The University of Queensland has established a unique consulting company to help improve the organisational performance of businesses.
During the past month Communication Partners has developed a training program to improve safety at a mining company in Laos, an economic model to establish the existence of a relationship for a company in Brisbane and a nationwide community engagement project for a national science organisation.
The Centre for Social research in Communication`s Helen Burns, a consultant for the company, said it brought together research, education and management consulting expertise from many different fields.
“Communication Partners` main area of expertise is in improving organisational performance through improved communication and management,” Ms Burns said.
“We offer training, research and consulting in these areas. Our consultants have worked in the sectors of health, science, education, social services, justice, border control and telecommunications.
“All of our consultants have project management experience. We can work in conjunction with the myriad of skills and expertise of academic staff at UQ.”
Communication Partners was established in collaboration with the Centre for Social Research in Communication and UniQuest, the University`s main commercialisation company, and aims to create stronger links between UQ and industry.
Ms Burns said the company was made up of a team of core consultants who had a mix of skills from academic research in business to senior management experience.
“We are able to call upon the expertise of over 30 academics working within the University,” she said.
“Communication Partners offers a variety of tailored products in communication ranging from developing employees` communication skills to diagnosing workplace communication problems.”
The Director of Communication Partners is Dr Anne Pisarski who is a senior lecturer in communication at the UQ Business School. The company`s Business Manager is Peta Ashworth.
Ms Burns said the company acted as a project manager, writing up the project brief, developing contracts, managing relationships and ensuring project deliverables are developed on time and to the client`s satisfaction.
Media: For more information, contact Helen Burns (telephone 07 3346 9308) or Chris Saxby at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2479, email: c.saxby@uq.edu.au).
