The 2016 CIPR election is underway, voting opens on Monday and I’m standing for a seat on the Council.  It’s a tough choice facing members with some 17 candidates standing for eight places.

But if the choice for Council is difficult, at least you get eight votes and there will be eight winners.  Although for all members reading this, I urge you to give due consideration to your order of choice as it really, really matters.  Candidates need those high placed selections to make it through the various rounds of voting – so if you are thinking of voting for me, please give me one of your top two votes.

However, this blog is about the vote for President elect, where we have three great candidates, but there can only be one winner.

Since the Presidential hustings last week (which I attended in person) and the start of official campaigning on Monday, I have been asked a number of times who would I be voting for as our 2018 President.  As I was one of Emma Leech’s ten nominees for the election, that should be a very simple question to answer – but it isn’t.

I have known and worked with Sarah Hall for many years, and we previously served on the CIPR Board together.  Sarah is a tireless, energetic campaigner for our profession and a passionate advocate for the causes she supports.

Before Thursday’s hustings, I did not really know Gary Taylor, but I was impressed with his candour and disarming style during the panel debate at the hustings.

And then there’s Emma – who I first met when I was judging the Excellence awards one year and she came into the panel interview session and blew us all away with the strategic and tactical strength of the campaign she had led, and the passion she showed for the profession.

Gary: I have to say you are a brave man, because you are up against two formidable, powerhouse PR practitioners who radiate strength of character, who will be fearless in their defence and promotion of the profession, and who both have it within them to truly inspire a generation.

But only one of Sarah and Emma can get my number one vote on the ballot paper – though if I am elected to Council it will be a privilege to serve with whoever wins.  And that person will be Emma.  I find much to support on both Emma and Sarah’s election platforms, but on balance prefer Emma’s “old school values with new school thinking” approach.

I think Emma will be a progressive but pragmatic leader of the Institute and is well placed to strengthen our partnerships with other professional bodies and institutes, which I think is crucial to the future success of our Chartered Practitioner programme.

There can only be one winner, and two losers in this election for President. But the CIPR will not be a loser.  With these strong candidates, the CIPR can only be a winner.

I’m standing for election to the CIPR Council.  Here’s my candidate statement that explains the reasons:

The Challenge

It is often said that any organisation is only as good as the people within it; for a member organisation like the CIPR, it can only ever be as good as its staff, its many volunteers, its elected officers, and its wider membership.

Pleasingly, we are blessed with a good, committed Head office team, and our volunteers up and down the country continue to put their heart, soul, and spare time into running events and encouraging participation.  Our elected officers and council members are also driven by a need to improve professional standards, to act in the best interests of our membership, and strive to protect and enhance the respect and reputation of our ever-changing and evolving profession.

And yet, and yet: many of our existing members remain unengaged; they do not value their membership, and they number only a minority of working UK PR professionals. This weakens the Institute. As yet, we have not succeeded in delivering such a compelling case for membership that it becomes a de facto choice.

The Good News

In my view, the CIPR has never been in a better place to significantly grow its base and, in the process, to strengthen its voice, its stature, and its influence.  We have a re-vamped CPD scheme, and have made changes to the route to Chartered Practitioner status that is encouraging greater participation.  These are all moves that can make a difference to our appeal to potential members of all ages and backgrounds.

The task facing your new elected leadership will be to get the message out to all those working in our profession – and to other professional bodies and employers – that individual CIPR membership, participation in its CPD scheme, and planning a route to Chartered status with a commitment to lifelong learning is the gold standard.

Gold standard applicants should have an edge; gold standard applicants should be at the front of the queue for jobs, contracts, account wins, promotions.  Gold standard applicants will be Chartered CIPR members.

The message

I have said many times that we need to make membership meaningful – for our existing members and for those we wish to recruit.  We will not do that through improved member benefits no matter how welcome and excellent the new Influence magazine is, and no matter well we run our regional and national awards schemes – both of which, incidentally, set gold standards.

No, we will make membership meaningful because it is recognised that without it, personal career progression and personal standing and reputation is diminished.  That is message to get across.  And if you elect me to serve on the council, that is the message I will work to deliver.

About me:

The CIPR has played a major role in my professional life – as a student member, a sectoral member, a regional chair, board member, Treasurer, and President. I am now an independent practitioner, working in technology PR, and an active Fellow keen to help build on the good work of recent Presidents.