CIPRPRESIDENT’S

REPORTQ2 2014

CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Chartered Institute of Public Relations: President’s Q2 2014 Report 2

CIPR PRESIDENT’S Q2 2014 REPORT

This is my second report as President of the CIPR. I committed to report to the CIPR Board, Council, Groups and members, in this way at the end of each quarter.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Q2 has been characterised by a period of intense activity leading to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Manchester.

My aspiration for the CIPR in 2014 is to refocus the organisation around its vision and core purpose, as set out in our Royal Charter, as well as to shift the organisation towards being networked and member-led.

Following discussions at Council CIPR that started in November 2013, members were consulted on draft changes to the organisation's constitution.

We were the first Chartered body to use a Twitter chat and wiki to consult with members on our governance. Members voted overwhelming in favour of the changes at the AGM.

We will now seek approval for the changes from the Privy Council. The work to implement the reforms will continue throughout 2014 and 2015.

MEMBER LED

This year, for the first time since our foundation in 1948, we held our AGM outside London. We took the opportunity of the Northern Conference to hold our AGM in Manchester.

My thanks are due to the North West regional group for organising the conference and hosting the AGM. It was an excellent day that was well received by delegates.

I hope that we will hold many of our future AGMs outside London.

Our future success lies in our members from regions, nations, and sectors throughout the UK, supported by light touch services and infrastructure from Russell Square, London. We will continue to make investments in 2014 and 2015 to deliver on this promise.

I maintain a week-by-week activity summary on Pinterest. Please check this for further information about initiatives highlighted in this report. For information about the CIPR please visit our web site and follow @CIPR_UK on Twitter for regular updates from the Institute.

Chartered Institute of Public Relations: President’s Q2 2014 Report 3

KEY AREAS OF ACTIVITY AND PROGRESS

FINANCIAL REPORT

The CIPR published its Annual and Financial Reports for 2013 in May 2014.

The headline recorded that the organisation retained a surplus for the year of £189,774, taking total reserves to £868,399 in line with its financial objectives. Membership was up by 4 per cent, and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) completions up by 29 per cent.

At the AGM, Honorary Treasurer Dave Sanders reported that the operational plan for 2014 and 2015 is to focus on the Institute’s core business, with an emphasis on membership, qualifications and training.

Commercial activities have been scaled back, and staff numbers have been reduced to a level that will deliver our key professional services.

We will continue to review our operations, make modest increases in membership subscriptions and some other fees, and work to expand our markets with new business development capacity.

As the economic upturn continues to gather pace, the CIPR will work to ensure that it is best placed to take advantage of new opportunities, commercial and otherwise, which present themselves over the coming year.

AWARDS: EXCELLENCE, SIR STEPHEN TALLENTS, AND DOUGLAS SMITH

The CIPR Excellence awards were a highlight of Q2. More than 800 practitioners gathered at Old Billingsgate, London on the banks of the River Thames near Tower Bridge. It was the largest Excellence event in recent years and the new location was refreshing.

Thank you to all the entrants and judges. Thanks are also due to the CIPR team for responding to the organisational changes that we made at the outset of the year and for delivering a superb event.

I was delighted to award the Sir Stephen Tallents award for 2014 at the AGM to Sarah Hall in recognition of her contribution to the CIPR.

Sarah has made a longstanding contribution to the North East group, as well as the Board and Council. As a member of the Board and Council this year she has helped significantly to drive our agenda on modernity, diversity and ethics.

I was also pleased to present the inaugural Douglas Smith Award on behalf of the CIPR International group to Jeremy Dickey from the University of the Arts, London. The award is designed to help a new generation of public relations professionals showcase their talent.

MEMBER JOURNEY

Chartered PR Practitioner

Work reviewing the CIPR member journey continues. A Board paper in June reviewed the Chartered PR Practitioner accreditation.

I maintain that addressing our highest award is critical to setting out our value to members and the broader profession.

I have led a member-driven initiative with Chartered PR Practitioners to negotiate a publishing contract for an anthology of essays. This will be published in 2015 to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Royal Charter.

Fellows

We announced six new Fellows in May. This is the highest membership grade and is awarded in recognition of service to the CIPR or the broader profession.

Please consider nominating those who you think are worthy of recognition of this honour. The deadline for the next round of nominations is 18 July 2014.

More than a third of our Fellows have contributed to a consultation on the role of professionalism in public relations. We will share the results at the Fellows lunch on 25 July 2014.

Chartered Institute of Public Relations: President’s Q2 2014 Report 4

As part of my campaign for President for 2014 I set out a series of 10 Election Pledges. I have set out progress in each of these areas in the next section.

01 COMMUNITY 02 CONFIDENCE 03 PROFESSIONALISMDESCRIPTION

Support, promote and celebrate the leadership of the CIPR in the regions and nations by providing a clear vision and purpose. Actively engage the Council – the CIPR’s governing body – and all its committees to represent the membership and the profession. Modernise the institutional model of the CIPR as a central provider and start the shift to a member-run and member-led networked organisation.

DESCRIPTION

Assert the CIPR’s leadership nationally and internationally in areas such as diversity, social media, public affairs and internal communication, ensuring that members have a leadership voice in their relevant communities.

DESCRIPTION

Recognise that the public relations industry must shift from a craft to a profession by putting Continuing Professional Development (CPD) at its core. Set a roadmap to ensure that CPD is recognised and seen as a key CIPR member benefit.

ACTIVITY

• Members voted on changes to Governance at AGM (June). Now seeking Privy Council approval.

• We are tackling an issue impacting the public relations profession at each meeting of the Council: engagement in April; and reputation in June.

• New group finance reporting rolled out under leadership of Honorary Treasurer Dave Sanders. New manual and online video material in progress.

• Laura Sutherland co-opted onto board at the start of the year to help address the challenges we face in Scotland this year.

• Recruitment underway for Scotland Policy & Development Officer.

• Commitment for sector groups to deliver initiatives in nations/regions agreed and underway.

ACTIVITY

• Spoken at the following CIPR events in Q2: webinar for CIPR International members; the Northern Conference, Manchester; a regional group meeting in Nottingham; and the Excellence Awards in London. I was also pleased to attend the CIPR Corporate & Financial group summer party.

• Represented CIPR, speaking at the following events: Share This and Share That Too, Entrepreneurs Forum, Darlington, Collision Course, Gorkana; and World PR Forum, Dircom, Barcelona.

• Confirmed to speak at six events during the remainder of 2014 including: BledCom, Bled; Silicon Beach, Bournemouth; the World PR Forum, Madrid; and Upload, Lisbon.

ACTIVITY

• Governance changes embed the Code of Conduct more clearly in our mission and structures. Seeking Privy Council approval.

• Sarah Pinch continues with her work looking at the reputation of the profession and has developed a guided discussion document for interviews.

• Work beginning on scoping the development of an enhanced CPD offer for mid-career and senior practitioners.

• Work underway with Chartered PR Practitioners to review, revise and republish the 70+ skills guides, the CIPR Research, Planning and Measurement Toolkit and the Best Practice Guidance that supports the Code of Conduct.

PROGRESS ON THE 10 PLEDGES

Chartered Institute of Public Relations: President’s Q2 2014 Report 5

04 EXCELLENCE 05 RELEVANCE 06 RELATIONSHIPSDESCRIPTION

Actively promote the Accredited Practitioner and Chartered Practitioner schemes as a benchmark for excellence to all members and with their employers in all sectors, charity, public and private, in-house and consultancy. Ensure that these schemes continue to resonate with employer and member needs.

DESCRIPTION

Quantify the benefit of public relations to the UK economy through a research initiative to provide the industry with a confident authoritative voice. Use data to assert the role of public relations as a management discipline.

DESCRIPTION

Further promote working relationships with key national and international organisations in advertising, digital, marketing and public relations. Support the work of the CIPR diversity group and actively engage with school and college students, and the wider public, about public relations as a profession that fully represents the wider community it serves.

ACTIVITY

• Work underway to review the CIPR member journey, in particular Chartered PR Practitioner accreditation.

• Regular Q&A interviews with Chartered PR Practitioners published on the CIPR Conversation.

• Anthology of stage two Papers written by Chartered PR Practitioners to be published in 2015.

ACTIVITY

• The Professional Practices Committee has modernised the structure for Code of Conduct, Complaints and hearings.

• Published updated Wikipedia best practice guidance for members and broader public relations community.

• Comment on Public Relations ranked in top 10 occupations of the future by Institute of Public Policy Research.

• Partnership with The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education to promote professional development in public relations during Adult Learning week.

• Successful completion of government-funded project into the communication of science led by Past President Sue Wolstenholme. This will lead to a new stream of work for the CIPR.

ACTIVITY

• Engagement with other PR associations: AMEC and the Guild of Public Relations Practitioners.

• Supported AMEC initiative on social media measurement.

• Joined international manifesto to support Wikipedia best practice.

PROGRESS ON THE 10 PLEDGES

Chartered Institute of Public Relations: President’s Q2 2014 Report 6

07 SOCIAL 08 LOBBY 09 TRANSPARENCYDESCRIPTION

Move the CIPR along the journey to becoming a social organisation, putting content and conversation at its core. Connect directly with members and the broader industry through a monthly Twitter discussion.

DESCRIPTION

Seek swift resolution on the issue of the registration of lobbyists and ensure that any new statutory rules are fair and applicable to all practitioners irrespective of role.

DESCRIPTION

Promote the CIPR Code of Conduct and Ethical standards in public relations. Ensure that the CIPR is an open and transparent organisation working in the public interest.

ACTIVITY

• Monthly #CIPRchat Twitter chats on governance changes, and European Union elections in Q1 2.14. Suggestions for future topics such as welcomed.

• Rob Brown co-opted to Board to review most effective means for engagement with members via content. Report due Q3 2014.

• Plans in hand to build new members area on CIPR website (late 2014 or early 2015) to allow greater member-to-member interaction.

ACTIVITY

• Public affairs represented on the CIPR Board and Council in 2014.

• New public affairs representative role agreed for Scotland; work continues with the Scottish Parliament on proposed Scottish register.

• Comment on the Labour Party's commitment to repeal the Lobbying Act.

ACTIVITY

• Commitment to manage the CIPR Board and Council in a transparent way.

• Answer all personal emails within 48 hours and publish minutes of meetings with 24 hours of them being signed off.

• Publish quarterly progress against plan.

PROGRESS ON THE 10 PLEDGES

Chartered Institute of Public Relations: President’s Q2 2014 Report 7

PROGRESS ON THE 10 PLEDGES

THANK YOU

As I get the opportunity to travel around the country I continue to be delighted by the energy and motivation of volunteers from nations, regions and sectors throughout the UK. I owe them all my thanks for giving their time and energy to the CIPR.

My thanks are also due to members of the Council, and in particular Past President Sue Wolstenholme, Honorary Treasurer Dave Sanders, and President Elect Sarah Pinch.

I would also like to recognise the drive and motivation of the CIPR's CEO Alastair McCapra and the team at the CIPR in responding to the changes and the progress that we have delivered so far year.

Stephen Waddington MCIPR CIPR President

30 June 2014

10 VOICEDESCRIPTION

Displace Max Clifford as the mouthpiece of the public relations industry and promote the expertise of CIPR members to the media, through social media and speaking opportunities.

ACTIVITY

• Personal blog and columns in Communicate and PR Week.

• Statements issues on Max Clifford, Labour commitment to appeal the Lobbying Act (see lobbying) and Tax Payers’ Alliance criticism of NHS investment in public relations.

• Plan underway to develop and promote a media directory of CIPR member spokespeople for Q3 2014.