CSP influencing toolkit

Now more than ever, CSP members have the opportunity to get physiotherapy on the agenda of decision makers.  

Everyday across the UK people are making decisions that affect your work and your patients. Influencing is the ability to engage with other people and to convince them to adopt and implement your ideas.

We aim to do this by providing decision-makers with relevant statistical and factual information, and by sharing our experience and expertise. Successful influencing is built on relationships and communication between people.

You are the most effective advocate to decision makers about the key issues affecting the profession and the patients you see, so use our toolkit to find out how you can influence the influencers.

What can influencing achieve?

• Change in policy and priorities
• Create opportunities, such as for funding or contracts
• Raise the profile of physiotherapy services and challenge possible cuts
• Generate understanding of the benefits of physiotherapy
• Extend and grow your network
• Build new partnerships

No special training is required and many of the suggestions included in this toolkit take minutes to achieve. With your help, more decision makers, patients and members of the public will better understand the value of physiotherapy.

What's in the toolkit?

This toolkit includes information on who to influence as well as helpful hints, tips and ideas on how to influence. You can also find two case studies from fellow CSP members sharing their experience.

There is a section on social media, providing you with the first steps on how to build your virtual network and start influencing online.

There are two parts to the toolkit:

• Part 1: Who, why and how to influence
• Part 2: Tips, resources and case studies

We hope that this toolkit helps to inspire and motivate you to promote the profession you love.