After three decades as a chief executive in London's local government, with a strong track record in service delivery and driving organisational change, I now write and lecture on public policy, ethics and management, and work as an advisor and consultant to the public sector.
My aim is to bring clarity of thought, originality, management expertise, lots of evidence and a little humour to the serious business of building good government and reforming public services.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require advice on changing the way your organisation works, or for an independent view on the overall health, capability and effectiveness of your organisation.
I can help you with a number of issues, including:
How to sort out the tangle of governance or management arrangements currently holding you back.
How to breathe accountability into the life of your organisation and your partnership arrangements.
How to best develop an open, curious, creative and supportive culture at work.
How to manage risks to the public, not just risks to your organisation.
Expertise: ethical governance and accountability in management arrangements; organisational development and culture change; innovation in service design and delivery; finding new ways to engage communities in the democratic accountability of public services and projects; crisis and disaster management; and electoral management - with direct experience of running 35 elections at local, London-wide and national level.
Whitehall: served four years (2002-6) as a non-executive director on the board of HM Revenue & Customs. Independent member of two HM Treasury capability reviews (2001 and 2008). Served for six years as National Efficiency Champion for English local government. Produced a landmark report for government on the potential for transferring public assets to community groups.
Professional leadership: Past President and Chairman of SOLACE, the Society of Chief Executives of Local Authorities in the UK. Life member of ICMA, the US-based International City Managers Association. Supporting SOLACE and the Local Government Association through the professional development programme for council chief executives in the UK.
Education: PhD in social and political geography (University of Portsmouth), the impact of geography and spatial constraints on the successful implementation of public policy. BSc Geography (London University); Diploma in Values and Political Philosophy (Blavatnik SoG, Oxford University)
Publications: I write and lecture on politics, public policy, public ethics and public management. My book, Re-imagining Government, was published to critical academic acclaim over ten years ago. It is about the need to renew democratic governance, redesign public policy and reimagine the delivery of government functions. More recently, my published work has explored how new approaches to public ethics could play a central role in improving the outcomes and accountability of public services.
Clients: Local Government Association, PwC, Belfast City Council, Cardiff City Council, Salford City Council, Liverpool City Council, Wandsworth and Richmond Councils, Oxfordshire County Council.
2024 research by Edelman on trust in the UK, shows that people think that government is less ethical and less competent than NGOs and businesses. There's a lot of ground to make up on both dimensions.
Good governance requires the triad of good politics, good policy and good management. Well-intentioned politicians can receive the best advice, use the right decision process and yet choose the wrong strategy. But even good intentions and great strategy do not protect against failure if public institutions are poorly organised and resourced, and if management has insufficient competence, capability, and confidence to deliver.
Everywhere is unique in its landscape and the cultural heritage of the people who live and work there. But every place is connected to every other place through the links of people, business, commerce and culture.
Place helps to define our lives: where we began, the journeys we have taken, and the locality where we live now. Place is central not only to how we live, but also to how we are governed.
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The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content. The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content. The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
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A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
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