ngage Board Facilitation
‘Thank you Peter for your refreshing approach to the facilitation of ngage’s Board Away Day. It is a breath of fresh air to work with someone who is able to unravel complex issues and articulate them in a practical and simple way.
You kept the team focussed on strategy when we started to wander into operational detail and managed to control and balance the personalities around the table with tact and diplomacy, pushing us outside of our comfort zone at the same time. As a result the board and senior management team now have a common vision for the future and we look forward to making this strategy a reality.
I would have no hesitation in recommending your services as a facilitator and trouble shooter for any organisation who works in a complex public / private sector environment and hope we can work together again in the near future. ‘
Philippa Batting, Managing Director, ngage Solutions (January 2011)
Protecting Front Line Services for West Midlands Libraries
In response to economic pressures, at The Society of Chief Librarians West Midlands and the West Midlands Culture and Sport Improvement Network we were keen to assess where efficiencies and improvements could be made across the region’s libraries, in order to protect frontline services from reductions to Local Authority budgets.
To do this, we needed to employ an external consultancy specialising in public sector effectiveness to ensure that the process was fair and impartial and also investigated robustly. Black Radley, comprised of Professor Peter Latchford and Iain Wilkinson, provided a proposal during the tender process in a tight time-frame that was both innovative and realistic.
It provided a convincing case for the sharing of back office library functions, which was later followed by a detailed report looking at the practical application of such a scheme including the projected cost-savings that would result.
During our consultation, Black Radley confidently demonstrated that it could engage stakeholders across all levels, from CEOs, to lead members and heads of services, brokering partnerships in a politically sensitive context. It has raised some important and challenging questions which have enabled us to recognise the potential of sharing services.
Black Radley continues to deliver on its promises throughout the process, it is a pleasure to work with Peter and Iain and I would highly recommend their services.
Janene Cox, Strategic Commissioner for Culture and Leisure, Staffordshire County Council (October 2010)
Business Planning for the Museums Sector
Black Radley’s considerable skills and expertise in business planning and financial modelling enabled our organisation to work effectively with a group of partner regional museum services and successfully secure significant external funding over two separate and complex rounds of ’bidding’, business and operational planning. Their support was invaluable. It steered us towards functioning effectively and strategically as a partnership, enabled us to develop strong stakeholder management strategies and work systematically to build robust business and delivery plans. Not least – Black Radley are an interesting and stimulating team to work with.
Rita McLean, Head of Museums and Heritage Services, Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery (October 2010)
ImpactEquality supports equality impact assessments for AWM
The online assessment tool “ImpactEquality” by Black Radley has proven to be a very useful and practical approach for Advantage West Midlands’ commitment to conducting and publishing equality impact assessments across its key strategic functions. Whilst use of the online tool has been simple enough, Black Radley have always been on hand to provide support and guidance at all stages.
Kwabena Osayande, Equality and Diversity Manager, Advantage West Midlands (September 2010)