The CIPR Manifesto aims to provoke an open and informed debate ahead of the 2015 UK General Election. The document focuses on seven issues and challenges for the next UK government to address: - lobbying - the future of corporate governance - independent practitioners and future skills needs - the gender pay gap - data protection - internet governance - broadband

1. CIPRMANIFESTO 2015

2. Chartered Institute of Public Relations
52-53 Russell Square
London
WC1B 4HP
T: +44 (0)20 7631 6900
E: policy@cipr.co.uk
W: cipr.co.uk

3. 3
The UK General Election of 2015 promises
to be most unusual. The political
landscape, like the media landscape in
recent years, is fragmenting. There is
considerably less certainty about the future
direction of politics and political structures
over the next five to ten years.
Some of the really big questions facing
our society have not so far figured
large in political debate, but our future
government will need to take a lead on
finding answers to them. In this manifesto,
the Chartered Institute of Public Relations
is highlighting seven important challenges
which we believe the next government will
need to tackle during its period of office.
Most of these issues are not ones for
which a government can simply legislate,
and most of them do not have a simple,
straightforward solution. Rather, they
require an open and informed public
conversation which will allow us to arrive at
a sustainable set of policies and maintain
the UK’s world lead in some critically
important areas.
We commend these ideas to our
prospective Members of Parliament and
look forward to the discussions they raise
over the year ahead.
Sarah Pinch FCIPR, CIPR President
FOREWORD

4. 4
Public relations builds relationships
and manages reputation. The focus
of professional public relations is the
management of dialogue between an
organisation and its publics. The role
of the professional is to ensure that the
organisation is responsive and adapts
to the messages it receives, as well as
managing the messages it communicates.
This is a strategic mission. Organisations
that are communicativei
as part of their
DNA build trust, act responsibly and learn
from their stakeholders. This dialogue
results in improved decisions for the
organisation, its employees and its
stakeholders.
Public relations supports better public
services by bringing them closer to their
primary users and providers. Lobbying
supports democratic processes by
providing information-rich dialogues
which allow politicians and policy makers
to exercise critical judgement. Effective
internal communications and employee
engagement create the conditions for
greater productivity. In each case public
relations supports and facilitates better
decisionsii
. This is as true in Launceston as
it is in London. The UK’s major cities and
national capitals are all seeing a growth
in the profession of public relations as it
supports organisations and business of all
kinds, rural and urban, large and small.
In this context, the CIPR is investing in
research that will define the skills horizon
for public relations for the decades ahead.
Our work will build a stronger dialogue
with clients and employers, which will
be based on a clear understanding of
the role of public relations and how it
supports better decision-making, growth
and resilience. The net result will, we
believe, be a stronger economy and a
stronger society.
Commentary
Public Relations, Decision
Making, Growth and
Resilience

5. 5
UK plc depends on continuing trust in
British business institutions, but work by
international public relations consultancy,
Edelmaniii
, and the World Economic
Forumiv
, shows that trust in business
organisations is at record low levels. If UK
businesses do not act to restore trust they
will be unable to function and will lose
ground to competitors. Public relations is
a strategic management discipline which
nurtures the development of relationships-
it is therefore, an essential part of
governance. Relationships have value,
allow for the achievement of objectives
and the realisation of mutual benefit where
possible. Where it is not, public relations
diminishes conflict and clarifies interests
at stake.
Integrated Reportingv
(IR), based on
integrated thinking about value creation
over time, should demonstrate how an
organisation’s strategy, governance,
performance and prospects, in the context
of its external environment, lead to the
creation of value in the short, medium
and long term. This sort of extended
reporting should become the expectation
in our corporate culture, adding value
to communities beyond investors and
creating the potential for more dialogue
and deeper relationships founded on
trust. It would also mean a different level
of discussion around decisions when they
are placed in this context. From 2015,
the CIPR will begin to use IR in its annual
communications on performance.
The Future of
Corporate Governance
Building relationships is key to the creation of sustainable value in business. In
order to improve business decision making and trust in business, government
should identify measures which will lead corporate culture in the UK to refocus
on the value of relationships and move towards integrated reporting as a means
of communicating the way that business organisations create value.
t

6. 6
The current reform of EU Data Protection
Law leaves a number of important gaps
in how personal data is managed. It
strengthens citizens’ rights to control their
personal data, but does not adequately
address the everyday contexts in which
huge quantities of personal data are
generated and traded.
We currently trade the data we generate
via social media with owners of the
platforms we opt into as part of the terms
of use. Wearable devices such as Fitbit,
Jawbone UP, Nike Fuelband and other
activity trackers generate a wealth of
data and insight into our personal lives.
Deloitte predictedvi
that smart glasses
and fitness bands (‘wearable tech’) would
sell 10 million units in 2014, generating
$3 billion. Canalysvii
forecast 43.2 million
wearable band unit shipments in 2015.
Each of these units will connect the user
to a secondary trade in personal data.
Data, generated by us, is the raw material
of a new wave of industry, along with
the opening of data sources from within
government. Both are part of the horizon
of ‘big data’.
Sensitive biometric data is gathered via
wearable technology and shared via
mobile ‘apps’, whose terms of service (as
per the current Apple iTunes storeviii
or
Facebook agreementsix
) range from 4,500
Data Protection

7. 7
to 15,000 words long. Users routinely
click ‘I agree’ to these without any
understanding of what they are agreeing
to. In many cases the user is relinquishing
all future rights over their personal data
and allowing it to be sold, bought and
exchanged without any control.
We therefore have one part of our data
environment which is highly regulated
and in which citizen’s rights are regarded
as pre-eminently important, and another
in which there is effectively no meaningful
control on the use and re-use of data. This
lacks coherence, is not sustainable and
will ultimately lead to frustration.
The next UK Government needs to think beyond the scope of current EU Data
Protection Law and lead a national conversation about how we can develop a
coherent and satisfactory framework for responding to emerging technology.
We need to maintain our forward position in the adoption of new technology
while setting a world standard in terms of transparency and accountability in
personal data use. A Royal Commission is needed to recommend a new range
of protections and accountabilities and ensure that society can fully benefit
from the data revolution.
t

8. 8
Lobbying, as a professional service, has an
important role in the process of making
policy and law in a modern democracy.
It is one of the key means by which
information can enter the debate from
outside the system itself. Politicians and
policy makers need information in order
to exercise good judgement.
Good lobbyists bridge an important gap,
bringing a deep understanding of the
pressures of the processes and help their
clients and employers understand the
system while helping politicians and civil
servants understand the issues from other
points of view. The skill of the lobbyist is
in framing the information into arguments
and introducing them to the process at
the moment when it will matter most. No
lobbying is value free or disinterested in
outcomes, but professional lobbyists are
accountable to codes of conduct and
the outcomes of their work are of course
subject to the normal scrutiny which
surrounds lawmaking.
There should be greater public scrutiny
of lobbying. Lack of transparency, real
or perceived, creates the conditions for
distrust which will undermine faith in
government and politics. Despite this, the
current regime of statutory registration
is unlikely to increase the amount of
information about lobbying and will fail to
build public confidence.
Lobbying

9. 9
Government should support the development of high professional standards
and accountability in lobbying. It should work with the profession to build
stronger institutions that can regulate the ethical conduct of lobbyists,
supporting and maintaining the voluntary codes of conduct. It should ensure
the legislation that introduced a statutory register of consultant lobbyists
genuinely provides the public with more information about how policies and
laws are shaped.
t

10. 10
Self-employment in the UK hit the highest
level since records began in 2014, with
15% of people working for themselvesx
.
Around 13% of CIPR members are
independent practitioners of public
relations, often servicing smaller clients
who cannot afford to retain an in-house
function.
The UK Government recognises the
vital importance of skills and training for
the future of the UK economy and our
competitiveness in the global market.
Many self-employed people and other
small businesses have to be highly
flexible, adapting to changing client
needs and moving swiftly from declining
areas of business to new opportunities.
A government which is friendly to
entrepreneurs will do everything it can to
encourage this resilience.
Unfortunately HM Revenue and Customs
currently takes the opposite view. The
advice in BIM35660 is that training to
refresh existing expertise is deductible in
arriving at the profits chargeable to tax.
On the other hand, training intended to
give someone completely new expertise
is not deductible. Although the reasoning
behind this distinction is well established,
it does not create a tax environment
favourable to the kind of innovation and
personal development which will allow
the self-employed to thrive. We therefore
believe that it is contrary to the long-term
interests of UK business to retain this
distinction.
Independent Practitioners
and Future Skills Needs

11. 11
The CIPR asks the next UK Government to allow tax deductibility for any kind
of training undertaken by the self-employed and allow tax deductibility for any
kind of training for small businesses (as defined in the Companies Act 2006).
t

12. 12
Despite the Equal Pay Act, men and
women are often paid differently
for doing a similar job by the same
organisation, or with substantial and
often unfair discrepancies across sectors
and industries.
The CIPR has researched the gender
pay gap in public relationsxi
. We have
identified an average difference in the
pay received by men and women doing
similar jobs of £8,483 to the disadvantage
of women, which could not be explained
by factors such as seniority, service or
part-time work. It is therefore the pure
effect of gender on pay.
In fact, in public relations, gender had the
third largest overall impact on salary, after
level of seniority and years in the industry.
Additionally, looking at other measures
such as parenthood, it has been shown
that pay inequality in the industry
cannot be explained by having children
- something which in our research
appeared to have no impact on pay at all.
The gender pay gap in public relations is
greater than the gap that exists between
graduates and non-graduates, which
is £5,315 per annum. This research is
specific to public relations, but the
problem is not.
Gender Pay Gap

13. 13
The CIPR has, in the last 12 months,
introduced initiatives to support
members on maternity leave, members
returning to work and issued guidance to
members on flexible working. Although
these are each of critical importance,
our research suggests that they do not,
individually or collectively, address the
cause of gender inequality in pay. For
our part, we interpret our own Code of
Conduct, where it requires members to
“deal honestly and fairly in business” as
including questions of equal pay.
The UK Government should continue to support the “Think, Act, Report”
initiative, and other steps around flexible work and returning to work.
However, government also should tackle gender pay inequality more directly.
Firstly through conducting comprehensive research into the underlying
causes, looking for positive measures delivered in other countries, and
secondly, by strengthening the existing law on equal pay and ensuring that it
is universally applied.
t

14. 14
As a society and an economy, we rely on
the internet as an essential public utility.
Public relations, in common with many
areas of business and industry, sees the
internet as a central route to new areas of
value. The continuing accessibility of the
internet is of critical concern to the future
of our nation and its economy. There are
two significant areas of risk.
Firstly, access to the internet and its free
use are under threat as some national
governments seek to exert more control
over how it can be used, the content it
may carry and the uses that may be made
of content.
It is, we believe, in the public interest
that the internet continues to be loosely
governed, with rules regarding its
governance set by stakeholders who have
broad interests. These stakeholder groups
should include national governments, but
the governance of the internet should be
supported rather than led by them.
Secondly, recent events involving hacking
into company communication systems
and cyber-attacks on national interests
have shown that easy assumptions about
security of internet use are complacent.
The future security of internet users and
success in the fight against online criminal
activity depends on international and
inter-governmental co-operation.
Internet Governance

15. 15
We urge the UK Government to continue to involve itself in questions of
internet governance and ask that it seeks to provide effective leadership,
particularly at the tenth annual meeting of the UN’s Internet Governance Forum
to be held 10 - 13 November 2015 in Brazil. It should build support for the
multi-stakeholder approach internationally and resist calls for governments to
take the lead in governing the internet. We urge the government to do more to
build international partnerships that will effectively combat internet crime.
t

16. 16
The internet is now as essential a public
service as our roads, rail network, ports and
airports. It is part of our critical national
infrastructure in itself, as well as being an
essential part of the infrastructure in every
sector of business, industry, government,
public services and civic life.
Securing better coverage and faster,
more reliable internet connections, will
not only deliver a better experience for
the UK’s internet users, but also provide
a significant boost to UK plc. For the
business of public relations, improving
digital connectivity will be a key catalyst
for growth, achieving new innovations,
growing creative content and services, and
optimising commercial capacity.
Depending on which method you use to
measure internet speed, the UK’s average
broadband speeds are 12th in Europe,
behind countries such as Norway, Romania
and Ireland, with an average speed of
10.7 megabits per second (Mbps) in
the third quarter of 2014xii
(according to
US technology group Akamai), or 18.7
Mbps and Britain is ahead of Europe’s
five largest countries (according to the
Department of Culture, Media and Sport
or DCMSxiii
). It is not immediately clear how
two organisations can reach such different
conclusions about internet speeds.
According to the Federation of Small
Businessesxiv
, 14% of small firms say their
growth is held back by lack of reliable
access to the internet. A rural/urban divide
exists in reliable internet and mobile
phone coverage, which means your access
to online public services, information,
entertainment, retail and communication
depends on where you live.
DCMS figuresxv
claim that as of Q4 2014,
roughly 80% of the UK has access to
superfast broadband – which means that
approximately 4.5 million homes and more
than 1 million businesses currently do not.
By 2017, if the government meets its target
of 95% coverage, over 1 million homes
and around 250,000 businesses will still not
have superfast broadband.xvi
Broadband
Government must invest in critical
digital infrastructure to support the UK’s
future communities and economy. The
government’s aim to give access to 24
Mbps broadband speeds to 95 per cent
of users by 2017 is unambitious. Their
investment of £1bn by 2017 is not enough.
t

17. 17
Public relations builds effective
relationships with an organisation’s
stakeholders. Relationships drive success
by helping organisations achieve their
objectives and making them more
resilient. Relationships also help maintain
and develop reputation.
Every organisation, no matter how large
or small, depends on its reputation
for survival and success. Customers,
suppliers, employees, investors,
journalists and regulators can have a
powerful impact. They all have an opinion
about the organisations they come into
contact with - whether good or bad,
right or wrong. Their perceptions drive
decisions about whether they want to
support those organisations. In today’s
global marketplace, reputation can be a
company’s biggest asset, making it stand
out from the crowd.
Our State of the Profession 2015
researchxvii
, surveying over 2,000 public
relations professionals, shows that as an
industry public relations:
• Pays an average salary of £46,629
• Employs 61% professionals in an in-
house function, 26% in the consultancy
sector and 13% as independent
practitioners
About Public Relations

18. 18
Founded in 1948, the Chartered Institute of Public
Relations (CIPR) is the professional body for public
relations practitioners in the UK. With over 11,000
members involved in all aspects of public relations,
it is the largest body of its type 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 and the
production of best practice and skills guidance,
facilitating Continuing Professional Development
(CPD), and awarding Chartered Public Relations
Practitioner status (Chart.PR).
The CIPR was granted its Royal Charter by the Privy
Council in February 2005.
ABOUT
THE CIPR

19. 19
i http://melbournemandate.globalalliancepr.org/
ii Philbin, JP “Strategic Decision-making, Group Behavior,
and Public Relations Strategies” 2005
iii http://www.edelman.com/insights/intellectual-
property/2015-edelman-trust-barometer/
iv http://www.weforum.org/projects/leadership-trust-and-
performance-equation
v http://www.theiirc.org/
vi Financial Times, 20 February 2014 “The digitised
employee – can wearable technology help create a
healthier, more productive workforce?”
vii http://www.canalys.com/newsroom/wearable-band-
shipments-set-exceed-432-million-units-2015
viii http://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/us/
terms.html
ix https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms
x The Guardian, 20 August 2014 “Self-employment in UK
at highest level since records began”
xi http://www.cipr.co.uk/stateofpr
xii http://www.akamai.com/stateoftheinternet/
xiii https://www.gov.uk/government/news/superfast-
broadband-rollout-now-one-of-the-fastest-in-the-world
xiv http://www.fisp.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/
FSB-The-Fourth-Utility-PAPERv02.pdf
xv https://www.gov.uk/government/news/superfast-
broadband-rollout-now-one-of-the-fastest-in-the-world
xvi Other figures: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-
method/census/2011/index.html
xvii http://www.cipr.co.uk/stateofpr

20. Chartered Institute of Public Relations
52-53 Russell Square
London
WC1B 4HP
T: +44 (0)20 7631 6900
E: policy@cipr.co.uk
W: cipr.co.uk