The Public Affairs Council (PAC) is an American

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...

for people working in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

and

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...

founded in 1954 by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

. Its mission is to advance the field of public affairs and provide resources to public affairs

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

s and

managers Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administr ...

to help them achieve their business and professional goals. Based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, PAC counts over 600

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

s, associations and

consulting A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

s as members.

History

The Public Affairs Council was launched in 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, when he convened a meeting of business executives to suggest the creation of a national organization to make business people from both parties active participants in the political process. First incorporated as the Effective Citizens Organization (ECO), the ECO relocated to Washington, DC from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1962 and changed its name to the Public Affairs Council in 1965. In the 1950s, the concept of corporate public affairs was only beginning to come into vogue, and at the time meant mostly legislature watching and corporate community involvement. Today, the definition of "public affairs" is much broader, encompassing political involvement,

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

(government relations),

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

s, corporate community involvement, issues management, grassroots advocacy, and

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

. This broadening of the field of public affairs and an increased understanding of the importance of political involvement has been demonstrated in the growth of formal corporate and association public affairs programs. In the 1950s, only a handful of

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...

had formal programs, today, thousands of companies and associations have them. Since its founding, the expansion of the Public Affairs Council and its operations has mirrored the growth of the public affairs profession. In the beginning, the Council offered only a few limited services and a monthly newsletter, but today, the Public Affairs Council offers a comprehensive program of public affairs and

government relations Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

services, several monthly and annual

publications To publish is to make Content (media), content available to the general public.Berne Conv ...

, and dozens of annual

conferences A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

Consulting services

Through the Consulting Services division, the Council advances the field of Public Affairs by collecting and analyzing data, assessing best practices, and providing professional assistance to member organizations in areas of strategic planning and management, organizational structure, performance measurement and evaluation. The Consulting Services division carries out its mission through a mix of products and services available only to members of the Public Affairs Council, including individual consultation and technical assistance, applied research and consulting, books and publications, conferences and seminars.

Publications

Beginning in 1958, the ECO launched its first newsletter, ''Echo''. In 1974, the Public Affairs Council renamed the newsletter ''Impact'', which is the name that it retains to this day. In addition to this monthly newsletter, the Council, in conjunction with the Foundation for Public Affairs, produces numerous publications annually, including handbooks for public affairs professionals, benchmarking studies, and the Public Affairs Management Report series.

Conferences

In 1964 the ECO offered its first series of conferences and roundtables, including the first Public Affairs Training Seminar (PATS). As the interrelationship between business and government became more complex, these conferences provided public affairs professionals with their first opportunities for learning about groundbreaking approaches to public affairs that were being developed. The Public Affairs Council now holds more tha
100 conferences
and workshops annually, including the largest national conferences on corporate and association

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

s and

corporate philanthropy Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in, with, or su ...

Governance

The Public Affairs Council is governed by a volunteer

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

composed of industry leaders. The Council's Executive Committee, which provides the day-to-day governance of programs and activities, is made up of 15 executives who have demonstrated support for the Council as Members of the Board or Directors.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Professional associations based in the United States United States political action committees