London,
23
October
2015
|
06:59
Europe/London

CIPR Local Public Services announce new research report

Influence for Impact – the new research report launched by the Chartered Institute for Public Relations (CIPR) Local Public Services Group (LPSG) last night – identifies that influencing has emerged across the public services as the key skill, as communicators let go of the reins of tactical communication.

Wendy Moran, LPS Group Chair
The sector has been challenged and reshaped like never before. In times of adversity, the challenge for communicators is to embrace the severity of the situation and to develop a new model of communication.

This shift within local public services is moving away from prescriptive narrative towards a new paradigm of influencing.

We wanted to find out how communications professionals were coping, adapting and reinventing themselves in a context of budget cuts and heightened expectations.
Wendy Moran, LPS Group Chair

The report is the result of the group's national research project launched in June in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University.

9 focus groups and a series of interviews with communicators, Chief Executives and other key players, took place to identify current issues and the training and development needs of public service communicators.

Key themes identified by the report include digital transformation which is at the heart of the raised expectations and staff engagement, as the new environment demands influence rather than attempting to control communication and reputation. Resilience was identified as an essential requirement for communicators across the sector as well as commercial awareness.

Evaluation also plays a key role but is equally challenging in the context of reduced resources. Training and development budgets have been dramatically reduced or are non-existent. Many communicators are investing in themselves for both professional development and membership of professional bodies.

The CIPR LPS has pledged to deliver training and development addressing each of these key areas at low cost, and regionally, in the year ahead.

Notes to editors

Notes to editors

About the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners in the UK and overseas. The CIPR is the largest membership organisation for PR practitioners outside of North America. By size of turnover and number of individually registered members, we are the leading representative body for the PR profession and industry in Europe.

The CIPR advances professionalism in public relations by making its members accountable to their employers and the public through a code of conduct and searchable public register, setting standards through training, qualifications, awards and the production of best practice and skills guidance, facilitating Continuing Professional Development (CPD), and awarding Chartered Public Relations Practitioner status (Chart.PR).