Centre for Corporate Public Affairs

The Centre for Corporate Public Affairs is a Sydney-based membership organisation dedicated to identifying and spreading best practices in managing corporate public affairs globally. It has about 120 members from corporations, industry associations, and government business enterprises operating across the Asia Pacific.

Since 1990 it has contributed to the development of the public affairs function in large corporations globally, and has promoted and facilitated the evolution of the contemporary public affairs management function in corporations to include crisis management, issues management, government and industry relations, investor relations, media relations, internal communications, and corporate responsibility.

History
The Centre for Corporate Public Affairs was established in 1990 with its headquarters located in Melbourne Australia by Geoff Allen OA, foundation CEO of the Business Council of Australia, as an independent business unit of the ACIL Allen Consulting Group. Its headquarters moved to Sydney in 2007. In the absence of public affairs tertiary education programs, the Centre brought together government affairs and communications executives from major companies around Australia and developed a cohesive network of professionals who shared relevant research, professional training and development through the exchange of best practices in the field.

In 1994, the Centre carried out a National Public Affairs Survey which demonstrated that the public affairs function was “emerging within organisations and being bedded down as an integrated professional function within organisations”.

Since 2006, the Centre has been led by its Executive Director Wayne Burns, a former senior corporate affairs executive, journalist, political adviser and the previous executive director of public policy, economics and corporate public affairs consultancy at ACIL Allen Consulting. Wayne extended the Centre's education, research, membership and consulting offerings across the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. In 2018, Wayne led a management buyout of the Centre from management consultants ACIL Allen Consulting.

Professional development
Since its foundation in 1990, the Centre has engaged with the majority of corporate public affairs departments in Australia and has contributed to the professional development of public affairs practitioners from Australia and New Zealand.

As part of its professional development offerings, the Centre develops and delivers executive education webinars, workshops, E-Learning modules, roundtables, and hosts an annual oration event.

Guest international academic contributors to the Centre's educational programs have included Professors Ed Freeman, Peter Sandman, David Grayson, Charles Fombrun, and Craig S Fleischer.

Leading academics have focused on the interaction of business with society including the late Professor John Mahon, and Professor Jennifer J. Griffin who also contributes to the Centre's research and residential institutes, and Doug Pinkham, President of the Washington DC-based Public Affairs Council (the Centre's US-based sibling organisation).

Regular contributors to the Centre's professional development faculty include representatives from companies such as IBM, Weyerhaeuser, Shell, Chevron, Dow, ABB and Tyco International as well as representatives from ASX 200 companies including Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Australia Post, IAG, Qantas, Woolworths, BHP, and Treasury Wine Estates. The Washington-based Public Affairs Council also regularly contributes to the Centre's faculty.

Institute
Corporate Affairs Practitioners from Australia and New Zealand have participated in the Centre's annual one-week residential ‘Institute’ program at the Melbourne Business School. This broad-based program, whose faculty has included international practitioners and academics, has assisted in the development of heads of function in major companies and organisations. Professors James Post, John Mahon, and Jennifer Griffin have been regular faculty members of the program. The Centre also replicated its program with an Asian focus at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School, and Singapore Management University. Faculty included Public Affairs Council President, Doug Pinkham and the University of Maine's Professor, John Mahon.

Annual oration
The annual oration of the Centre for Corporate Public Affairs (published in Australia and internationally) highlights the significant contributions of individuals to public life and offers insights into the socio-political landscape. It also serves as an annual gathering and networking for leaders in the corporate public affairs function from Australia and New Zealand. Past orators have included former Australian Prime Minister John Howard OM AC, former Australian Treasurer John Dawkins, Professor Marcia Langton, Alastair Campbell - Director of Communications and Strategy for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, business leaders Alison Watkins, David Murray, Diane Smith-Gander, Mark Scott, Stan Wallis, Sir Arvi Parbo, John Prescott, Graeme Samuel, and international academics.

Study Tour
The Centre has led 12 international study tours to North America and Europe. The study tour group comprises heads of corporate public affairs functions from Australia and the Asia Pacific as well as senior practitioners with responsibilities for issues management, government and regulatory affairs, media and external communications, internal communications, stakeholder relations, reputation management, and corporate responsibility. The group meets with representatives from leading firms including academic institutions, corporations, industry associations, and other relevant organisations in Washington DC, New York City, and London who provide briefings with a focus on internal communications and corporate responsibility.

Consulting Services
The Centre for Corporate Affairs’ management consulting arm operates for profit, providing consulting services to businesses, governments, universities, and industry associations across industries and sectors. It works with Heads of Corporate Public Affairs, company board of directors, CEOs, senior leadership teams, as well as business and industry associations across a range of private sector industries. The Centre works also with Australian State and Federal Government departments/agencies, and governments across Asia and New Zealand. Its consulting services include organisational design and capability reviews, stakeholder perceptions and reputation, strategy development, coaching, mentoring, socio-political analysis, and performance benchmarking.

Publications
The Centre produces a variety of publications annually, including handbooks for public affairs professionals, benchmarking studies, and the Public Affairs Management Report series and surveys into contemporary corporate affairs practice in Australia. Since its inception, the Centre has published a regular practitioner newsletter – Corporate Public Affairs – distributed internationally to corporate public affairs practitioners and academics.

The Centre is involved with and has led research projects on corporate community investment, corporate responsibility, business giving, and other areas of corporate public affairs practice.

Since 1999 the Centre has developed and delivered three reports to the Australian Government on corporate community investment, commissioned by the Prime Minister’s Business and Community Partnership, the latest was the business volume of Giving Australia 2016.

Podcast
The Centre's Very Public Affairs podcast provides its listeners with episodes which examine aspects of corporate public affairs and industry trends and developments. Guest speakers on the podcast also provide insights on areas of public affairs such as corporate reputation, stakeholder engagement, corporate communications, issues management and corporate responsibility.