Written by: Vaibhav Joshi, Secretary Co-Chair, CPRS Toronto
The last year has been unusual, to say the least, but 2021 is shaping up to be a year when we finally step out of the shadow of this pandemic. Although the way we work, live, and communicate has been the same over the past 12 months, there is renewed optimism. Vaccines will bring back the way we lived (hopefully soon), but not everything will be the same.
We learned lessons from a year at home, and 2020 made us look at existential questions, personally and professionally. This past year also raised several issues and exposed the cracks in our system. Gaps that seemed minor and were overlooked before were now glaring at us and needed mending. A need to pivot to a robust framework requires looking closer at how organizations operate and a need for change. One that is supportive, inclusive and accepting of all backgrounds.
Of course, 2020 also exposed the need for financial stability for many organizations. It may or may not stand true for all organizations, but it did for us here at CPRS Toronto. We needed reform, a renewed mission, a supportive and inclusive culture and hence the need for a new strategic direction for this chapter of our CPRS society.
Our strategic vision
It is not always easy to agree when you are renewing your mission. As is human nature, there are several opinions and considerations. The process of charting one strategic vision for the CPRS Toronto chapter was collaborative and largely unanimous. After the deep thought by board members and a working committee, it was agreed that there are three main pillars our Toronto chapter needs to focus on in the next three years.
Not in the order of importance, but in equal standing, the three pillars to propel our CPRS chapter forward are:
- Identity: Who we are, what we do?
It is increasingly clear in today’s world that we need to create a sense of community and support our community with resources and networking when we are still socially distant. The communications community has evolved beyond just Public Relations and needs to be reflected in our mission, incorporating the diverse communications functions. We are uniquely placed as an industry body to support our members with professional development and elevate our profession as a whole and act as a single platform to encourage all communications professionals. - Membership: Increase and diversify
What was and is also evident for us in the Toronto chapter of the society is the increasing need to look like our diverse population in Canada. We relooked at the way we support diversity and resolved to create opportunities for inclusion. Diversity is our strength, and we need to embrace it. We also decided to focus on growing our association by providing a sense of belonging and finding solutions to the membership’s cost for students, young professionals, the BIPOC population and new Canadians. - Finance: Stability, stability, stability
Finance is important, increasingly so in the current environment. All organizations had to pivot or make adjustments to ensure there is financial stability during the pandemic. It is even more important for a not-for-profit organization like ours. We need to be creative to build up a revenue stream to support our chapter, create and distribute content that matches the needs of the industry, and share best practices. Increasing the revenue stream alone is not going to do it. We also looked at our spending to cut costs wherever possible. Increasing sponsorship opportunities will also help our goal of reaching stability. All these actions, along with a legacy fund and ROI lense, are sure to put us on a path to financial stability and prosperity.
All the above pillars will help us move in the right direction to provide a platform for our fellow colleagues across the communications industry. To support, inform and exchange ideas, best practices and learnings, to propel our industry into the future. This new strategy is a start, a living document if you will. We are not done, rather just getting started to achieve everything that we have stated above. Bring on 2021! We are ready to step out of the shadow of 2020 and the past with a renewed mission.