IABC collaborates on defining PR profession.

As part of its ongoing work to build and support the communication profession, IABC collaborated on the 2012 "Public Relations Defined" initiative. Spearheaded by the Public Relations Society of America and supported by a dozen organizations, the initiative developed the following definition of PR: "Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics."

Past IABC Chair John Clemons, ABC, APR, who served as interim executive director earlier this year, was quoted in a 1 March New York Times article as saying the initiative is the "beginning of an ongoing sustained discussion about what it is the public relations industry does." He added, "I consider this a journey."

IABC has participated in other industry collaborations, including the:

* 2011 Stockholm Accords, developed in concert with the Global Alliance, an organization that supports regional communication and public relations organizations around the world.

* Social Media Measurement Standards Conclave, an industrywide effort to establish principles and standards for social media practice.