of Learning: Government Affairs & Public
Policy Benchmark Research Participants
Participants in this benchmarking research included 16 Government Affairs and Public
Policy executives and managers at 15 leading bio-pharmaceutical, healthcare and
medical device companies.
Page - 3
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES,
®
LLC

4. Most Participants Hold Job Title of Director or Above
Research participants included a Vice President, Executive Directors, Medical
Executives, Directors and Managers. More than 44% of benchmark partners were
directors or above, 38% were managers and 19% were vice presidents – all of whom
worked directly or indirectly in Government Affairs and Policy functions.
JOB TITLE
Vice President Director
Executive Director Director
Senior Director Senior Manager
Senior Director Senior Manager
Medical Executive Manager
Director Manager
Director Manager
Director Manager
Page - 4
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES,
®
LLC

5. Key Functional Perspectives Inform the Benchmarks
Benchmark partners reflect functional experience that interacts directly or indirectly
with the Government Affairs function. Because Government Affairs resides in different
places across different companies, diverse functions from Government Affairs, Federal
Affairs, Communications, Medical Affairs and Public Policy participated in this study.
GROUP OR FUNCTION
State Government Affairs Government Affairs
Public Policy and Advocacy Global Regulatory Affairs
Medical Affairs Global Public Policy
Medical Affairs Federal Affairs
Government Strategy & Relations Federal Affairs
Government Affairs Operations Corporate Affairs
Government Affairs Corporate Affairs
Communications & Government
Government Affairs Affairs
Page - 5
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES,
®
LLC

6. Key Insights & Observations from Analysis – 1
Field interviews and study analysis produced many observations and benchmark
findings. Key study insights reflect the inter-related evolution of a company’s
commercial structure and how Government Affairs is organized to serve internal and
external customers.
Differentiated Services Are the Norm for Government Affairs: Almost three-quarters of
Differentiated Services Are the Norm for Government Affairs: Almost three-quarters of
participants said they vary the level of services ––staffing, time, responsiveness ––across internal
participants said they vary the level of services staffing, time, responsiveness across internal
customers. The practice reflects the significant impact that Government Affairs can have on important
customers. The practice reflects the significant impact that Government Affairs can have on important
business issues such as reimbursement and regulatory. ItItfurther underscores how small expert staffs
business issues such as reimbursement and regulatory. further underscores how small expert staffs
provide services to diverse stakeholders while reflecting differences in stakeholder issues and impact.
provide services to diverse stakeholders while reflecting differences in stakeholder issues and impact.
Government Affairs Groups Seek to Balance Centralized Focus with Decentralized
Government Affairs Groups Seek to Balance Centralized Focus with Decentralized
Local Needs: Nearly half of all benchmark partners employ Regional Models and Hub-and-Spoke Models
Local Needs: Nearly half of all benchmark partners employ Regional Models and Hub-and-Spoke Models
in designing their structural approach to serving diverse geographies. Both approaches seek to balance
in designing their structural approach to serving diverse geographies. Both approaches seek to balance
centralized policy and GA perspectives while reflecting local needs across continents and country units.
centralized policy and GA perspectives while reflecting local needs across continents and country units.
Purely centralized or decentralized shaping factors are less commonly employed. A balanced approach ––
Purely centralized or decentralized shaping factors are less commonly employed. A balanced approach
such as the Hub-and-Spoke model ––can be advantageous in dealing with reduced staff and growing
such as the Hub-and-Spoke model can be advantageous in dealing with reduced staff and growing
emerging markets.
emerging markets.
Page - 6
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES, ®
LLC

7. Government Affairs Structure Follows Business Lines
Business Units lead the functional design factors shaping Government Affairs Sub-Group
Structure – followed closely by matrix models whereby Government Affairs staff serve more
than one internal customer group or unit. About one-quarter of the companies employ
product-focus, project-focus or therapeutic-area-focus in designing the GA structure.
Q2. Government Affairs Sub-Group Structure: Note all functional factors describing how your
Government Affairs organization is designed.
Business Unit
75%
Focus
Matrix Model 69%
Product Focus 25%
Project Focus 25%
Therapeutic Area
19%
Focus
% of Companies
(n=16)
Page - 7
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES, ®
LLC

8. One Big Pharma’s Government Affairs Serves Across
BUs
A Top 20 Pharma company divided its company into four Business Units: Pharmaceuticals,
Devices, Diagnostics and Nutrition. The company’s Government Affairs group consists of
four teams: State, Federal, Global and Reimbursement. The State team serves as generalists
while the others are specialists. While Government Affairs serves each of the four BUs, the
level of service varies by the units’ economic impact for the company.
Pharma-
Devices Diagnostics Nutrition
ceuticals
Generalists
State
Federal Federal Federal Federal
Specialists
Global Global Global Global
Reimbursement Reimbursement Reimbursement Reimbursement
Government Affairs = State, Federal, Global and Reimbursement teams
Page - 8
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES, ®
LLC

9. Government Affairs Group Models
& Structures
Page - 9
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES,
®
LLC

10. POV: Leveraging Resources - Merging Federal-State Roles
Requires Clear Objectives, Overlapping Visits in Critical States
One Government Affairs veteran said it’s possible for one person to be effective in a dual
federal-state role, but it will require clear goals and priority-setting. While the GA staffer
can focus on Congress all year, for most of the states that staffer can limit herself/himself
just on the state government sessions, and work with the state representatives then.
To Merge Federal and State Roles
In Government Affairs:
Target your issues and prioritize them.
Identify states where you need to be aggressive
and pinpoint critical states where you need
to be more active.
Create relationships with Congressional
delegation while in critical states.
“Well I think it’s doable if you have the targeted selection of what you’re trying to do. So work
those Congressional delegations, either within the domestic offices in the states or actually
go to the Hill and try to create a relationship there as well. I mean it’s going to take time, but
if you schedule your itinerary properly, you could probably work that.”
– Interviewed Director, Government Affairs
Page - 10
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES, ®
LLC

11. Differentiated Services Are the Norm for Government
Affairs
About three-quarters of participants said they vary the level of services – staffing, time,
responsiveness – across internal customers. The practice reflects the significant impact that
Government Affairs can have on important business issues such as reimbursement and
regulatory. It further underscores how small expert staffs provide services to diverse
stakeholders while reflecting differences in stakeholder issues and impact.
Q21. Differentiating Services: Does your Government Affairs & Public Policy group
differentiate its service levels (i.e. amount of staff support, time invested, speed of
response, etc.) to different internal customers?
No, 27%
Yes, 73%
(n=11) % of Companies
Page - 11
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES, ®
LLC

12. Communications & Goal Setting Best for Building Bridges With
Other Corporate Affairs Functions & Internal Customers
Intensive communication was chosen as the most highly effective way of forging close
ties with other Corporate Affairs teams and internal customers. Goal setting/alignment
activities also ranked high in importance for building bridges with colleagues and
stakeholders.
Q26. Forging Close Working Ties: Rate the effectiveness of various approaches to build bridges and forge
close ties among Government Affairs and Policy group members, other Corporate Affairs function
colleagues and internal customers.
Highly Somewhat Somewhat Total
Neutral
Effective Effective Ineffective Effective
Intensive Communications 55% 27% 9% 9% 82%
Corporate Goal Setting 27% 55% 9% 9% 82%
Cascading Goal Alignment 18% 55% 18% 9% 73%
Planning Alignment 27% 36% 36% 0% 64%
Budget Setting Linkages 18% 45% 36% 0% 64%
Embed function / structure optimization updates
10% 50% 30% 10% 60%
on staff meeting agenda's
Collaboration Events 9% 45% 36% 9% 55%
Monthly Staff Meetings 9% 45% 36% 9% 55%
Interlinking goals among groups 18% 27% 36% 18% 45%
Co-location 0% 40% 50% 10% 40%
Page - 12
(n=11) Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES, ®
LLC

13. Contact Information
Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work
based on the simple yet profound principle that organizations can chart a
course to superior economic performance by studying the best business
practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class
companies.
Best Practices, LLC
6350 Quadrangle Drive, Suite 200, Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919-403-0251
bestpractices@best-in-class.com
www.best-in-class.com
Page - 13
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC BEST PRACTICES,
®
LLC