Public affairs group puts the community in context

Public affairs consultancy Political Context is to launch a sister

company next week which will advise businesses on community

relations.

Political Context was started last November by the former worldwide head

of communications at the BBC, Leighton Andrews.

The new company, called Community Context, will help to create links

between businesses and communities through initiatives like sponsorship,

staff secondments and educational programmes. It will also advise

charities and voluntary organisations on politics, public affairs and

issues management.

In addition to community relations, the company will advise on

cause-related marketing.

Catherine Ashton, a director at Political Context since its launch, will

chair the sister company. Ashton is a former director of Business in the

Community and has advised companies on their community relations

strategies.

Andrews said: ’We believe there’s an opportunity to better integrate

community relations as part of corporate communications.’

He added that the agency had been approached by clients to advise on

community relations and cause-related marketing but would not disclose

who they were.

- ITN’s political analyst David Cowling is to join Political Context as

a director. He will oversee the company’s research operation and work

across the range of the agency’s clients. He will produce a regular

political briefing, and contribute to the firm’s local government unit.

Cowling will remain an adviser to opinion polling company Harris

Research.