Institute for International Research

Institute for International Research

Company type	an Informa business
Industry	Events, Exhibitions, Conferences, Training, Executive Development
Founded	London (1973)
Subsidiaries	IIR Australia IIR Austria IIR Executive Development IIR Finance IIR Middle East IIR Netherlands IIR USA

Institute for International Research, Inc. (IIR), a subsidiary of Informa Plc, provides business information solutions worldwide.

IIR has been part of the Informa Group since 2005 and comprises a number of business units around the world providing market-leading conferences, exhibitions, seminars, training, specialised business information and networking opportunities. The company was started by Irvine Laidlaw, Baron Laidlaw in 1973 and sold to Informa for a reported GBP768million in 1995.

IIR offers conferences, training, event management and increasingly bespoke solutions to professionals and senior business executives. IIR specialises in various fields, including customer service, finance and investment, health care, management, manufacturing, marketing and new product development, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, utilities, power generation, oil and gas and development. The company was founded in 1973 and has offices worldwide.

IIR in North America

In 1989, IIR Inc. in the USA acquired institutions in order to enter the seminar and training business. Acquisitions included training organisers such as ESI International, Achieve Global Huthwaite, and forum, followed by Omega Performance and Communispond. Today in America, Front End of Innovation focuses on provoking change, exchanging best practices and defining next practices. GAIN USA has also gained a reputation for identifying the rising stars of the Alternative Investment sector and brings together investors with discrection over $315bn and over $8tn under advisement.

Debra Chipman is the current President & Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for International Research, Inc, which operates as a subsidiary of IIR Ltd, a part of Informa Plc.

IIR in Europe

Europe hosts hundreds of IIR conferences, workshops and training courses each year. These cover many topics including general management, finance, banking and energy. In 1991, the Monaco Yacht Show was launched and is now one of the world's most famous trade fairs for luxury yachts.

IIR has been active in Austria since 1992. Since the first full fiscal year 1993 events were staged in dozens of subject areas in Austria for almost all relevant industries. Annual congresses are for example the "Epcon" (energy), "tel.con" (telecommunications industry), "Pulse" (health), "Course" (banking sector) and the "ÖVT" (insurance industry).

IIR has been operating in Germany since 1989 with 200 employees, 14 specialized divisions and about 2000 events (with 500,000 attendees). Starting from 1999, Austria developed the CEE region for IIR, with offices in Poland (Warsaw), Czech Republic (Prague) and Hungary (Budapest). IIR employed in Austria more than 40 full-time employees and produces more than 1,000 seminar days.

IIR’s events are based on market research to produce insight and intelligence to reveal emerging trends, critical interest areas and opportunities to interact. Events often feature noteworthy speakers – heads of state, global CEOs, entrepreneurs, best-selling authors, trendsetters. Influential and sought-after experts ensure the the events feature authoritative information and the latest best practices.

IIR in the Rest of the World

IIR Middle East [1] opened in 1993 and continues to build a diverse portfolio of professional conferences, training seminars, exhibitions and custom training solutions developing flagship events such as Cityscape, Middle East Electricity and Arab Health, which is the 2nd largest healthcare event in the world, to become a recognized leader in the events industry in the region.

The IIR office in Beijing runs Palm Expo which is the largest pro-audio and sound event in the region with over 2700 exhibitors across 85,000sqm floor space.

IIR in Australia has the South East Asia Australia Offshore Conference (SEAAOC) which is part of a series of events in the mining, resources & energy sectors and attracts a large following.

Operation

IIR staff investigate new trends to identify the event and training needs of each market and based on this information, design program content, where corporate practitioners (almost exclusively directors Managing Director, Head of Department) are invited as speakers, seminar leaders and recognized trainers or consultants. The company relies on a network of leading industry experts ("Advisory Boards"). IIR markets the products through direct marketing (primarily postal mailings, but also fax transmissions), email and online marketing. In addition, specialist IIR consultants are used to advise individual clients (large companies) or their employees individually. Events primarily take place at five star hotels and training centers.

IIR Online

IIR Austria [2], IIR Australia [3], IIR North America [4], IIR Middle East Website [5], IIR Telecoms Website [6] and Informa plc [7]

References

• The Usability Professionals' Association – The UPA Voice – Institute for International Research (IIR) and the UPA Connection: The Market Research Event 2006
• Government of Canada, Health Canada – Institute for International Research Conference – Speaking Notes for David C. Dingwall, Minister of Health, The Toronto Hilton Hotel, Toronto, April 1, 1996
• Kenyon & Kenyon - Events - Institute for International Research's 7th Annual Generic Drugs Summit "Steven J. Lee, Ph.D., partner in our New York Office, will be participating in a panel entitled "The Effect of Proposed Patent Reform Legislation on Hatch-Waxman Litigation" at the Institute for International Research's 7th Annual Generic Drugs Summit in Washington, D.C."
• Spoke – Institute for International Research