School of Social and Political Science

Background

Topics:

Local Government

Intergovernmental Relations

The Power of Relationships in Implementing Policy

Governance and Policy 

I was a Chief Executive in Local Government for 15 years, first in Argyll and Bute Council and then the Local Government organisation, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. In COSLA I was the lead negotiator for Local Government in developing the Verity House Agreement – a partnership agreement between the Scottish Government and Local Government on the outcomes they would collectively work on together and, more importantly how they would work together – to make tangible differences to the lives of communities and to improve the health of democracy in Scotland.

This is built on concerted efforts to develop relationships across governments, public agencies and partners with the endeavour of making Local Government a respected partner in the governance of the country and creating the conditions nationally for all partners in a local area (police, health, courts, education, social work and so on) to deliver better outcomes collectively. Alongside colleagues from the Scottish Government I have co-chaired groups on many thorny policy areas at an officer level; Ukraine Resettlement, Delayed Discharge, COVID Recovery Group to name a few.

I am also a qualified mediator.

Policy Area experience

Health and Social Care

Local Governance

Education

Local Government Finance

Public Service Reform

National performance framework

Public Health

Crisis Management 

Children and Families

In addition, I was the co-chair of the Scottish Leadership Forum which works with senior leaders across Scotland to break down barriers and focus their leadership on delivering improved outcomes for people. I have been a member of the Advisory Board on Future Leader Fellows  Development Network since its inception, as well as Board member for Prosper, The Promise Scotland, The Improvement Service, Electoral Management Board for Scotland, Sistema, Chair of Association of Local Authority Chief Executives and Vice Chair of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives Scotland.