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Interim reflections

In 2018, after many years enjoying directly employed status, followed by an interesting consultancy portfolio, I took a step into contract-based, interim work. Two years and two interim chief executive placements later, I have used a short break to capture some key...

Looking back, to look forwards

I have a confession to make. It was not until 2014, just before my second year at BUILD (Bilbao Urban Innovation and Leadership Dialogues), that I fully understood the role of its initiator, the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS). I had been describing...

What is a community?

Communities Week 2017 provided a refreshing reminder of how local communities continue to take action on the issues that affect them, without apology or permission. It reminded me, too, of many national conversations I have been party to around how to support,...

Magnetic cities

During my third year at BUILD (Bilbao Urban Innovation and Leadership Dialogues), organised by the German Marshall Fund of the United States) we talked a lot about magnetic cities and what it takes to create one. In discussion with leaders from a range of...

Gun crime – a view from the UK

When Jo Cox MP met her untimely death, holding a constituency surgery on 16 June, I mused over the reaction to this tragedy in comparison to the mass shooting in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub four days earlier. Why had this single event, on a small island, provoked such...