The PRCA has developed a new evaluation module in collaboration with AMEC that aims to continue both institutions' work on establishing global evaluation standards.

Announced by Richard Houghton, ICCO President and ex-Chairman of the PRCA, at the AMEC conference in Lisbon, the new module will be based around the international Consultancy Management Standard (CMS).

The joint initiative will be available in the 15 countries that currently subscribe to CMS, including Germany, India, Italy and the UK among others.

The new module is part of the ongoing quest to replace AVE with more practical and relevant evaluation models, and will aim to ensure that measurement is integral to an organisation’s overall comms strategy.

Chief executive of the PRCA Francis Ingham called the launch “a totemic moment for the PR industry”, while Marcus Goult, managing director of Precise, says “PR measurement and evaluation is the key tool for the PR and communications teams to demonstrate a return on investment on PR activity. It is an essential lever for validating existing budgets and building cases for further investment.”