Institute for Public Relations
The Institute for Public Relations is an independent nonprofit that bridges the academy and the profession, supporting PR research and mainstreaming this knowledge into practice through PR education.
the science beneath
the art of public relations™
Existing Programs That Will Continue
- Use the Institute website, blog and e-newsletter as the centerpieces of our free dissemination of research-based knowledge, communicating key findings in ways that practitioners find helpful. Support these with additional audience outreach through trade articles and presentations to professional audiences in North America and abroad.
- Continue Commission models for measurement and evaluation, international public relations, organization communications; plus other panel-directed research thrusts into diversity and public relations practice, new technology and public relations, and credibility/trust/ethics. Stay focused on big-picture research that is breakthrough and predictive in nature.
- Present at least five Institute for Public Relations Forums annually for high-performing mid-career professionals - filling gaps in the leadership competencies of those destined to be the future leaders of public relations.
- Public Relations Executive Forum (corporate only, presented with the Page Society).
- Public Relations Leadership Forum East (agency and corporate, presented with the Council of PR Firms and the Page Society).
- Public Relations Leadership Forum West (extending our reach to more West Coast practitioners, also with the Council and Page).
- Summit on Measurement.
- Summit on Corporate Communications (with the Page Society and perhaps the Council going forward).
- In-house seminars (to be opportunistically pursued when there is demand and our resources can accommodate it).
- Provide enabling support, financial management and awards for the International Public Relations Research Conference, now established as the premier conference for academic research in public relations (and another example of our bridging role, since practitioners also participate).
- Continue the traditional Annual Distinguished Lecture & Awards Dinner in New York, and the International Distinguished Lecture event in some years at suitable international locations.
- Present "The Reputation Conference" each fall with Henley Management College and PRWeek-UK as a centerpiece of our international outreach.
- Utilize a stable of high-profile awards to encourage and expand the body of knowledge, including: the Ketchum Excellence in PR Research Award, the Pathfinder Award (for a leading academic), the Northwestern Mutual Best Master's Thesis Award, the Jack Felton Golden Ruler Award (for excellence in research, measurement and evaluation), the Big Apple Best Use of Research, Measurement and Evaluation Award (with PRSA New York), and the Case Study Competition that the Institute co-sponsors with the Arthur W. Page Society.
- Amplify the voice of profession to influence the direction of public relations education through:
- Participation on and enabling support for the Commission on Public Relations Education.
- Annual networking event at the conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
- Support - and with that, also have the opportunity to shape for the future - the continuation of the annual academic/professional symposium that began at the Tuck School with the Arthur W. Page Society in 2006 and 2007.
