Testimonials

I have had the pleasure to work directly with and observe the activities of Steve Fisher and Community Works over several years in Australia and the region. In my experience, Steve provides valued leadership through his work with colleagues in mental health and community development. Steve and his associates are highly experienced, reliable and talented and have completed a range of national and international projects that demonstrate the importance of participation and a creative and collaborative approach to community development.

Community Works was instrumental in supporting us to establish the Young and Well CRC in 2011. Steve Fisher worked closely with our bid development team over a period of a year, collaborating with us to generate a competitive proposal which was ultimately successful in securing $27.5 million to conduct research and development to support the mental wellbeing of young Australians. Steve’s collaborative and inclusive approach was very much appreciated. Since then, Steve and his team have provided a range of strategic advisory, research and facilitation services to support our team which have been critical to our success.

We all feel passionately about our research, we know our own field inside out and we know how important it is to the wider Australian community. But communicating those things beyond an academic setting requires a unique set of skills that most researchers either don’t possess or find it difficult to master. Communityworks’ partnership with our Institute is based on them taking the time and trouble to really fully understand who we are, how we think and what we do. Their input has given us the highest quality advice and direction about getting to where we want to be – from wider strategy right down to the crucial fine detail. That relationship continues to transform how we shape our projects, how we present our research to the wider world and how we think about achieving the goals of our Institute.