While many past achievements can be recorded in the archives as success stories, our efforts will only be acknowledged on what we do today and in the future. Member perceptions will be influenced positively if we are creative about our support, we advance a culture of innovation, and deliver on our promises.

In this context, there is no difference between companies in the private or public sectors acting in the interest of their employees and organisations, such as PRISA, that represent its members. There must be a plan in place that dictates the journey of a company, or representative body, to the next level. This must be nothing short of attaining a position of excellence. Although PRISA does not compete with other associations or institutes, we have to think big, believe big, and act big. We will find that, in moving to the next level, management will be better positioned to support our valued members in word and deed. The ultimate reward would be, that members embrace the Institute as true ambassadors.

But how will we do this? To remove any guessing work, the first step recently was to conduct formal research amongst members and to invite their opinions on numerous issues. Now that we have the results, we will develop a blueprint for the implementation of our repositioning strategy taking into account our ever-changing business environment.

At the core of our journey into the future will be strategic measures to create value for our members. We will try to elevate the profession and the objectives of PRISA to find the attention of organisations through the media and other channels, thereby motivating recognition of the critical role our members play in various industries. Consultancies have a huge role to play in helping PRISA to realise this objective. We are also collaborating with academic institutes to provide a comprehensive body of knowledge to support our members.

We are hopeful that these collaborations will enable us to advance learning through innovation and benchmarking. Networking with peers and like-minded professionals will be a priority, and we believe that our annual calendar of events will attract renewed interest from current members and potential members. We will also accelerate our interventions with international bodies so as to ensure that we support members in global public relations.

It is my pleasure to announce our renewed focus based on the feedback from our members and introduce our refreshed look. Internally we are finalising plans to structure ourselves for delivery and I trust that, as our members, you will be able to experience service excellence with all our touch points.

Guided by the aspirations of our members, together with the management team, we will build on our rich heritage as we look forward to celebrating PRISA’s 60th anniversary in 2017, while keeping our focus on the years beyond.

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