The PIO Calendar is expanding once again, and this time, we’re putting the experiences and knowledge of the PIO community front and center.
Public information officers and communications professionals face challenges every day. Whether it’s evaluating new technology, developing agency policies, managing media relations, or navigating complex communications issues, finding the right information isn’t always easy.
Sometimes, the most valuable resource isn’t a training course, a textbook, or a professional guide.
Sometimes, it’s another PIO who has already faced the same challenge.
That’s the idea behind PIO Perspective, a new feature of The PIO Calendar designed to connect questions from across the profession with the experiences, practices, and perspectives of fellow communications professionals.
What Is PIO Perspective?
PIO Perspective is a community-driven survey and research initiative that helps public information officers and communications professionals learn from one another.
Through short, focused surveys, participants can share their experiences, identify common challenges, and offer insights into how agencies and organizations approach their work.
The goal isn’t simply to collect opinions. It’s to develop useful information that helps communications professionals make informed decisions, evaluate practices, and discover approaches they might not have considered.
PIO Perspective is built around three simple opportunities:
- Participate. Share your experiences by completing surveys on topics relevant to the PIO profession.
- Explore. Review published findings and discover how other communications professionals approach similar challenges.
- Ask. Have a question you’d like answered by fellow PIOs? Suggest a topic for a future survey.
Surveys will cover a range of subjects, including communications technology, agency policies, staffing, professional development, crisis communications, emerging practices, and other issues affecting the profession.
Participation is voluntary, and surveys will generally be brief, focused, and anonymous.
Our First Survey: What Email Distribution Platforms Are PIOs Using?
To introduce PIO Perspective, we’re launching our first survey on a topic familiar to many communications professionals: email distribution platforms.
From news releases and media advisories to public newsletters and community announcements, email remains an essential tool for public information officers.
But with so many platforms available, how do agencies determine which one best meets their needs?
Our inaugural survey explores the email distribution services currently used by communications professionals, including Constant Contact, Mailchimp, govDelivery, Outlook, and other platforms.
We’re interested in learning which platforms are being used, what features professionals value most, what challenges they’ve encountered, and whether they would recommend their current service to others.
The survey also examines cybersecurity, procurement, vendor compliance, and digital accessibility considerations—issues that are increasingly important when agencies evaluate communications technology.
The survey includes just nine questions and takes approximately 3–4 minutes to complete.
Responses are anonymous, and the survey will remain open for 21 days.
Once the survey closes and the responses are analyzed, we’ll publish the findings on The PIO Calendar so the broader communications community can benefit.
TAKE THE FIRST PIO PERSPECTIVE SURVEY →
Have a Question for the Profession?
One of the most exciting aspects of PIO Perspective is that future survey topics won’t be determined solely by The PIO Calendar.
We want to hear from you.
Perhaps you’re evaluating a new communications platform and want to know what other agencies use.
Maybe you’re reviewing your organization’s media relations policy and are curious how other PIO offices handle similar situations.
Or perhaps you’re trying to understand how communications teams are structured, how agencies manage after-hours responsibilities, or how artificial intelligence is being incorporated into everyday PIO work.
These are exactly the kinds of questions PIO Perspective is intended to explore.
Communications professionals and organizations will have the opportunity to suggest topics and questions for future surveys.
The PIO Calendar will review submissions, develop appropriate questionnaires, and make approved surveys available to the profession.
Our hope is that PIO Perspective becomes a resource shaped by the questions and experiences of the people who use it.
Turning Experiences Into Useful Information
Collecting responses is only part of the process.
The real value of PIO Perspective comes from what happens afterward.
As surveys conclude, The PIO Calendar will analyze responses and publish findings that help identify common practices, challenges, preferences, and emerging trends.
These findings will be available for communications professionals to explore and reference when evaluating their own programs and practices.
Over time, we envision building a growing collection of professional insights on topics ranging from communications technology and training to staffing, organizational policies, and crisis communication preparedness.
Our goal is to provide practical information grounded in the experiences of professionals doing the work.
Of course, voluntary surveys have limitations. Findings will reflect the experiences of those who participate and should not automatically be interpreted as representing every PIO or communications professional. We’ll provide appropriate context and methodology when reporting results.
By making these findings available to the profession, we hope to contribute to better-informed decisions and stronger communications practices.
Another Step Forward for The PIO Calendar
Since launching in February 2026, The PIO Calendar has continued expanding its mission of helping public information officers and communications professionals Explore. Learn. Connect.
What began as a centralized calendar for training, conferences, and professional development opportunities has grown to include professional resources, organizations and associations, a Bookshelf, and other tools designed to support the profession.
PIO Perspective represents another step in that evolution.
While many of our existing features help professionals discover information and resources, PIO Perspective invites them to contribute their own knowledge and experiences.
It’s an opportunity to learn not only from instructors, authors, and subject matter experts, but also from colleagues working in communications offices across the country and beyond.
And perhaps most importantly, it’s an opportunity to help one another.
Share Your Perspective
We’re excited to introduce PIO Perspective, and we hope you’ll be part of it.
Start by participating in our inaugural survey on email distribution platforms. Share it with colleagues who use these services, and encourage others in your professional networks to participate.
As additional surveys become available, we invite you to contribute your experiences, explore the findings, and suggest questions you’d like the profession to answer.
The more perspectives we gather, the more useful the information becomes.
Because sometimes, the answer to a challenge you’re facing is already out there.
Another PIO may have found it.
PIO Perspective
Your questions. The profession’s perspectives.
Explore. Learn. Connect.