London, 29 January 2013

2012: A year of participation for the CIPR

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has today announced membership and professional development participatory year-on-year figures for 2012.

Membership

Total membership of the Institute up 13%
Membership admissions up 14%
Paying members up 4% (non-students)
Student membership up 259%

Professional development

CPD completions up 29%
Qualifications enrolments up 30%
Training workshop delegates up 26%

Events and awards

Internal communications conference delegates up 49%
Social media conference delegates up 7%
Excellence Awards entries up 0.5%
Excellence Awards tickets sold up 12%

Web and social

CIPR website unique visitors up 21%
CIPR Social Media Panel and Wiley published ‘Share This: Social Media Handbook for Public Relations Professionals’ sold 2247 copies

Against the challenging background of the current economic climate, the Institute has delivered some impressive increases in participation across the board.

2012 can be marked out as a year of increased professional development activity for the CIPR and our members. The year started with the implementation of significant changes to our member grades, opening up membership of the Institute to a wider pool, reflecting the modern world in which we operate, and moving away from the time-served model of old.

The strategic decision to grant students on the CIPR’s 43 approved courses free membership, for the length of their studies, has proved to be a popular one. Coupled with the 4% increase in paying members, our year-end membership number has now passed the 10,000 mark.

The increase in enrolments on CIPR qualifications and training workshops indicate that the public relations industry is now placing professional development at the very top of the agenda. Developments made toward the back of 2012 in refreshing our training workshop programme, and extended this offering beyond London, ensures that our members and the wider public relations community have access to the highest standard of training available.

These increases in participation are testament to the hard work and commitment of the CIPR staff and the hundreds of CIPR member volunteers who commit their time to the Institute. I welcome their continued support, and look forward to continuing this progress in 2013.

Jane Wilson MCIPR, CIPR CEO

Notes to editors

About the CIPR

Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations is the professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK. With 10,000 members involved in all aspects of public relations, it is the largest body of its type in Europe. The CIPR advances the public relations profession in the UK by making its members accountable through a code of conduct, developing policies, representing its members and raising standards through education and training.

Further information

These statistics are not end-of-year financial results but relate to year-on-year increases in participation.

These year-on-year statistics compare 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012 performance with 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011 performance.

Paying members are those at Associate, Affiliate, Global Affiliate, Member and Fellows.

Qualifications included in these statistics are: CIPR Diploma, CIPR Advanced Certificate, CIPR Internal Communications Diploma, CIPR Crisis Communication (Response) Diploma, CIPR Internal Communications Certificate, CIPR Public Affairs Diploma.

Conference, training and qualifications figures are for paying delegates only. Complimentary places have not been counted in this figure.

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2012: A year of participation for the CIPR