What are you planning to do this Summer? If you’re a Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ (CIPR) member, you’ll have noticed their #SummerofCPD campaign has kicked off.
It’s their annual drive to encourage professional communicators to reflect on their career, commit to their learning and log their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points.
It could also provide you with some excellent reading suggestions if you’re planning some downtime over the next few weeks.
What is CPD?
CPD is a free online scheme that lets CIPR members plan and record their learning. After two years’ continuous CPD, you’ll be awarded Accredited PR Practitioner status. After three years, you’ll be eligible to get chartered.
CIPR state: “CPD puts you in the driving seat of your own career. It’s about mapping your journey and gaining the knowledge and skills you need to progress. Our profession never stands still so it’s vital you don’t get left behind. It will help you adapt and stay relevant.” – true that!
CIPR CPD is a sign of your professionalism and the only route to becoming a Chartered PR Practitioner. I am an Accredited PR Practitioner and Chartered PR Practitioner with CIPR – as you can see from my photo they’re using in the CPD campaign…
CPD is your pathway to becoming a Chartered Practitioner – start your journey with #SummerofCPD! https://t.co/ilQ2aNoP4A pic.twitter.com/A1h2R3eUd7
— CIPR (@CIPR_UK) July 19, 2017
The Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) recently launched its CPD scheme for its members. Find out more via my blog post.
Why I think it’s important
As a Fellow of both IoIC and CIPR, and having just earned my Chartered Practitioner status, I’m committed to my personal and professional development.
I see a direct correlation between my knowledge levels and the advice I offer All Things IC’s clients.
The more I learn, the more I can share, which boosts the skills of the professional communicators who hire me and the organisations they work for. Win-win!
See this video to discover what it’s all about…
What is CPD? from CIPR on Vimeo.
There is also a CPD handbook available from the CIPR website.
How does CPD work?
There are more than 1,100 learning activities in the CPD database and you can log custom activities too. Take a look at your CPD dashboard, set your goals and you’re off.
I log my CPD every year using the CIPR dashboard. This means choosing events to attend, courses to take, books to read and webinars to watch. It doesn’t take long to do and is simple to use.
There’s no excuse not to do it! The Chartered Practitioner assessment includes setting a two-year CPD plan, which I found a useful exercise to do.
Sign in to MyCPD for access to:
- Your Dashboard
Set goals, check your CPD points balance, track your progress. - Activities
Find and log learning activities. There are 1,190 and over 700 are free. Log custom activities too. - Reports
Your complete CPD history in a print friendly format. - Resources
All you need to know to complete CIPR CPD.
You need 60 points to complete the cycle. Dr Kevin Ruck from PR Academy reminded students yesterday…
If you are studying a @cipr_uk certifcate or diploma you can log 60 #SummerofCPD points. https://t.co/GdrSdgxCLx
— Dr Kevin Ruck (@AcademyKev) July 24, 2017
What can earn you points:
- Training courses, conferences, presentations, briefings and webinars
- Studying for a qualification
- Reading books or short publications (like CIPR skills guides and case studies)
- Writing books or CIPR short publications
- Delivering or receiving coaching and mentoring
- Delivering (unpaid) lectures and presentations
- Ad hoc learning, research or study projects
- Voluntary work (where you are using your PR skills)
- Sitting on CIPR (or other relevant) committees, working groups or judging panels
See this short film produced by the fab team at Alive with Ideas! this week to get you started…
How are you taking part in the #summerofcpd? There’s a shedload of ways to clock up #cpd points this summer! @ciprinside pic.twitter.com/CKj72AU5sn
— Alive With Ideas (@alivewithideas) July 24, 2017
Seven ways to earn CPD this Summer
Here are seven ways to earn CPD points this Summer. I’ve chosen a mixture of things you can do now and actions to take throughout the year. This means you can do the thinking and planning over the Summer, which will set you up to succeed until the end of 2017.
Know another way of earning points? You’re welcome to comment below or Tweet me @AllthingsIC.
1) Join the CIPR Inside book club
See #icbookclub for information. The next book being discussed is Black Box Thinking. Join in the discussion via Twitter on 15 August 2017 – see @CIPRInside.
Happy Thursday! Did you know that every #icbookclub book is worth 10 #CPD points? This month’s book is Black Box Thinking #SummerofCPD pic.twitter.com/xGk4f4tNtd
— CIPR Inside (@ciprinside) July 20, 2017
2) Attend the CIPR Inside conference
Sign up to the CIPR Inside conference on 1 November 2017. The early bird rate is £250 for CIPR members and £350 for non members. See their website for full information.
3) Sign up to one of my one-day Masterclasses
An All Things IC Masterclass will earn you 10 CPD points. Choose from Change Communication in September, Writing Skills in October, Internal Communication in November and Strategic Internal Communication in December 2017.
CIPR and IoIC members not only earn CPD but can also save 20%. Find out more and save your place.
4) Offer to be a judge
Keep an eye on social media to spot opportunities to be an industry awards judge. This activity can earn you CPD and you’ll also get to see first-hand what professional communicators are doing inside their organisations.
Another 20 points logged with @CIPR_UK for another year of PRide judging. Good luck to everyone who entered! #SummerofCPD
— Tim Hudson (@timhudsonpr) July 21, 2017
Further reading: Five top tips from an awards judge.
5) Volunteer on a CIPR committee
Whether you’re interested in public affairs, internal communication or signing up to your regional or sector groups, there are numerous ways to get involved. Explore the options via the CIPR website. Volunteering is a great way to grow your network, create opportunities to get involved in helping other practitioner learn and to earn you CPD.
6) Attend an event
There are countless opportunities to attend events throughout the year. Check out the CIPR calendar to discover what’s on. There are courses every month, upcoming topics include making movies with iPhones, mastering copywriting and much more.
7) Watch webinars or read books
Looking for something good to read to help develop your career and understanding of internal communication? If you read or watch something which aids your learning, it can earn you five CPD points.
The Skills Hub has so many resources, from skills guides to webinars, you’ll never be short of something to read! Examples include a skills guide on the ethics of paid and earned media, media broadcast, plus a writing guide.
Read any PR + comms books that have impacted the way you work? They’re worth 5 CPD points. Log it in MyCPD >>>https://t.co/ilQ2aNoP4A pic.twitter.com/X1f2OOkSvF
— CIPR (@CIPR_UK) July 25, 2017
IT’S FRIDAY! Who will be doing some #CPD this weekend? Our committee secretary @famplified recommends a good book #SummerofCPD pic.twitter.com/5A96nEIfWG
— CIPR Inside (@ciprinside) July 21, 2017
Here are some of the books I’ve mentioned on my blog recently in guest posts or via #questionofcomms answers:
- Exploring Internal Communication, Dr Kevin Ruck.
- The People Business, by Annabel Dunstan and Imogen Osborne.
- Internal Communications, a manual for practitioners, by Liam Fitzpatrick and Klavs Valskov
- Making the Connections, by Bill Quirke
- Internal Communications, by Aniisu K Verghese
- Busy, by Tony Crabbe
- Corporate Communication, by Joep Cornelissen.
Post author: Rachel Miller.
First published on the All Things IC blog 25 July 2017.
