Influence Score
LobbySpend's proprietary 0-100 metric that measures an organization's overall lobbying reach, graded A through F.
Understanding Influence Score
The Influence Score is a composite metric developed by LobbySpend to quantify the relative lobbying influence of organizations that file disclosures under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The score ranges from 0 to 100 and is converted to a letter grade (A = highest influence, F = lowest). The score is calculated from three weighted factors: total lobbying expenditure (40%), which measures the raw financial resources devoted to lobbying; issue breadth (30%), which measures the number of distinct policy areas an organization lobbies on, reflecting the scope of their policy engagement; and revolving door connections (30%), which measures the percentage of an organization's lobbyists who previously held government positions, indicating access and insider knowledge. Each factor is normalized to a 0-100 scale relative to all organizations in the database.
The weighted sum produces the final score. Organizations that spend heavily across many issues while employing many former government officials receive the highest scores. The grading scale is: A (80-100), B (60-79), C (40-59), D (20-39), F (0-19). Influence Scores are updated quarterly as new LDA filings are processed.
The score is designed to provide a comparable, at-a-glance measure of lobbying activity -- it does not measure the effectiveness of lobbying or imply any wrongdoing. Higher scores reflect greater lobbying activity and presence, not corruption or impropriety.
Related Glossary Terms
Lobbying Expenditure
The amount of money an organization spends on lobbying activities during a reporting period, as disclosed in quarterly LDA filings.
Revolving Door
The movement of individuals between positions in government (Congress, executive agencies, military) and jobs in the private sector lobbying industry.
Lobbying
The act of attempting to influence government decisions, policies, or legislation by contacting elected officials, their staff, or executive branch officials.
Lobbyist
An individual who is employed or retained by a client to make lobbying contacts on behalf of that client and who spends at least 20% of their time on lobbying activities for that client.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does influence score mean?
LobbySpend's proprietary 0-100 metric that measures an organization's overall lobbying reach, graded A through F.
Why is influence score important in lobbying?
The Influence Score is a composite metric developed by LobbySpend to quantify the relative lobbying influence of organizations that file disclosures under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The score ranges from 0 to 100 and is converted to a letter grade (A = highest influence, F = lowest). The score is ...