2nd & 3rd September 2026 @ 9:00am - 12:00pm (2x Morning sessions)
Overview
How do you know whether your communication is making a difference?
In an increasingly data-driven world, you may have access to more information than ever before. The challenge is knowing what to pay attention to, how to interpret it, and how to use it to improve strategic communication. Equally important is being able to show not only what you did, but what changed as a result for your organisation, client or cause.
Effective research, measurement and evaluation can help you make better strategic decisions and demonstrate the true value of your public relations and communication efforts.
This practical course is designed to help you build confidence in research, measurement and evaluation, whether you are starting from scratch, refreshing your knowledge, or looking to align your practice with current global standards.
You will learn how to use research to inform planning, set meaningful objectives, select the right metrics, interpret results, and communicate insights to stakeholders.
The course also explores how to move beyond vanity metrics to measuring and evaluating outcomes and impact that can inform future decisions.
Key content
- Latest models and frameworks of research, planning, measurement, and evaluation.
- Methods of gathering useful research insights.
- Linking communication goals to organisational KPIs.
- Setting SMART objectives that link to outputs, outcomes, and impact.
- Picking the right metrics for measuring communication across all channels (paid, earned, owned, and shared).
- Monitoring progress and building tailored dashboards.
- Interpreting results to evaluate effectiveness of planning.
- Reporting and demonstrating the value of public relations and communication.
- Turning measurement and evaluation data into research insights for future planning.
Along with understanding the above content, you will learn through practical workshops including:
- In a group: Analysis of a real-life case study on research, measurement, and evaluation.
- In a group: Simulation of research, measurement, and evaluation for a mock communication project.
- Individual: Application of the concepts to your own organisational work/project/plan.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the current and globally accepted standards of research, measurement and evaluation for public relations and communication management.
- Know the tools and techniques that can aid in your research, measurement, evaluation and reporting process.
- Create a measurement and evaluation framework that suits your own public relations and communication context.
This course content aligns with the Global Capability Framework with particular emphasis on this summary:
Communication Capabilities
To conduct formative and evaluative research to underpin communication strategies and tactics
Zoom links will go out closer to the date to allow for those last minute sign ups! Pease do check your spam box.
Your presenter is..
Dr. Deepti Bhargava (APR, FPRINZ), Senior Lecturer & Head of Department (Advertising & Brand Creativity, Digital Communication and Public Relations) at Auckland University of Technology (AUT).
Dr Deepti Bhargava is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Department, Advertising & Brand Creativity, Digital Communication and Public Relations at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). She teaches across various courses including Strategic Communication Planning, and the student led PR consultancy – Outside the Square. In these courses, she and her colleagues guide students to use research, planning, evaluation, and reflection as critical tools of PR success.
Deepti is passionate about the impact good public relations practice can have on organisations and communities and hopes to inspire the same in those she works with.
She is an Accredited Member and Fellow of PRINZ and previously served as Chief Examiner for the Accreditation Programme (2021–2023), for which she now serves as a moderator. Prior to joining AUT, Deepti worked in corporate communications, advertising, and feature writing.
Her research interests include culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), digital communication, Artificial Intelligence (AI), work-integrated learning (WIL), and public relations research, measurement, evaluation, and reflection.
