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CIPRANNUAL REPORT

2013

CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

#CIPR | @CIPR_UK

https://twitter.com/CIPR_UK

Chartered Institute of Public Relations: Annual Report 2013 2

INTRODUCTION

In 2013, the CIPR recorded both an increase in membership and a substantial financial surplus for the fourth consecutive year. We also expanded the scope of our work on professional standards and conduct, increased our training and CPD offer, and continued to provide leadership of the profession as it adapts to new challenges in research practice, social media use and evaluation techniques.

Our commitment to our Royal Charter continues to drive forward our work to promote higher standards of practice and professional conduct in public relations. 2013 saw, once again, a strong rise of 29% in the number of members recording Continuing Professional Development. Likewise, we benefitted from a 6% increase in the number of participants on our training courses. To promote better skills and understanding, a second volume of guidance and practical help for professionals seeking to engage through social media was produced and, between them, “Share This” and “Share This Too” became business best-sellers.

As well as promoting skills and professional practice, we have taken forward initiatives to address some of the industry’s most pressing current issues. We built strategic alliances across the sector to positively influence the transparency in lobbying legislation, and, by the end of the year, had opened new channels of communication into the Scottish Government to assist their investigations into a possible register of lobbyists. Part of our contribution to improving the diversity of the profession was to undertake our “Future Perspectives” research into the perception of public relations by 16-18-year-olds, which we followed up with a range of activities organised to highlight the careers PR can offer. A small army of members volunteered to meet and speak with young people across the UK and provide them with real-life case studies.

Our established groups flourished in 2013, offering a range of events and conferences and providing access to networks of professionals in a wide variety of sectors across the UK. We were able to offer two new opportunities with the start of a new Corporate Responsibility Network and one for Defence Communicators in partnership with the MoD. We also started to engage with our members in different ways, launching #CIPRChat – a monthly Twitter chat on a range of subjects with excellent results, sometimes involving over 100 contributors.

As well as offering the outstanding Excellence Awards, 2013 marked the 10th anniversary of the CIPR PRide Awards, which recognise outstanding achievement in public relations across the UK. In 2013, both the standard and the number of entries rose once again. In November, we held the first ever Public Relations Show, an exhibition and professional development opportunity that more than 1,000 people took advantage of and which broke the mould for CIPR events.

All of the foregoing is a tribute to the commitment and dedication of my predecessor, Jane Wilson MCIPR. During her three and a half years as Chief Executive, Jane delivered a consistently positive financial performance. On behalf of the Institute, I thank Jane and all of her staff colleagues who served the membership in 2013 and have given us such a sound basis for our work in future years.

Alastair McCapra FIAM FIDM FSA CIPR Chief Executive


CONTENTS

PRESIDENT’S ‘YEAR IN REVIEW’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . 5

MEMBERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

REPRESENTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

AWARDS AND EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

PUBLIC INTEREST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

MEMBER-LED NETWORKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

PARTNERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12


PRESIDENT’S ‘YEAR IN REVIEW’

My year as the CIPR President reflected all that we know about change, with some turmoil and uncertainty, alongside a number of worthwhile opportunities being taken to move the Institute forward.

I was extremely pleased to be elected on a ticket of developing the profession but slightly deflected, early in the year, by the resignation of the CEO and the need to find a worthy replacement. However, I was always encouraged by the enthusiasm I found at group meetings. Whether they were being held together by one or two stalwart volunteers or by a large committee of fine workers, the sense of purpose for public relations was always impressive.

A number of meetings were also held to build more joint purpose with our colleagues at the IABC, PRCA, Institute of Internal Communication, the Public Relations Guild and the Reputation Institute. I am still full of optimism about us working with all of them.

The saddest occasion to attend was Doug Smith’s funeral in January. His family was joined by a roll call of past Presidents going back to the very beginning. In April, I was privileged to speak at his memorial service, to remember the way that he had supported the development of PR throughout his life and to enjoy so many fond and often very funny reminiscences of him from the worlds of cricket, rugby and politics as well.

Tim Traverse-Healy’s 90th birthday was a fitting occasion to mark our 65th anniversary and his paper, published earlier this year, is a testament to his continuing energy to improve our work. As he illustrates, while many of our methods have changed, we are still not performing professionally enough to fulfil our agreed definition of PR and there is much yet to be achieved.

Speaking up for PR is a big part of the job of President and I was proud to do so at various events including conferences on Reputation and Marketing, Local Government, crisis management, Pathways to the profession and with international students in Ghent. Also, at the MOD for the launch of the defence communicators group; at a number of AGMs, including in Croatia, where the CIPR qualifications are highly regarded; at the beginnings of our

Swiss chapter, which grew out of students in Zurich studying for the CIPR Diploma; at the Directors’ Forum aboard the Aurora and, of course, at a large number of PRide Awards, where dancing with group Chairs was a significant added bonus!

Our CEO for three years, Jane Wilson, was given a fond farewell and a lot of delicious things to eat and drink, from all of our nations and regions at Council at the end of October, and Alastair McCapra started with us at the beginning of November. He had been chosen from a gratifyingly strong field and was keen to meet and discuss the work to be done following his appointment in late July. The evolving brief was challenging, not surprisingly in these straitened times, to make us leaner and fitter but also uncompromisingly to develop the CIPR and its governance for the relevance of the profession and the members.

We are hugely well blessed with the team at Russell Square and I have to thank Alastair, Phil, Sukhjit, Claire and all of them for their tireless and continuing support.

My themes for the year were to better understand and promote the communication of science and to find a clearer way of measuring the value of reputation. They were late starting but both are still being worked on and proving to be extremely worthwhile. For them I need to thank Russell Grossman at BIS for the sponsorship of the science research, Ben Verinder and his team at Chalkstream for carrying it out, and Charlotte Sampson at DFW, for her help with the work on reputation.

Finally, I must also thank everyone on Council and the Board, for patiently keeping faith as we struggled through some knotty issues around elections and governance and ask them to please keep at it as the last hurdles of that work are almost cleared, to make us a much more effective chartered body.

Sue Wolstenholme FCIPR, Chartered Public Relations Practitioner CIPR President 2013


CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The CIPR is the UK’s leading organisation providing personal development pathways for public relations professionals .

Professionals apply knowledge in their work beyond simple technical skill to offer a range of elements, from problem-solving to strategic management, in an ethical manner, with the CIPR code of conduct central to their daily decision-making. Staying current with industry thinking and engaging in a process of continuing professional development is a threshold for professional status. Planned, reflective and validated self-directed learning and renewal is a career-long commitment that the CIPR positively encourages and makes achievable through its training, education and online CPD system.

In 2013, 1,265 members completed an annual CPD record – 29% more completions than in 2012. Acting on feedback, the year-end was changed to the last day in February 2014 and the annual cycles will now complete on 31 March each year. Around four out of five members who began an annual record in 2013 went on to complete the process.

// TRAINING AND EDUCATION

In 2013, the CIPR offered a range of structured learning opportunities. 1,623 members and non-members took part in 159 training workshops covering 37 topics. 1,029 booked to participate in webinars covering 18 subjects.

A total of 628 people graduated from a CIPR qualification in 2013. The majority took the main award routes of the Diploma (208) and the Advanced Certificate (142) in Public Relations with a further 92 passing the Foundation award. The CIPR offers shorter qualifications in public affairs, internal communications and crisis communications, from which a combined total of 186 students graduated.

// ACCREDITED AND CHARTERED

PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTITIONER

Accredited Public Relations Practitioner, awarded on completion of two consecutive years of CPD records or the CIPR Diploma, validates members’ learning and experience and is current if the holder maintains their CPD activity. At the end of 2013, there were 1,319 Accredited Practitioners – 81 more than at the same point in 2012.

Chartered Public Relations Practitioner validates the expertise and experience of members in a range of key areas including leadership, strategy, innovation and communication and is maintained through an ongoing commitment to CPD. Seven new Chartered Practitioners were created in 2013.

CIPR Training with Di Burton FCIPR


MEMBERSHIP

CIPR membership increased across the year, with total growth (professional members and students) of 3% and professional members alone increasing by 4%. At the end of the year, membership stood at 10,401 – 306 members more than at the end of 2012. Membership retention remained at a consistent 80% across all four quarters.

The breakdown of membership remained consistent with 2012 across 2013, with the vast majority (74%) of members recognised at “member” grade (MCIPR) and roughly one in 10 of our members enrolled as students. Fellows made up 3% of members and Associates – the most junior professional grade increased from 5% in 2012 to 6% in 2013.

// Membership 2013 // Professional Membership 2013


REPRESENTATION

The CIPR Policy Platform guides the Institute’s advocacy work on key issues impacting the public relations profession . Key themes continue to be aligned with those set out within Dr Jon White’s 2011 ‘PR2020’ report, which outlined several strategic recommendations for the Institute to pursue in order to secure the future success and viability of the public relations profession .

Highlights of the 2013 policy work included:

BEST PRACTICE AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

The CIPR worked with members of the CIPR Social Media Panel to produce guidance documents on ‘Social Media Monitoring’ and a refresh of ‘Best Practice Guidance on Social Media.’ By year-end, both documents had collectively received over 25,000 views and downloads.

In 2013, new Skills Guides on ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’, ‘Further Education Communications’, ‘Inclusive Communications’, ‘Issues and Crisis Management’, ‘PR and Strategy’, ‘Stakeholder engagement’ and ‘Writing a PR Brief’ were all published.

SOCIAL MEDIA

On top of the development of best practice guidance and creation of resources for members, the CIPR Social Media Panel continued their work supported by CIPR staff to lead and further develop practitioner knowledge of digital communication. Work included maintaining a programme of successful Social Summer events, support of Social Media Week London and in July 2013, ‘Share This: Live’, a one-day social media conference curated by the Panel.

The Panel also published ‘Share This Too: More social media solutions for PR professionals’, published in September 2013, the follow-up to 2012’s ‘Share This: Social media handbook for PR professionals’. Edited jointly by Stephen Waddington MCIPR and Rob Brown FCIPR and featuring over 30 contributing authors, the book had sold more than 1,500 copies by year-end.

At the end of the year, Stephen Waddington MCIPR stepped down as Chair of the Panel and was replaced by Co-Chairs Dan Tyte MCIPR and Gemma Griffiths MCIPR.

DIVERSITY

The CIPR, supported by the Diversity Working Group, continued its work to address issues in diversity in employment and build a structure that brings experience together with fresh new talent.

March 2013 saw the publication of the ‘Future Perspectives’ report, which revealed 16-18-year-olds' attitudes towards the public relations profession and found that BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) students are more likely than the total student population to consider a career in PR.

Throughout the year the Diversity Working Group also managed a series of successful ‘Equal Access Network’ events which established a networking group for practitioners who are affected by, or have an interest in, issues relating to diversity in employment and representation within public relations.

At the end of the year, Cornelius Alexander FCIPR stepped down as Chair of the Working Group and was replaced by Catherine Grinyer MCIPR


REPRESENTATION

EDUCATION OUTREACH

Based upon the results of the ‘Future Perspectives’ report, in February 2013, the Institute embarked upon an education outreach programme to give CIPR members the opportunity to pass on their skills, experience and advice to school students, with an emphasis on presenting public relations in a fun and engaging way to communities in which public relations is not believed to be a viable career option.

The Institute had a presence at over 30 different events, reaching approximately 7,500 young people. This involved partnering with organisations including Inspiring the Future, The Transformation Trust and the National Citizen Service.

In October 2013, the CIPR and the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) jointly launched a brand-new 20-page ‘Careers in Public Relations’ guide, intended to introduce public relations as a career choice to a diverse range of young people.

THE VALUE OF REPUTATION

The CIPR continued to work with the Institute of Directors (IoD) to highlight the value of reputation management as a board-level responsibility – this included the CIPR featuring at the IoD’s 2013 Annual Convention, held at the Royal Albert Hall.

At the 2013 CIPR Excellence Awards, Emma Gilpin-Jacobs MCIPR, Global Communications Director for the Financial Times became the third ‘CIPR/IoD PR Director of the Year’.

RESEARCH

In February 2013, the CIPR published the results of the annual ‘State of the Profession’ benchmarking survey which gathered insight from over 1,200 CIPR members about current public relations practice, budgets, skills and opinion on the future of the industry.

The survey showed that the sector continues to adapt and innovate during challenging times, taking on skills, responsibilities and roles not previously considered in the public relations remit, as practitioners aim to influence both communications and business strategy in the boardroom.

LOBBYING

The CIPR continued its work alongside other representative bodies to lobby the Government on the ‘Statutory Register of Lobbyists’ and, in April 2013, the CIPR led on the development of a workable definition of lobbying.

As the year drew to a close, the Government pushed through the lobbying register as part of the wider ‘Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill’. The Institute criticised the legislation for being limited in its scope and said that it “would not meet the government's stated aims of increasing transparency around lobbying."

In Scotland, the CIPR opened new channels of communication into the Scottish Government to assist their investigations into a possible register of lobbyists. This included meeting with Joe Fitzpatrick MSP, Minister for Parliamentary Business in the Scottish Government.


AWARDS AND EVENTS

The CIPR organises annual awards recognising excellence both internationally and across the UK . Rigorous shortlisting and judging is undertaken by members with expertise across a wide range of categories, with emphasis on rewarding the highest levels of achievement and innovation . Individual accomplishment and personal potential are recognised alongside organisational success .

EXCELLENCE 2013

Promotional Lego characters from CIPR Excellence Awards 2013

Participation in the flagship international Excellence Awards increased, with 687 entries. 163 entries from 120 organisations were shortlisted across 29 categories and more than 750 people attended a sparkling dinner and presentation ceremony at the Park Lane Hilton. Winners included Gemma Griffiths MCIPR as ‘Outstanding Young Communicator’, Transport for London as ‘Outstanding In-House Public Relations Team’ and Blue Rubicon as ‘Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy’.

PRIDE 2013

CIPR Cymru Wales PRide Awards 2013

In 2013, we celebrated 10 years of the PRide Awards and across the UK and there were 1,068 entries, organised in the CIPR’s 12 National and Regional Groups. 66 Judges shortlisted 884 entries, with 191 going on to win silver awards and 254 winning gold. 12 dinners took place between September and December, from Bristol to Belfast, with the largest in Manchester welcoming 364 guests.

THE PUBLIC RELATIONS SHOW 2013

The Public Relations Show 2013

The highlight of the event calendar in 2013 was the new “Public Relations Show” – an exhibition and professional development opportunity at the Business Design Centre, Islington, in November – initiated, organised and managed by the CIPR. Over 1,000 visitors arrived on the day, engaging with 30 exhibitors and participating in three speaker streams, featuring 24 sessions on strategy and culture, government, communities and society, technology, platforms and the future of PR. The programme for the day was shaped in response to member and non-member feedback and in partnership with 11 sponsors, headlined by Vuelio.


PUBLIC INTEREST

The CIPR’s Royal Charter commits us to promote higher standards of professional conduct in the public interest. An established way in which we do this is through our Code of Conduct, to which all members are bound in the course of their membership. The CIPR subscribes to the concept of ethical competence – that professionals apply their knowledge in an ethical manner, with the CIPR Code of Conduct as their key reference point.

The Code of Conduct is developed by CIPR members through Council and ultimately governed by the Royal Charter. Complaints, which can be made by anyone, are handled by a Regulatory Consultant and are adjudicated on by panels drawn from the professional membership and from laypeople who have been recruited to provide an alternative perspective on proceedings.

In 2013, 13 valid complaints were received – a higher number than in either of the two preceding years. However, for the second consecutive year, the number of hours billed by the regulatory consultant fell. Of those 13 complaints, three were due to be resolved by a hearing in 2014; three were dropped; two are pending at the time of writing this report; three were withdrawn after advice was given that allowed the complainants to take matters forward on their own account; and two were resolved by executive action (the respondent accepted a warning from the CIPR).

In 2012, CIPR Council formally resolved to restructure the process for handling complaints about members under the Code of Conduct in line with best practice following the 'ILEX' ruling by the Court of Appeal in 2011. This ruling established the idea that, in disciplinary tribunals set up by organisations such as the CIPR, the personnel involved in adjudication should not be drawn from institutional governance committees (i.e. CIPR Council) which may give rise to a conflict of interest in the outcome of any complaint. As a result, a Professional Standards Panel was established to adjudicate in hearings where valid complaints cannot be resolved through conciliation, and an Appeals Panel, both of which are composed entirely of members with no governance role who work alongside laypeople drawn from other walks of life and outside the CIPR. An Arbitrator post was also created to take over the role of resolving any disputes over procedure which had formerly been the role of the President.

The changes to the regulations also formalised the role of the Regulatory Consultant, who handles initial complaints and manages the process, advising Staff and Council as well as the parties to a complaint. The new structures were determined to come into effect on 1 January 2014.

CIPR Royal Charter


MEMBER-LED NETWORKING

CIPR Group committee members devote their time, efforts and enthusiasm to delivering events and research, which contribute to the growing profile of the Institute across regions, nations and sectors. The CIPR would like to thank the committee members of the 14 national and regional groups and 11 sector groups for their tireless dedication and commitment to the profession throughout 2013.

Whilst it would be impossible to capture the full range of activities and initiatives undertaken by the member groups, this report allows us to reflect on the highlights of group activity in 2013.

The 2013 CIPR Northern Conference ‘Power to the People’ was held in Newcastle and attended by well over 100 professionals. Now in its 12th year, this annual event is a product of collaboration between the CIPR’s North East, North West and Yorkshire & Lincolnshire groups and has grown to become one of the largest events delivered by CIPR member networks.

Another major volunteer-led CIPR event was the 2013 South West Conference, held at Bristol’s Engineers' House. The conference, themed around ‘The Rules of Engagement’, offered an extensive multi-stream programme allowing members and non-members to tailor the day toward their areas of interest.

CIPR Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all delivered an extensive range of CPD and training opportunities, through group-run programmes such as Freshly Brewed, imPRove training and Meet the Media events.

CIPR Scotland also devoted three days to exhibit at Skills Scotland – the nation’s largest skills, career and training event, aimed specifically at S4, S5 & S6 students. This took place in Glasgow and Edinburgh and was a great opportunity to raise awareness of PR as a career choice.

2013 was a particularly successful year for the CIPR’s sector groups. CIPR International, under the stewardship of Eva Maclaine FCIPR, held a series of successful events, including the Maggie Nally Memorial Lecture which featured an address by Dr Nemat Shafik, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

The Institute’s group for internal communicators, CIPR Inside, also enjoyed a successful year, which culminated in the success of the 2013 Internal Communication Conference, ‘Building our Future’ – a full day’s conference held at the Kia Oval that focused on the evolving communications landscape and the impact technology is having on internal communications.

The CIPR Corporate and Financial group continued to deliver a series of insightful speaker lunchtime events. Last year’s series featured an event with James Quinn, Financial Editor of the Telegraph Media Group.

The CIPR Education and Skills group held their prestigious Education and Journalism Awards in December at the House of Commons. The awards celebrated the achievements of exceptional education journalists and public relations practitioners.

Two new member networks, Defence Communicators and Corporate Responsibility, were also launched and held their first events in 2013. These groups were formed in response to growing interest amongst CIPR members within these areas.

At the CIPR Annual General Meeting, two groups are recognised each year for outstanding achievements and commitment to the CIPR. CIPR North East and CIPR International were presented with their trophies by the Rt Hon Jack Straw, in recognition of their success.

CIPR Inside Annual Internal Communication Conference 2013


PARTNERS

The CIPR wishes to thank the partners who renewed their relationship with us during 2013 .