The Institute for Public Relations has introduced the Essential Knowledge Project, an online guide to the best research into how organizations build and manage mutually beneficial relationships with customers, communities, employees and other stakeholders.
There is a tremendous amount of research conducted over the years on all aspects of creating and sustaining public opinion, attitudes and relationships. The free online service offers authoritative summaries of relevant research with links to the original sources for those who wish to dig deeper. Three topics are already available: “Trust and PR Practice” by Brad L. Rawlins, associate department chair, Brigham Young University; “Ethics and Public Relations” by Shannon A. Bowen, assistant professor, University of Maryland; and “Crisis Management and Communications” by W. Timothy Coombs, associate professor, Eastern Illinois University.
Other topics under development include employee communications, investor relations, corporate social responsibility, corporate identity and branding, and measurement and evaluation of public relations. The guides will be supplemented by case studies to demonstrate the science in practice plus online commentary from users.
A team of communications and business school professors helped conceive the project, including: Paul Argenti, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth; Stephen Greyser, Harvard Business School; Don W. Stacks, University of Miami; and Donald K. Wright, Boston University. The website development was provided pro bono by Wieck Media, online technology partner of the Institute.
We believe this new undertaking represents an innovation as important as when our predecessor organization published its first bibliography of public relations knowledge in 1964. We are helping outstanding scholars share their knowledge to build greater appreciation of the research underlying organizational communications and relationships.
Peter Debreceny and Matt Gonring
Co-Chairs, Institute for Public Relations
I think this is commendable. It helps us to know how fast the world is moving and to move at the same pace. It has provided for me an avenue to broaden my knowledge and sharpen my limited expertise in the area of P.R. I’ve been searching out a site like this and am glad i found this.
This is very commendable in my opinion. Beyond forcing us (as practitioners) to verbalise and document the rigours underneath our ever-smiling exteriors, it will highlight the importance of such rigour to
those professionals who believe only in the flashy front end of PR practice. The institute (and this focus on research and knowledge) will have even more value for future generations of PR professionals (whether in academe or in practice). That way, the old line about seeing far because of ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ will finally come true for Public Relations.