CURRICULUM VITAE

DOUGLAS WYNN

Director of Wynn Consulting from 1 December 2003.

QUALIFICATIONS

• BSc upper second hons in Political Sociology, London
• MSc in Politics, London School of Economics
• Member of the Institute of Personnel and Development (MIPD)
• Qualified as an Examiner for Investors in People
• Qualified by British Psychological Society in Psychometric Testing

CAREER SUMMARY

A former Chair of the Scottish JNC and APT&C, Vice Chair of the UK APT&C employers and a policy academic, Douglas joined the Scottish Local Authorities Management Centre (SLAMC) at Strathclyde University to undertake senior manager and member development and advisory services to Scottish and UK authorities. His responsibilities at SLAMC included:

• co-ordinating the main residential course programme (‘The Manager in Local Government’) which SLAMC provided for senior officers of Strathclyde Regional Council;
• lead responsibility for the design and delivery of ‘bespoke’ management development courses to middle and senior rank officers in Scottish local authorities; and
• lead responsibility for SLAMC’s HR and competition advisory services to Scottish councils, including assistance with senior appointments and advice on chief officer structures and pay.

He published many papers on local government personnel and organisational issues, including ‘best practice’ advice written on behalf of the AMA (to which he was an Adviser) and the LGMB. He has contributed to many major professional conferences and seminars over the years, including those of COSLA, CIPFA, SODOPS and SOLACE. In 1993/94 Douglas designed and managed delivery of the English-language element of an EU PHARE programme to develop training and consultancy support to regional government in Romania, through the creation of five management centres and a programme to train senior Romanian regional government consultants.

In late 1994 Douglas was invited to join Deloitte’s public sector consultancy as a Senior Consultant and was later promoted to Senior Manager. For over nine years he managed many consultancy assignments on behalf of Deloitte for local government, executive agencies, government departments and universities in Scotland and the UK.

He established this independent consultancy in 2003 in order to work flexibly with a range of colleagues (including Caledonian Economics, Deloitte and Turner and Townsend) and clients.

Douglas is now an established and effective strategic thinker with a very substantial track record of successful delivery of ‘Green Book’ options appraisal, ministerial submissions, business cases, organisational development and performance improvement. He has strong personal skills in analysis, ICT, HR, manager and member development and mentoring, interpersonal communication and presentations and report writing, and has many letters of appreciation from local authority and agency chief executives, senior civil servants and university principals. He has briefed groups of senior civil servants and Ministers on several issues and occasions. His cross-sectoral experience is particularly useful in advice on partnerships. His proposal, report-writing, presentational and client relations skills are very strong.

SPECIALIST SKILLS

• Change Management
• Performance Improvement
• Options Appraisal (by Treasury ‘Green Book’)
• Organizational Restructuring
• Senior Manager Development
• Elected Member Induction and Development
• ‘Best Value’ Reviews
• Partnership Working

SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCE

Douglas now has over seventeen years experience of the successful management of major consultancy assignments for the public sector. His consultancy work has throughout been informed by his earlier experiences as a prominent elected member and a policy academic. His background gives him particular strengths in policy and strategic advice to decision-makers at all levels and agencies and in cross-sectoral and partnership working.

Clients for whom he has led or managed assignments have included many local authorities, universities and colleges throughout the UK, the British Library, the National Galleries and National Museums of Scotland, the Scottish Arts Council and the Scottish Executive.

His most recent work has included ‘Green Book’ options appraisals for a consortium of the Scottish Executive and local authorities, another in 2005 for the re-configuration of the National Museum of Scotland and, most recently, an appraisal of options for schools provision of Capability Scotland. He has also recently written business cases and submissions to ministers on infrastructure and transport issues, advised on the creation of a leisure trust, advised on a comprehensive ‘modernisation’ review in a city council, written a SWOT analysis of a large department and given independent advice on industrial relations difficulties.

For government departments and executive agencies he has undertaken quinquennial and ‘best value’ reviews of several public bodies, reviews of funding issues, of communications and of partnership working, performance improvement, options appraisals and business cases.

Douglas is thoroughly versed in quality control, appraisal, programme and team management issues in consultancy from over nine years as a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s Scottish public sector practice. Whilst with Deloitte he led the development of what is now the standard one-week training course required for Deloitte staff anywhere in the world who undertake the management of consultancy teams – ‘Managing Excellence’ – encompassing programme management, team dynamics and appraisal and business development. He also assisted in the development of Deloitte’s own integrated HR and performance appraisal scheme.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN CONSULTANCY

In the 1990s reorganization of local government Douglas advised ten councils in Scotland on Chief Officer pay levels and structures, and advised three authorities on the appointments of Chief Executives and Directors.

In 2000-1 Douglas managed a Deloitte commission to advise a consortium of six councils, the enterprise agency and the Scottish Executive on options for a regional transport authority and inter alia briefed the then minister on its findings.

In September 2001 a team led and managed by Douglas successfully completed the post-McCrone Review of Initial Teacher Education in Scotland for the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED). This review had an unusually wide remit, including partnerships with Education Authorities. The two-volume report is available on line and was well received by the many stakeholder bodies. Douglas was subsequently invited to brief the then Scottish Education Minister on the recommendations, which were implemented in the phased action plan which underpinned the ‘National Debate on Education’

More recently Douglas has written two ministerial submissions for Shetland Island Council: the first on behalf of Deloitte was a Business Case to allow the authority greater influence in planning and operational matters in relation to Sumburgh Airport and the second (in 2005) was the successful case for the authority to be granted a Regional Transport Partnership.

A recent (2005) ‘Green Book’ options appraisal for the National Museums of Scotland succeeded in unlocking funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a £45m refurbishment programme for the Royal Museum of Scotland.

CONSULTANCIES FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES

• in March 1999, an options appraisal for the creation of a Leisure Trust for North Ayrshire Council, subsequently extended to advice on implementation, including Memoranda and Articles, finance, support services, staffing structures and TUPE transfers;
• also in 1999, consultation and review for the Scottish Office of the real costs of initial teacher education to the colleges, the schools where new teachers are placed, and to the education authorities, involving a large sample questionnaire survey, an interview programme with agency representatives and intensive analysis of evidence;
• in 2000, preparation of business plans for several contracting units in North Ayrshire Council, for submission to the Scottish Executive and Accounts Commission for Best Value Audit purposes;
• subsequently, advice to North Ayrshire Council on the consolidation of bonus and other plussages for building trades and other workers into an upstanding salary;
• in 2000-1 consultation and review of the options for a possible Integrated Transport Authority for the north of Scotland for a consortium of local authorities, using HM Treasury ‘Green Book’ methodology with a web questionnaire to consult stakeholders. Douglas was invited to brief the Transport Minister and senior colleague MSPs on the outcomes of this review, which the Executive published in two volumes (see www.Scotland.gov.uk.library3/transport/mrvo.pdf) and implemented;
• in 2001 a Business Case for Shetland Islands Council to submit to the Scottish Executive in order to achieve greater influence in the operations of Sumburgh Airport;
• in late 2001, consultation and review of the pattern and key issues in Initial Teacher Education in Scotland for the Scottish Executive, including forms of partnership with Education Authorities, published in two volumes on the Executive website at www.Scotland.gov.uk.library3/education/tefs-00.asp and leading to a request to brief the Education Minister directly.
• in 2002, advice on a joint appointment of a senior staff member by Highland Council and a major local public agency;
• in 2003, two assignments for Scottish Borders Council - a review of finance procedures in the Department of Education and Life-Long Learning, and advice on the creation of a leisure trust to operate its sports and leisure facilities;
• also in 2003, Monitor of the postal voting pilot in Sunderland on behalf of the Electoral Commission;
• in 2004-5 support to the City of Edinburgh Council in its comprehensive modernization programme ‘Council Review 2007’ including participation on the main Project Board and writing advice on issues and structures in specific service areas, in particular, Culture and Leisure;
• subsequently, in late 2005, an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) for The City Development Department of the City of Edinburgh Council; and
• independent advice to the members of an appeal panel of Midlothian Council on industrial relations difficulties at a commercial services depot;
• in 2006, consultation on partnership working and options appraisal for the organisational form of cultural services in Edinburgh as part of the ongoing Council Review 2007.

CONSULTANCIES FOR EXECUTIVE AGENCIES AND GOVERNMENT

• quinquennial and ‘best value’ reviews of executive agencies including the General Teaching Council for Scotland, the Mental Welfare Commission and, most recently, the National Galleries of Scotland;
• advised Scottish Natural Heritage inter alia on communications strategy, culture change and best practice in partnership working;
• led a large performance improvement assignment for the British Library at St Pancras;
• managed the team which successfully completed two major reviews of funding for the Scottish Arts Council;
• gave specialist support to Deloitte MCS England in a study for a National Centre for Skills Development for Sustainable Communities, commissioned jointly by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, English Partnerships and the Commission on the Built Environment; and
• provided a ‘Green Book’ compliant options appraisal in 2005 to support the National Museums of Scotland’s (successful) submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund for grant in support of a £45m redevelopment project for its main galleries;
• provided an options appraisal for the Scottish Arts Council on the sensitive issue of the accommodation for the new National Theatre of Scotland;
• (for the tertiary education sector) Douglas has managed many ‘strategic change’ reviews and options appraisals, including that which led to the merger of the University of Glasgow with St Andrew’s College and the appraisal of accommodation options for Queen Margaret University College. He has written many reports and business cases on behalf of universities and colleges. He was for 8 years Professional Advisor to the Millennium Commission on the development of the UHI MI Project, signing-off a total of £34.4m against project milestones. He has also undertaken two reviews of initial teacher education for the Scottish Office and Executive. He has recently completed three major reports for the Scottish Agricultural College within its Strategic Change Review (including another full ‘Green Book’ options appraisal) and has acted as client-side adviser to Dumfries & Galloway and Inverness Colleges and wrote their Outline Business Cases to the Further Education Funding Council.

VOLUNTARY SECTOR

• In spring 2006 Douglas completed an options appraisal of the school provision of Capability Scotland, advising on a preferred option for its school accommodation and service offerings in view of the policy of ‘mainstreaming’ and its implications.

RECENT PUBLIC REPORTS

Most of Douglas’s work has been – by its nature – confidential except where the client has chosen to make consultancy reports widely available, for example:

• three substantial reports 2002-2003 on the reorganisation of a college, at www.sac.ac.uk The second of these is a full ‘Green Book’ options appraisal involving significant stakeholder consultation by interview, focus group and web questionnaire.
• main report and two annexes of process mapping on teacher education 2001 at www.Scotland.gov.uk.library3/education/tefs-00.asp; and
• two-volume report 2001 for a consortium of local authorities and government at www.Scotland.gov.uk.library3/transport/mrvo.pdf This ‘Green Book’ appraisal of transport options included wide consultation with stakeholders.