How to be a public servant

My first year of freelancing

Solution Focussed Yearnotes s1. e1.

Exactly 12 months ago I stepped into the world of self employment after more than 20 years working for a local council. I had time to prepare and lots of great advice so I was optimistic that…

What makes a good practice guide good?

A couple of the projects I have been working on recently have involved written guides for practitioners. You know the kind of thing: ‘Tips for effective social work practice’, ‘How to communicate well’, ‘A guide to public engagement for planners’ (I made those…

Strengthening the link between practice and academia: Riding the Big Red Loop

The power of conversations to improve public governance

Improve public engagement by noticing what you do well

Looking elsewhere for good practice may be useful but it’s not always necessary. By noticing the things that work for you already, you can do more of what works and get inspiration for new things to try. This point was really well…

Swiss-Army scrutiny is your flexible friend — so use it creatively 🙂

What does it mean to be solution focussed?

Solution focussed is something everyone aspires to be, right? After all, who wouldn’t…

I made a new website and it’s not broken yet

Freelance Public Servant Diary #8

Having a website is important for a freelancer — not just for the web presence branding, promotion etc but also having your own domain allows you to have a nice…

Just how many public governors are there in the UK?

[Spoiler: Nearly half a million, most are school…