| Description | Minutes, papers and correspondence of the British Psychological Society BPS Standing Committee on Communications SCComms
5 February 1988 BPS Standing Committee on Communications Minutes and Papers includes proposed Society policy statements; 'Guidelines for Writing Parliamentary Briefing Papers' and 'The Preparation of Statements by the Society'; draft Committee annual report, Charter Promotion Group terms of reference and minutes of meeting 11 December 1987; Editorial Subcommittee minutes 4 December 1987; Parliamentary Group minutes 15 December 1987 and 'Taking Stock' Parliamentary activities paper by Jan Stock;
18 April 1988 BPS Standing Committee on Communications Minutes and Papers includes redrafted Guidelines for Writing Parliamentary Briefing Papers'; redrafted Charter Promotion Group terms of reference and minutes 5 February 1988; report on Parliamentary and Scientific Committee lunch; advertisement for BPS publications in The House magazine; minutes of the Parliamentary Group 8 February 1988;Editorial Subcommittee minutes 26 February 1988; COPUS Committee on the Public Understanding of Science newsletter; copy of press release 'Response to the Griffiths Report on Community Care - statement by PAB [Professional Affairs Board];
4 July 1988 BPS Standing Committee on Communications Minutes and Papers includes women on public bodies response; media training of Society spokespeople, authors for Benefits of Psychology articles, new BPS logo; badging promotional items; Future of Psychological Sciences report; copy of article 'Public Relations and The APS: An Emerging Cinderella' [Australian Psychological Society]; sample advice sheet on adults who were victims of incest as children; nomination of Professor John Long to the Parliamentary Advisory Board of the Parliamentary Scientific and Technical Information Foundation; minutes of the Editorial Sub-Committee 6 June 1988; minutes of the Charter Promotion Group 14 April 1988; review of resources required for The Psychologist; report of the Working Party on Membership Services; response to University Grants Committee in relation to Research Selectivity;
14 October 1988 BPS Standing Committee on Communications Minutes and Papers includes discussions of Boards producing statements without input from the Committee; media training, attempts to public Benefits of Psychology papers; workshop on Committee skills; response to the Future of Psychology report; campaign to market psychology; committee structure for The Psychologist; copy of letter and press release responding to Health and Safety Executive report on 'Mental Health at Work'; use of microlink [email service launched by British Telecom in 1982]; Evidence to the Parliamentary Committee into Discipline in Schools; Parliamentary Group minutes 30 September 1988; Charter Promotion Group minutes 4 July 1988; Psychology and the NHS campaign;
9 December 1988 BPS Standing Committee on Communications Minutes and Papers includes relationship between the Committee and BPS Boards especially when issuing policy statements and responses; publishing Benefits of Psychology articles; media training, committee training; campaign to market psychology; committee structure for The Psychologist; minutes of the Editorial Subcommittee 18 October 1988; normalised language; minutes of the Charter Promotion Group 7 November 1988; grant to Wessex branch to have a stall at Industry South Exhibition.
See also
BPS/001/11/01/04 BPS Press Committee which reported to the Standing Committee on Communications.
BPS/001/11/04/01 Parliamentary Group
BPS/001/11/04 BPS Lobbying and Public Policy Responses |
| AdminHistory | The first report on public relations was in 1946 by T H Pear [see BPS Council Papers 25 May 1946].
The first British Psychological Society Public Relations committee was in 1955 and was a short lived working party. In 1971 Nicholas Georgiades and Professor Arthur Summerfield arranged a press conference at Brown's Hotel to draw attention to the BPS response to Sir John Foster's report on Scientology [See BPS/001/4/01/03/01]. After advice from Mr Christopher Hall, Barbara Castle's Information officer on setting up a press function - a Standing Press Committee was formed in October 1971 under the Chairmanship of Dr Georgiades.
In 1977 Alan Elliot presented a document to the Council entitled 'The Image and The Axe' expounding the view that psychology was seen by others would be a factor in government cuts which were expected. He further proposed that the Society should spend £20,000 for 'PR' activities. A meeting 'BPS 2000' was held in 1978 to [unsuccessfully] draw up a corporate plan but did lead to a report 'The Commercial Model' which recommended marketing and promotion to be a major activity of the Society. The Working Party on Public Relations [BPS/001/01/11/03] of 1983-1984 made suggestions as to an internal and external relations sub-committee and officer. After much debate and worries that calling the Committee the PR Committee would lead to an 'obscene' acronym the Standing Committee on Communications was formed. It was chaired by the Honorary General Secretary - Peter Morris. He was succeeded by J Graham Beaumont in May 1986 and then Ann Colley in 1989.
Stephen White joined the BPS staff as Director of Communications in 1985 and started organising press, communications and pr activities as well as regular media training.
By October 1991 the Press Committee was no longer a standing committee but a subcommittee of the Information Committee which took over from the Standing Committee on Communications that year.
The Information Committee became the Communications Committee/Board in 1998 as part of the Society's strategic plan. This became the Publications and Communications Board in 2000. The Press Committee was renamed the Media and Press Committee in April 2009.
The Society was restructured in 2017 with the creation of three new strategy boards Education and Training, Practice, Research and Public Affairs. |
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