Past, present and future of public relations documentation: the Institute for Public Relations

Abstract

The Institute for Public Relations is the only organization in the world which has created a database to consult and share public relations research on studies and results. With over fifty years of history and a records function since its foundation, in 2008 it created the Essential Knowledge Project site in order to make available to scholars, students and particularly practitioners a body of public relations and corporate communications knowledge and establish a dialog space to contribute and share information and ideas that enrich this knowledge. This article presents the Institute for Public Relations and Essential Knowledge Project structure and how they work, highlighting the significant records function in public relations in particular and organizational communication in general.