conducting a scoping study into benchmarking finance, ICT and HR services across the whole Scottish public sector, including local authorities, the NHS, higher education and quangos, as a precursor to sharing those services

examining the feasibility and implementation of shared services for a number of local authorities across the UK, including Revenues and Benefits, call centres, ICT, payroll, environmental services and planning

on behalf of six public sector organisations within Edinburgh and the Lothians, undertaking a feasibility study into the potential to share seventeen core services including finance, ICT, marketing and human resources

putting in place shared financial and administrative systems for the Scottish Public Sector Ombudsman, the Scottish Information Commissioner, the Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People and the Commissioner for Parliamentary Appointments in Scotland

rolling out a private bureau service to conduct transaction processing for local authorities

acting as financial adviser to the Scottish Parliament Education Committee, specifically commenting on the quality of performance and budget information provided by the Scottish Executive and costing a range of policy options for the Committee’s early years enquiry

as part of a team from the Learning and Skills Development Agency, undertaking an investigation for the Learning and Skills Council into the effectiveness of performance-related funding within the further education sector, as well as a similar assignment examining the impact of the free Level 2 offer

a review of strategic options for the future provision of further education (FE) in Glasgow, including an analysis of the relevant economic, curricular and estates factors, sounding of local employers and stakeholders and the generation and assessment of a range of strategic options. The findings of this assignment will have significant consequences for the future configuration of FE in the city

the conduct of demand assessments for several HE and FE institutions seeking to configure their offerings more closely to employer needs

advising on the financial and estates implications of potential mergers for public sector bodies, including formal due diligence

reviewing finance functions within various public sector organisations and making recommendations for strategic and operational changes

on behalf of the Scottish Funding Council, critical assessment of the Management Action Plans produced by 43 of Scotland’s colleges, commenting on the adequacy of governance, planning, human resources, finance and estates management

on behalf of the Millennium Commission, operational review of the University of the Highlands and Island Millennium Institute (UHIMI), a project involving substantial capital expenditure on new infrastructure at the 15 colleges which make up UHIMI

reviewing the robustness of financial recovery plans in West Hertfordshire and reference costs in North Staffordshire trusts, both areas of the highest NHS deficits in the UK

on behalf of the Department of Health, assessment of abortive costs incurred in two large and complex PPP projects as a result of the DoH review

on behalf of two councils, Highland and Argyll and Bute, modeling the financial impact of supersparsity in remote areas of Scotland; On behalf of Universities Scotland, undertaking a comparison of the Scottish and English higher education funding models

on behalf of the Department of Finance and Personnel of Northern Ireland, working with the University of Ulster and the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) to model the impact of introducing a capital-based valuation system in Northern Ireland

undertaking a feasibility costing in respect of a World Trade Centre to be based in Edinburgh

on behalf of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), participation in a study examining the marginal cost of expansion of higher education to the government’s target levels. This included financially modeling the impact of widening participation

the preparation and critical review of business cases and financial models

various PPP projects including:

	examining the abortive costs payable on two complex schemes in Leicester and North Staffordshire which were delayed by the Department of Health review
	the role of project manager in the submission of an Outline Business Case for a £200 million PPP project for North Lanarkshire Council. This last role involved managing subcontracted technical and legal specialists as well as the in-house team members
	acting as project manager on behalf of Midlothian Council for a very large, pathfinding, regeneration PFI exercise. This combined a PFI project for schools and community facilities, with a joint venture to construct roads, housing and a business park

on behalf of the UK higher education funding councils through the Joint Costing and Pricing Steering Group, development of learning materials on costing and pricing and delivery of a series of seminars to senior finance and academic staff of Universities across the UK on the subject

preparation and delivery of a range of courses including basic consultancy skills and financial skills for new managers.