Adelaide Thinkers in Residence Public lecture with John McTernan

Delivering more effective public services

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Allan Scott Auditorium, UniSA City West campus

Jointly presented by Adelaide Thinkers in Residence and The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at UniSA

Following three visits to South Australia examining how we design and deliver public services, Adelaide Thinker in Residence, John McTernan will deliver his findings at his final public lecture. With increasing pressure on budgets, John will discuss how governments can become more effective while improving relationships with the community. John's residency focused on policy development around caring for the elderly and parents involvement in their children's education though his findings will transfer across all of government.

John McTernan is a public policy analyst, strategist and commentator. He has worked extensively in the public, private and voluntary sectors both in the UK and abroad.

John has specialised in leadership and strategic thinking - running the British Civil Service Top Management programme and working with a range of public and private sector organisations across the UK including health and education leaders.  

Biography

John McTernan is an experienced public policy analyst, strategist and commentator. He has worked extensively in the public, private and voluntary sectors both in the UK and abroad. John has specialised in leadership and strategic thinking - running the British Civil Service Top Management programme and working with a range of public and private sector organisations across the UK including health and education leaders.  He was Head of Policy for the Scottish Government, a Senior Policy Adviser in Prime Minister Blair's Policy Unit in Downing Street, and an adviser on health and welfare. He has been described as 'one of Scotland's leading political thinkers.'

He has developed and delivered strategic change in a range of contexts:

• as Chair of Education in the London Borough of Southwark between 1988 and 1994 he led the creation of an education authority with nearly 100 schools, providing services ranging from nurseries to adult education
• as Director of the London Docklands Development Corporation, then Europe's largest urban regeneration corporation, from 1990-1996
• as Chief Policy Adviser to Harriet Harman MP from 1994-1998 he developed UK Labour's health reform policy and its plans for pension reform and welfare to work for lone parents
• as Head of Policy in the Scottish Government he led the Cities Review, a study of the economic and social development of Scotland's cities
• his work on futures scenarios for the city of Edinburgh led to the establishment of a collaboration between Edinburgh and Glasgow to promote growth in both cities.

John has spoken and advised internationally, working in Washington with the Centre for American Progress, in Iraq - in Baghdad with Prime Minister Allawi, and in Kurdistan with the regional parliament, training politicians and parties in Indonesia and preparing for the Progressive Governance Summit in South Africa, and from 2005-2007, he was the lead UK Government official to the Progressive Governance Network, and deputised in this role from 2007-2010.

While the views presented by speakers within the Hawke Centre public program are their own and are not necessarily those of either the University of South Australia or The Hawke Centre, they are presented in the interest of open debate and discussion in the community and reflect our themes of: strengthening our democracy - valuing our diversity - and building our future.

The copying and reproduction of any transcripts within the Hawke Centre public program is strictly forbidden without prior arrangements.