Straight Talk: Award-winning Engagement Consultancy Joins RPS

Renowned engagement company Straight Talk has become part of international consultancy RPS.

Straight Talk’s team joined RPS’ Sydney practice on 30 April 2018, adding specialist deliberative engagement expertise to RPS’ already extensive capability in communications, community engagement and creative services.

“Over the past twelve years, Straight Talk has emerged as an Australian leader in engagement for complex projects and initiatives under the leadership of Director and founder Lucy Cole-Edelstein,” said RPS Chief Executive for Australia Asia Pacific, Ross Thompson.

“The team is passionate about facilitating meaningful dialogue between projects and people. They have built their reputation on a fundamental vision – that when it comes to decisions about our cities, communities and culture, every stakeholder has a voice and should have the opportunity to be heard. It’s a vision that RPS shares.”

“The synergies between each company’s beliefs, experience and capability aren’t just strong, they’re fundamental. We’re extremely excited to welcome Straight Talk to RPS,” Mr Thompson said.

Straight Talk consultants are now located at RPS’ Sydney CBD office, but will continue to service clients under the Straight Talk name, before transitioning to the RPS name and brand later in the year.

Lucy Cole-Edelstein says joining RPS was a natural move for Straight Talk and will allow her team to provide an enhanced service to clients through the even greater range of expertise that exists across RPS’ national and global network.

“Previous collaboration between Straight Talk and RPS on a range of projects revealed an undeniable opportunity to combine complementary skills, interests and approaches to engagement strategy, design and delivery,” Ms Cole-Edelstein explains.

“Becoming a part of team RPS will expose Straight Talk to new technical disciplines and project perspectives, helping us to facilitate even better engagement outcomes for the clients and communities we serve.

By joining forces, RPS and Straight Talk can continue to build a future where positive, proactive, best-practice engagement is no longer the exception, but the norm".