The Change Communication Playbook was developed by the CIPR Inside Committee and written by Ann-Marie Blake Chart.PR, FCIPR, co-founder of change and internal communications consultancy True. It is a practical member resource for practitioners who are new to change communication or reviewing their existing approach. It takes readers from first planning through to the weeks after launch, when managers face questions and new habits need reinforcing.

The playbook covers:

• Understanding change: how the brain responds to uncertainty, people-centred change, listening and dialogue, and managing rumour and speculation.
• Planning and delivery: an eight-step change communication plan, the core characteristics behind a strong change narrative, and how to time and sequence sensitive announcements.
• Change models: the Kübler-Ross Change Curve, Prosci’s ADKAR model, Hilary Scarlett’s SPACES model and David Rock’s SCARF model, with the limits of each and how to apply them to communications.
• Working with programme teams: how project management offices and governance structures operate.

It also includes a glossary of common change management terms and scenario cards on a restructure, an office move and a new IT platform. Each card sets out the checks and actions communicators should consider, and teams can use the cards for discussion or planning exercises.

Alongside the playbook, the CIPR has published a change communication skills guide that is open to everyone. It gives an overview of the knowledge and approaches practitioners need to communicate change and put people at the heart of the process. The guide covers why change communication matters, how to plan it, how to communicate through uncertainty and how to measure whether communication is helping a change succeed. Members can then turn to the playbook, which explores these topics in more depth and adds further tools and practical guidance.

• Read the Change Communication skills guide
• Download the Change Communication Playbook (CIPR members only)
• Find out more about CIPR Inside

Internal Crisis Communication – exclusive to CIPR members - was developed by crisis communication specialist Alison Arnot Chart.PR FCIPR, and provides practical guidance for communicating with employees, contractors, and other internal stakeholders before, during and after a crisis. The guide emphasises the essential role of informed, engaged and supported employees in preventing harm and enabling organisational recovery post-crisis.

It also explores the seven stages of Internal Crisis Communication, a staged model that helps communicators meet evolving human and organisational needs from the first moments of crisis through to long-term recovery. It offers clear advice on message development, choosing the right channels, involving multiple organisational voices, and monitoring and adapting communications as crises unfold.

• Download the Internal Crisis Communication Skills Guide
• Log 5 CPD points for reading the guide

Now in its fourth successive year, the projects from the CIPR Research Fund cover a diverse range of themes including talent retention, internal communications strategies, and ageism within the PR industry. The four pieces of research are due to be published throughout 2025.

The commissioned research projects are:

• The Inside Story: Investigating Strategic Internal Comms in UK Organisations with Under 500 Staff, by John Clegg
• An age-old problem: what can we do to tackle ageism in PR, by Jenny Manchester
• Choosing Public Relations: Factors impacting career choice for the Next Generation of potential PR Practitioners, by Caroline Spence
• Missing Women: Exploring interventions to stop the mid-career talent drain, by Stephen Waddington and Sarah Waddington

Successful applicants have been awarded funding of up to £2000 to conduct independent research relevant to the advancement of the wider public relations profession. Successful applicants will also have the opportunity to undertake a CIPR training course to help refresh or develop their research knowledge and skills.

• For more information about the Fund, please visit our website

Each day across the week the Institute will release a new benefit or resource and will be giving away £5000 worth of professional development prizes for members to win for themselves or gift to others in a social media contest.

The new guide out today - Everyday Ethics in PR – is a collection of seven anonymous case studies featuring real-life ethical dilemmas as described to the CIPR's Ethics Hotline. The case studies have been constructed to help members reflect and consider how they would respond, with a summary of the advice provided by the CIPR Ethics Hotline included.

New benefits will be launched each day with another guide on measuring internal communications due out on Thursday:

• Monday – Everyday Ethics in PR: Case Study Collection
• Tuesday – Brilliant Briefs and Powerful Proposals webinar
• Wednesday – Iprovision 75 Fund
• Thursday – Internal Communications Measurement Guide and Matrix
• Friday – Equity, diversity and inclusion: Free on-demand training series (*limited to 1,000 spaces) 

Prizes include one-year memberships, on-demand training courses, and one-day virtual courses. For anyone looking to join the CIPR, to celebrate our 75th anniversary, the Institute is giving new joiners up to £75 off with code MemWeek23. Visit the CIPR’s website to read the full terms and conditions.

The resources - which will count towards both associations' CPD - will be available to members until the end of September. They include a range of webinars, skills guides and factsheets largely created for internal communicators at a time when the relevance of their role within organisations is being recognised as more valuable than ever.  

The two Institutes have also issued the following joint statement: 

During this recent pandemic, there has been no doubt of the value internal communicators have brought to their organisation. Many have had to hit the ground running, step under the spotlight, and guide their leaders with messaging to help colleagues stay informed and connected throughout this challenging time. 

We knew our internal communications community was strong, but this recent crisis has confirmed that when we need each other the most, we all come together. The messages of support, the offer of help and, the work you have done for your organisation so far is something each of you should be proud of. 

There is no denying that the next phase of the crisis, recovery, is going to be tough. The importance of your work in supporting the economy during this time will be critical. Working from home has been a necessity for many, and with staff returning from furlough, it’s highly likely that organisations will need to consider some significant cultural shifts in the way they work, for the foreseeable future at least. 

Priorities will have also changed for some colleagues, and mental health will be a vital issue for many who have struggled during the past few months. How you bring colleagues together so they are invested, engaged, and motivated will be crucial to the success of the organisation. 

CIPR Inside and the IoIC will be partnering to share resources jointly across our memberships. We hope that these resources will help you to continue to deliver great communications and support your organisations throughout the next phase of this crisis.

Advita Patel, Chair CIPR’s Inside Group 

Jennifer Sproul, Chief Executive Institute of Internal Communication 

• CIPR members can access the IOIC resources here.

The news follows recent reports in the Independent  that several legal and financial firms in the UK are in discussions with a company responsible for fitting thousands of people with chips in Scandinavia.

The CIPR believes microchipping staff undermines employee privacy and does not serve the interests of businesses in the long-term.