CIPR commissions four studies through 2026 PR Research Fund
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has commissioned four new studies through its PR Research Fund, with findings set to be published throughout 2026.
Now in its sixth successive year, the PR Research Fund supports independent research into questions facing the public relations profession. The 2026 projects cover ethics in internal and science communications, hidden disabilities, and the effects of secondary trauma on practitioners.
Successful applicants will receive grants of up to £2,000 and access to CIPR training courses to strengthen their research methods.
The projects commissioned under the 2026 Research Fund are:
- Living the Values: embedding ethical values through internal communications, by Katherine Bradshaw Chart.PR, MCIPR
- Invisible but Impactful: creating a more inclusive PR profession for people with hidden disabilities and long-term health conditions, by Samantha Livingstone Chart.PR, FCIPR
- Ethical and practical considerations in research communications, and how STEM PR professionals can provide fair and inclusive opportunity to diverse groups, by David Schley Chart.PR, MCIPR
- Vicarious and secondary trauma in PR: when telling the story takes a toll, by Crispin Thorold Chart.PR, FCIPR, FRSA
Public relations has expanded its remit faster than its evidence base. Practitioners are making ethical judgements, managing the demands their work places on their own mental health and tackling questions of inequality, frequently without research to draw on. The Research Fund exists to close that gap, and its record shows what happens when it does. It has given us evidence of ageism in our profession, explored the reasons why women were disappearing from senior practice, and much more. This year's studies promise to tackle questions of the same magnitude. Congratulations to all four recipients. I look forward to finding out what their work tells us.
About the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) is the world's only Royal Chartered professional body for public relations practitioners with over 11,000 members.
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).