Annual Reports – any good ones out there?

I’ve been asked to select some good examples of Annual Reports from the not-for-proft sector for a colleague to look at.

Anyone know any good ones??

The Delphi Method

Those of you following this post (is there anybody out there?), I have decided at last on the Research Question for my MSc dissertation:

“Following the impact of the Obama campaign, what is the potential role of new media in persuasion, engagement and participation in politics in the UK ?”

I have been thinking of the most appropriate forms of research and also which audiences to reach. What I am aiming to do is to research politicians in the UK, PR practitioners and the general public.

Following a suggestion from one of my supervisors (Rudiger Theilmann) for PR practioners I am going to try out the Delphi Method of forecasting. There is a helpful article about the Delphi Method on Wikipedia. It seems to be a really useful way of gathering and refining data from a panel of experts on your chosen subject. The experts answer questions set by the facilitator. The facilitator (me, in this case) summarises the responses and the answers are given back to the panel to revise their answers in the light of responses given by all of the panel members anonymously.

There is a really helpful site which runs a Delphi session for you. I have set up my panel of 10 PR practitioner experts and am giving it a go! Wish me luck!

Get R.E.A.L.!

I went to a Winter Warmer networking evening courtesy of Impact Executives ( a top interim provider). (I know they areexcellent because they have given me work)!

A highlight of the evening was the talk by Mindy Gibbins Klein on four aspects of ‘thought leadership’. She introduced her talk as: “No matter what kind of work you are doing, chances are you have come up against competition and that will only increase in a tough market. If there is a smaller pie, you need a bigger piece just to stay competitive, and you need to stand out from the crowd. Not only do you need to be the best, but you also need to communicate that clearly to your market.”

She used the acronym REAL to provide us with focus:

REACH

ENGAGEMENT

AUTHORITY

LONGEVITY.

Mindy Gibbins Klein

 

Reach was about making sure that you considered your network and looked at sensible ways of extending it.

Engagement was about appropriate engagement with your network. Using new media, keeping in touch.

Authority was about being perceived as an expert – particularly important to us interims! She suggested writing articles, speaking at conferences, having people write about you. Good personal PR in other words!

Longevity was about establishing yourself with a track record. This is important in the current climate as clients are likely to go for the interim that they know will deliver because they have in the past. There may not be the luxury of going for an unknown quantity.

Mindy inspired me to dust off my approach to promoting my skills and experience – so job well done!