'I believe passionately in public services, and I take great satisfaction in helping managers to take better decisions, and to use evidence of what works to improve policy and practice.
I am currently working on two national studies – an evaluation of the impact of local strategic partnerships and local area agreements, and a comparative evaluation of the new unitary authorities and two tier pathfinders. These are providing really useful insights into the challenges faced by local government and their partners, and what can be done to improve relationships between local and central government and to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of local working.
I am especially interested in the contribution commissioning can make to transforming services. The next few years will be tough for the public sector, and I strongly believe that it will be vital for public agencies to get much better at commissioning in order to deliver services that are both more effective and more efficient. I have greatly enjoyed being involved in OPM’s ground-breaking work on multi-level commissioning in children’s services, and in working to develop the strategic commissioning role of local strategic partnerships.'