An introduction to Future-Oriented Public Relations (FOPR)
By Mehdi Bagherian, APR, IAPRS, KPRI.

Iranian Public Relations News Network(shara) — "Forecasting" and "future studies" are general concepts which encompass all the methods used for promotion of strategic thinking about subjects related to social, economic and political trends.

"Forecasting" is one of the crucial tools for public relations (PR) professionals to incorporate and engage in strategic interactions, competitions and development, and adopt timely measure about future issues by adopting constructive ideas and interaction while boosting participation of others in their initiatives.

In effect, future-oriented PR forecasts and studies a future that is obvious, probable, possible, operable or possibly achievable.

Strategic analysis and prediction of threats and opportunities with the possibility of future encounter are also considered in FOPR.
Therefore, FOPR must pay heed to the following basic principles:

1. Training: An integrated training program is one of the principal features of FOPR; such programs are aimed at training PR forces in the latest scientific and technological developments and skills. Training and learning can enhance creativity and capability of PR specialists and can boost their general understanding of how to carry out PR affairs.
FOPR highlights the significance of training in all organizations and enterprises and naturally leads to a better performance of their PR personnel in future issues.

2. Research: Research is a step-by-step process for collection of data, and its analysis for organizational planning, which will raise the understanding of PR specialists and company executives about principal matters.

Research plays a significant role in generation and enhancement of knowledge and its findings lead to practical planning. No planning is possible in future-oriented public relations without research.

3. Planning: Planning is defined as a collection of measures considered for reaching certain, concrete goals. Indeed, planning is the best way to do everything properly, but in public relations, it is treated as a specialized field for PR professionals.

4. Ethics: As a matter of fact, ethics and honesty are the basis of all PR activities; the reputation of a PR office is predicated on the way its personnel deal with others. This is why FOPR needs to invest more resources on ethics and ethical conduct. PR specialists must act beyond perfunctory and deceptive conduct with an eye on building strong relations for the future.

5. Social responsibility: It is a commitment demonstrated by enterprises towards the society and the people which cannot be overlooked under any circumstances. Now the question is whether enterprises honor their social commitments? Albeit, the answer is to a large degree a controversial one.

In the future-oriented approach to PR, all executives agree that enterprises must respect the expectations and interests of stakeholder in order to permanently stay in business; furthermore, they all understand that social responsibility is not a mere organizational precept but the enterprise's means to survival.

6. Professionalism: Being professional is an invaluable asset for FORP specialists. A professional has a clear plan and target, specialized skills, competence, honesty and integrity, accountability, civility and respect for others.

7. Confidence-building: The terms "trust" and "confidence" have in many instances been misused in PR activities, and unfortunately we rarely trust each other in our social, economic and political interactions. Today, mistrust has become a globally recognized crisis which has infested many enterprises and organizations in such a way that has undermined human and emotional relations.

FOPR must revive confidence in mutual interactions so that most of the current seemingly unsolvable matters between governments and nations in the national and international levels will be settled.

8. Creativity, innovation and distinction: Creativity is an indispensible part of life in futuristic public relations activities; without innovation we will be left in a situation we are experiencing now.

Dynamism is intrinsic to public relations activities, and, like many other routines, innovation and creativity must become second nature to PR specialists.
Besides, distinction is a necessity for distinctive affairs of future managers. In the future, we will need many creative freelancers who can boost creativity of public relations of organizations and enterprises; we will also need the plans to be distinctive which allow managers who can do their things creatively rather than being entangled in the morass of daily routines without caring about the future.

Therefore, a considerable amount of time must be invested by FOPR for understanding innovations and creative ideas with focus on promoting creating thinking.
9. Integration: Adoption of an integrated PR management system is a strategic decision for future-oriented organizations, and its execution and understanding will be key in meeting the needs of the stakeholders in the future.

PRs are in need of integrated plans which employ all the present capacities, tools and techniques to reach a common goal through common messages and even colors (visual identity). In order to exert an influence on the thinking and minds of a society which is already targeted by numerous messages, PR must move towards integration touched by creating, trust and transparency.

In sum, strategic planning is predicated upon challenging the conventional wisdom and assesses the chief organizational programs and activities of the future by developing acceptable scenarios.

In effect, strategic forecasting is a vital means for accelerating development of future-oriented policies. This will help us, as PR decision-makers and strategists, to discover, assess and analyze whether we can effectively adopt FOPR in the society.

Therefore, interaction and rubbing shoulders with the new players and planning and developing new services and products will make it clear how the organization/enterprise can survive by adopting strategy forecasts and bring about a better future for their stakeholder and customers, and the society at large.

Head of Iran Association of Public Relations Specialists