#FuturePRoof policy unit launches backed by ICCO and PRCA
#FuturePRoof shows the potential of communities motivated by a clear purpose to tackle big issues. #FuturePRoof has taken a step closer to its ambition of kick starting the largest conversation about the future of public relations.
ICCO and the PRCA have backed the #FuturePRoof community, developed by public relations thinker and doer Sarah Hall, to think through some of the biggest issues impacting the public relation profession.
#FuturePRoof policy unit
Francis Ingham who leads ICCO and the PRCA, and Sarah Hall, have asked me to be chairman of the newly formed policy unit.
The policy unit will explore a topic each quarter in 2016. It will open source thinking from the PRCA, ICCO and the public relations profession.
We've identified agency models and the relationship between marketing and public relations as projects to tackle in Q1 and Q2. PRWeek has the full story.
Exploring modern agency business models
Work began last week exploring agency models at the launch of the #FuturePRoof book in London.
In a panel discussion Cirkle’s Ruth Allchurch, Manifest’s Alex Myers, Threepipe’s Jim Hawker, and #FuturePRoof founder and SHC boss Sarah Hall discussed margin, models, services and staffing. The Homes Report has an excellent write-up of the discussion.
If you'd like to contribute to the project please join the newly created Facebook group. We'll kick off in the next few days.
Strength of niche communities
#FuturePRoof, like #PRstack, shows the power of communities. The internet enables motivated individuals with a clear purpose to work together on challenging projects.
Communities such as #FuturePRoof can move quickly and scale thanks to technology. They can robustly challenge norms because they have no respect for formal hierarchy, and they are highly productive because there is zero tolerance for bureaucracy.
A conversation about the future of public relations
Sarah Hall approached me to help conceptualise the project when she initially conceived #FuturePRoof in the summer.
In three months she has pulled together a team of 35 people to produce more than 30 essays about the future of professional practice. The essays cover issues from the purpose of public relations to leadership; modernisation and ethics; business development and services; and motivation and recruitment.
The 240-page #FuturePRoof book is available as a free download or costs £25.99 in print via Blurb. More than 1,200 people have helped themselves. There's also a website, a growing Twitter community, and now the Facebook group.
Sarah Hall is already working on an outline for a second edition of the book. If you've a topic you'd like to pitch in sure she'd be pleased to hear from you via email or Twitter. Finally, she's in discussion with the CIPR to apply the energy of the community to the future of individual practice.
