Empowering research leaders to drive lasting impact.

Hi, I’m Chris 👋 I provide strategic consulting tailored to the unique challenges research leaders face. My holistic approach is designed to help you build relationships with all the key players who matter most to your work’s success.

✓ Secure sustainable funding.

✓ Build strong partnerships and collaborations.

✓ Recruit and retain the best talent.

✓ Shape your projects and teams for impact.

Is the future of your research org keeping you up at night?

✖ Concerned about your organisation's long-term financial sustainability?

✖ Frustrated by misalignment between your team's efforts and your core mission?

✖ Struggling to attract the right talent, collaborators, and partners?

✖ Questioning the return on investment from current engagement and comms efforts?

✖ Sick of seeing comms from your organisation that either don't get the research right or alienate a general audience?

“Chris helped me break a Cat 1 funding drought! He helped us communicate the benefit of our work to society, which was crucial in finally securing an ARC Discovery grant.”

Prof. Phillip Dawson
Co-Director, Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning

“Thank you for challenging us, for understanding our vision, and for putting it into a form that others can understand.”

Prof. Wendy Chapman
Director, Centre for Digital Transformation of Health

“Chris helped me focus on what the audience needs and how they need to hear it. He delivered a high-quality product that we'll be using for years to come.”

A/Prof. Nikki Moodie
Deputy Director, Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity

Want your research to drive impact that's worth celebrating?

Let's make sure all the right stakeholders are invited to the party.

My unique approach is designed to deliver actionable insights for good decision-making at all levels, and integrates planning and analysis about your goals, internal stakeholders, and external stakeholders holistically.

It can help you:

  • Clarify impact goals and map crucial stakeholders

  • Enhance stakeholder communication and engagement

  • Design and implement effective strategies

  • Continually refine your approach using data

  • Act with agility in response to environmental changes

This approach is both flexible and scalable — it can assist at the project, team, and organisational level, and it underpins all of my services below.

“Chris has provided invaluable support in unpacking the complexities of projects involving multiple stakeholders with different priorities. I would not hesitate to recommend Chris for any consultancy work focused on strategic communications and engagement. He'll support you in meeting objectives while challenging you to consider things from a different perspective.“

Marnie Long
Manager, Careers & Employability, the University of Melbourne

“The workshop was meticulously tailored to address our specific needs, offering both theoretical knowledge and practical applications. Chris provided real-world examples and hands-on exercises that allowed our staff to immediately apply what they learned. Since the workshop, we have already begun to see improvements in our workflow efficiency.“

Eileen Wall
Senior Manager, Video and Media, the University of Melbourne

Ways we can work together

  • 1. Alignment for impact

    Let’s make sure your leadership team is aligned and focused on driving meaningful and sustainable impact.

    I’ll create a safe space and facilitate productive dialog and collaboration to empower your leadership team to tackle some of your organisation’s biggest challenges and questions.

    This can include: clarifying your org/team’s mission and values, impact planning, identifying, prioritising, and understanding the stakeholders most critical to your org’s impact and financial sustainability, and more.

  • 2. Setup your team for strategic comms and engagement

    Wouldn’t it be a dream to have a comms/ops team that wasn’t just aligned with your org’s mission, values, and impact goals, but was also able to feed valuable insights back up to leadership to inform future decision making?

    I’ll help empower your comms team with the right tools, processes, insights, and strategic agility needed to support your research with effective and efficient strategic comms and engagement.

  • 3. Optimise your comms and engagement

    Let’s fine-tune your organisation’s approach to comms and engagement to boost effectiveness, efficiency, and strategic alignment. 

    We’ll review current efforts, identify bright spots to build on, and help strengthen both internal and external messaging to drive meaningful results.

  • 4. High-stakes engagements

    Increase your chances of success when it comes to those critical moments...

    Whether it’s a high-profile pitch to a funder, a meeting with a potential strategic partner, a media appearance, or anything else that gets your heart racing because it could be make or break for your project, team, or even your whole organisation.

Ready to get started?

Not your average consultant.

Hi, I’m Chris Pahlow.

I don't wear a suit and tie like most consultants.

I also work in a way that most consultants can't.

My user-centred approach draws on my extensive experience in both creative communications and academia.

Because why shouldn't your groundbreaking research generate as much excitement as the latest Netflix series?

My practice combines —

More than 10 years experience working as consultant and educator for The University of Melbourne, Monash University, Swinburne University, Deakin University, and countless affiliates ranging from the Royal Melbourne Hospital to the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity...

with

More than 15 years creating award winning media that's played in cinemas, international television, and major streaming platforms, in collaboration with organisations like the BBC, Village Roadshow, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Book in a call to see if we’re a good fit to work together.