Professor David Birch

Trust and Values in Corporate Citizenship in Australia

David Birch is Professor of Communication and the Director of the Corporate Citizenship Research Unit, Deakin University, Melbourne, which he founded in late 1997. He is on the Editorial Boards of several International Journals, including The Journal of Corporate Citizenship ; Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal; Asian Business and Management ; the International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics and The Journal of Social Responsibility .

Professor Birch is (or has been) involved in research partnerships with leading organisations in Australia, including, ANZ, BP, Mission Australia, Rio Tinto, Transfield Services, TXU Australia, The City of Melbourne, World Vision, BHP Billiton, Ernst & Young, Bristol Myers Squibb, Philanthropy Australia, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Business Council of Australia, Victorian State Government and in research mentorships with graduate employees in Bosch, the National Australia Bank and Ford Australia.

He organised the First National Conference on Corporate Citizenship in November 1998, and with Rio Tinto, the Second National Conference on Corporate Citizenship in November 2000, and the Third National conference in March 2003. Professor Birch is a member of the Board of the Australian Corporate Citizenship Alliance, Ability Australia Foundation; the Australian Institute of Company Directors, the Institute of Social and Ethical Accountability (UK) and The Conference Board Europe. He is a founding member of the Australian Corporate Citizenship Alliance and the newly reformed Social and Ethical Auditing Institute (Australia).

He was also Adjunct Professor in corporate citizenship at Southern Cross University until late 2003, and is currently a Visiting Research Professor in the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, Nottingham University, UK. He received the Deakin University Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Academic Leadership and Innovation in 2000.

He has published widely in corporate citizenship, corporate social responsibility, governance and accountability, and is invited to many national and international conferences as a keynote speaker. Pro Bono work includes The Lighthouse Foundation; Crimestoppers Victoria; The Chain Reaction Foundation and the Ability Australia Foundation. He is currently finalizing a partnership with the Corporate Citizenship Research Unit (Deakin University, Cambridge University (UK), The Copenhagen Centre and the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, on cross-sector partnerships.

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