Director: Dr. Graham Smart

The Centre for Communication in Professional Activity (CCPA) offers research and consultancy services in the effective use of written communication in professional activity.

• We draw on our expertise in the academic fields of linguistics and writing studies and in the study of communications more broadly.
• Our focus is on written communication for purposes of accomplishing work, supporting learning, and prompting creativity and innovation.
• We deal with written communication skills, practices and cultures at the level both of the individual and of the organization.
• Potential clients include businesses, government departments, public services, NGO’s and educational institutions, mainly in the Ottawa area.

Our services can be delivered in two forms, though different customized arrangements are also possible:

• Evaluations or ‘audits’ of written communication practices within an organization.
• Training workshops and one-on-one tutoring.

Research underpinning the work

The Centre’s work is based on widely published and recognized research conducted by its members in two universities (Carleton and McGill) over more than ten years. This research has investigated the conditions that promote successful learning and adaptation by individuals and organizations as they experience change.

The team has been highly successful in winning research funding, having received two substantial grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Our research is closely linked with our graduate teaching in linguistics/communications, writing studies, semiotics and education.

Staff

The Centre’s associates are experienced researchers and teachers who are experts in the following areas:

• the learning and use of specific forms of written communication (e.g. business and technical writing)
• the integration of language with other means of communication (graphical, electronic etc.)
• the creation of situations and cultures in offices, classrooms, laboratories etc., including social, physical and technological aspects, that promote the ready exchange of ideas and the maximization of learning, innovation and creative production
• the efficient induction of interns and novices, and the retraining and continuing development of established professionals faced with changing work situations
• teaching English for special purposes.