/CIPRPRESIDENT'SR E P O RT

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CIPR PRESIDENT'S REPORT Q1 2015

I started my term as President in a unique position, on maternity leave. Thanks to Rob Brown FCIPR President Elect and Stephen Waddington Hon FCIPR Immediate Past President, for covering January.

So in the first two months of my CIPR presidency I have started as I mean to go on, meeting members, travelling widely, listening, chairing the Board to make decisions and ensuring everything we do means that the CIPR remains the membership body of choice for any communications and PR practitioner serious about professionalism. In my first quarter I have clocked up more than 1800 miles by train on CIPR business, as well as a 500-mile round trip flight to Belfast.

We spent our time at the Board away day developing a plan in response to the State of the Profession survey, which we've published and received huge support for.

Please continue to comment and contribute to our plans, the CIPR is reliant on its volunteers and I am extremely grateful to the ongoing support and work of all of you who are giving up your time to improve our profession and our institute. Thank you.

Sarah Pinch FCIPRCIPR President 2105

............................................................WELCOME TO THE PRESIDENT'S FIRST QUARTER REPORT FOR 2015............................................................

// Sarah Pinch FCIPR, CIPR President

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CIPR PRESIDENT'S REPORT Q1 2015

I do as you know, have a rather special love of train travel(*) and it's been a pleasure to travel around the UK listening to members; thank you to CIPR Northern Ireland for inviting me to join a roundtable discussion with agency owners and heads of communications to listen to issues of concerns and ideas for the future and to address their AGM, thank you Chris Love FCIPR for the invite. It was a pleasure to travel to Newcastle to speak at the last AGM of Chris Taylor MCIPR, who stood down after three years as chair and I was delighted to see such interest in the NE from members interested in becoming Chartered Practitioners. The CIPR Midlands AGM had been in my diary for months, thanks to the forward planning of outgoing chair Lisa Jones MCIPR, another lively AGM discussing what professionalism really means to clients and organisations and how the CIPR can support members and my fourth AGM was with the CIPR Inside Group – where chair Jenni Wheller MCIPR proved there was no such thing as a free canapé as members took part in a workshop developing ideas for the coming year. And finally, I am always honoured and humbled to have lunch with Tim Traverse Healy Hon FCIPR, one of the founding fathers of the CIPR, whose enormous energy and ideas is a source of inspiration to me.

(*) I used to work for the railway and they say it never really lets you go, but I flew to Belfast, no railway tunnel or bridge yet!

The CIPR's staff, Council and Board have also been very productive:Ÿ Listening to the views of more than 1,200 people who responded to our survey asking what

content you want to see in our new member publication

Ÿ Last year we updated our template consultancy contract for independent practitioners andSMEs. In the first quarter of this year we have published, for the first time, a version which can betested under Scottish law

Ÿ We now offer members a substantial discount on an . Ifincome protection plan from PG Mutualyou are sick and unable to work, this plan will ensure you will be able to meet your financialcommitments

............................................................MAKING MEMBERSHIP MORE MEANINGFUL TO CLIENTS AND EMPLOYERS............................................................

// CIPR Midlands AGM, March 2015

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CIPR PRESIDENT'S REPORT Q1 2015

Ÿ I am especially delighted that we can offer , run by Editorial new discounted access to the eiClubIntelligence to help you build a high-value network of contacts outside your profession

Ÿ We’ve continued our work from last year, on gender, publishing in February a Gender Pay Manifesto setting out the approach we will take to tackling the gender pay gap in public relations

Ÿ We have launched our own online jobs board – . This will enable us to track emerging CIPR Jobstrends in the employment market more effectively and use the data to inform our future workplans.

In the next quarter: we will be publishing new research into the future skills needs of the profession, and using it as a basis for developing a competence framework for public relations. This will support the work of those responsible for recruiting, training and developing staff as well as individual professionals. We will also be publishing detailed guidance on lobbying and on gender equality in pay.

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CIPR PRESIDENT'S REPORT Q1 2015

In the first quarter of this year we’ve taken a number of steps to strengthen and build on our commitment to high standards:

Ÿ We joined the to ensure that our qualifications remain Federation of Awarding Bodiesconsistently in line with the standards of other examining bodies. The CIPR is the first body without OFQUAL accreditation to be accepted as a member

Ÿ We published a to exemplify the diversity of the collection of essays by Chartered Practitionersprofession and the value it offers in the book. The feedback from the book has been exceptionally positive. The essays serve as a benchmark for standards of knowledge and ethical competence in the future. Many thanks to Stephen Waddington Hon FCIPR for leading this work and Anne Gregory Hon FCIPR for the foreword

Ÿ We have continued to engage constructively with the development of statutory registers of lobbyists in Westminster and Holyrood.

In the next quarter: we intend to publish our first ever . We hope it will encourage Integrated Reportmembers to advocate this form of corporate report for their own employers and clients as it provides an excellent narrative of how public relations strengthens and adds value to an organisation. We will also maintain our commitment to universal and transparent registration for everyone involved in lobbying, as well as continuing to provide members with any guidance necessary to meet the requirements of statutory registration.

............................................................STANDING UP FOR A PROFESSION CONFIDENT IN ITS HIGH STANDARDS AND ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE ITS VALUE............................................................

// Chartered Public Relations, published February 2015

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CIPR PRESIDENT'S REPORT Q1 2015

Ÿ A record number of members completed their CPD record in the last quarter – more than 1600. This continues the steep upward trajectory we have seen in the last couple of years and demonstrates the commitment of members to the development of their own knowledge and skills. Access to CPD is now the number one main reason for wanting to join the CIPR.

Ÿ Since 1 January 2015 the CIPR Board and Council are all completing CPD – it is now a requirement for them to do so. This year it is also a requirement for any member involved in judging our Excellence and PRide Awards.

Ÿ Our Group Chairs have agreed that from their 2016 AGMs the elected Officers on each committee (Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary) must all be recording CPD. I am very pleased that a number of Group committees have already reported that every member of their committee is already undertaking and recording CPD.

Ÿ Earlier this month the online CPD system reopened for the 2015-16 year with a number of new enhancements. For the first time there is a compulsory ethics element to our CPD – a minimum of five points must be recorded against activities developing your understanding of ethical problems. A new online ethics module has launched to help you with this.

In the next quarter: The CIPR Board will be asked to approve an amendment to our Regulations to provide that with effect from 1 January 2016 all new nominations for Fellowship will require the member proposed to be recording CPD.

Later in the year we will once again be supporting Ethics Month, an initiative of the Public Relations Society of America, and we will be producing some special materials to support this in due course.

............................................................BUILDING TRUST IN OUR PRACTICE THROUGH THE CODE OF CONDUCT AND CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT............................................................

// CIPR training at Russell Square

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CIPR PRESIDENT'S REPORT Q1 2015

In this quarter the CIPR has undertaken a diverse range of initiatives which link us with other professional bodies and employers:

Ÿ In February we welcomed Disability Minister Mark Harper MP to a roundtable of employers todiscuss the development of the government’s initiative ‘Disability Confident’

Ÿ Our research into the gender pay gap has attracted widespread interest from other professionalbodies and we will continue to share our findings and our plans widely so that our own efforts arepart of a broader campaign to eliminate the gender pay gap across different professionaldisciplines

Ÿ We have officially partnered with McDonalds in their campaign, led by James‘Backing Soft Skills’ Caan MBE, to promote communication skills in the workplace

Ÿ We held the President’s Reception in February and invited a number of professional bodies,influencers and organisations we believe can help to further promote the role of professionalcommunicators and PR practitioners to business and organisations

Ÿ We won external recognition for our scheme at the 2015 Association Awards,Excellence Awardsbeating off eight other shortlisted professional associations to win the ‘Best Awards’ category

Ÿ We sponsored the South London round of , the national schools debatingDebating Matterscompetition run by the Institute of Ideas

Ÿ We published the CIPR’s first , highlighting seven policies we are calling on the election manifestoincoming UK government to act on after the General Election. We have also published this inWelsh, which is the CIPR’s first official document in the Welsh language

Ÿ Biz Stone, founder of Twitter, from our 2014 President Stephenaccepted the President’s MedalWaddington.

In the next quarter: We will be hosting a meeting of Chief Executives, convened by the Professional Associations Research Network, to discuss governance and risk in professional bodies. We will also be hosting a meeting of a network of senior staff in professional bodies to discuss digital futures in professional bodies.

............................................................REACHING AUDIENCES BEYOND THE INDUSTRY............................................................

// Biz Stone, awarded the 2014 CIPR President's Medal