From the drawing board stage, more and more architects are identifying and designing spaces for specific works of art, or are commissioning sculptures, paintings, water features, mosaics or tapestries as part of the overall design of new buildings.

Companies, Government departments, universities, hospitals, professional and financial houses are commissioning or purchasing artworks to inspire, stimulate and impress both employees and clients.

But why is this important?

I suggest that as you read this you take a moment to reflect on your own workspace. I suspect that regardless of whether it is a brand-spanking new bright shiny Docklands office, or a glum corner of a concrete box many of you will find little to inspire you.

No matter how funky the furniture may be, or how much thought has gone into the daringly-edgy colour scheme there are few distractions in many of our offices.

As some of you think about this you may come to realise that the only images that adorn your workspace are the inspiring (? ) messages about company values or the posters that tell the stories of great success with multicoloured graphs. There will, however, be some of you who are lucky enough to be able to think of the beautiful painting in reception, the original print in the meeting room that you occasionally find yourself looking at in an exceptional moment of boredom.

At Business2Arts we would argue that the corporate world, and the act of corporate collecting, has an important contribution to make in enabling the sustainability of the Irish arts but, critically, we also believe that there is a distinct opportunity for the development of mutually beneficial relationships with artists which extend beyond the simple act of buying a piece for the office.

There is much research that demonstrates that bringing art into a workplace can contribute to improved employee morale by enhancing the office space, can create an environment that stimulates informal conversation, increase creativity and productivity and demonstrate the company's interest in improving quality of life in and outside of the company.

But while the act of buying work is, in itself, an important contribution to an artist and their practice there are new models of art-buying which are aimed at engaging employees in a more direct way.

There are, of course, a number of organisations who have a long established record for developing a collection but, in many cases these organisations operate at the higherend of the art market. While their collections form part of the economy of this sector the sheer power and reputation of their collections can be a deterrent to other organisations who feel that this practice is out of their reach. This is not so.

As an example, Business2Arts have been working with a business over recent months to develop an innovative and exciting project to bring the work of emerging Irish artists into the workplace; a project that has the joint objectives of providing a more interesting environment for the staff and supporting the artistic community.

The organisation in question sees itself as neither a collector nor an investor, but as an organisation that is in a position to provide a platform for artists. Their criteria are relatively straightforward in that they seek to work with artists that are willing to come into their offices and meet the staff to discuss their work and their motivation, and they seek to select artists who are open to working to commission with the staff on future projects, and in the UK they have a track record of developing long term relationships with artists, producing original prints that are available for staff and working with their own employees to exhibit their work to the clients.

It is worth pointing out that budgets are modest in comparison to many corporate collections, the staff are directly involved in the selection process and the results are a lesson in the value that can be achieved by thinking creatively without compromising the artistic community.

As staff begin to work with the artists to commission new work, experience from the UK project has shown that this process will offer employees the opportunity to rediscover their own creativity and take this inspiration back into their own day-to-day tasks.

At Business2Arts we believe that art matters and, more importantly, that it can make a difference in a business environment in many ways over and above the obvious. We work with businesses who share this vision, who realise the opportunities to do something new and innovative and are keen to learn about the benefits. As economic pressures and competition increase for Ireland, any project that encourages and stimulates creative thinking in the workplace is, for many businesses, priceless.

So next time you are sat in your office staring at a blank piece of plasterboard looking for inspiration take a moment to think what could be there instead. I guarantee it will be more inspiring!