Mentors
One of the downsides of working freelance is the potential isolation from other professionals. Maintaining ongoing personal development is always a challenge and my response has been to develop informal working relationships with people who I trust to challenge my thinking and present alternative perspectives. I can call upon their wisdom and wise counsel in particular situations but more generally rely on their respective networks for my “cerebral workouts” to keep my thinking fresh and my ideas challenged.
Keith Rice
Keith Rice is a remarkable teacher, scholar and thinker to whom I owe a big debt of graduate for introducing me to NLP (Neuro Lingustic Programming) and in particular, Spiral Dynamics; probably the single most useful model about how people think and behave that I’ve used in my work. Keith’s passion is for the behavioural sciences in all matters to do with human thought and behaviour. His ambition is to create a unified, cohesive and practical approach to the behavioural sciences – he calls it ‘Integrated SocioPsychology’. His book “Knowing Me, Knowing You” (Trafford 2006) sums up this approach and I regularly refer to it when coming up against a brick wall in terms of understanding why an individual or group is behaving in a particular way and the approach I need to take to make progress. Keith is an organisational consultant in his own right and delivers a range of workshops from Conflict Management to Communication Skills to Sustainable Relationships. (His workshops are fun, with music, exercises, games and case studies to help embed the learning!) He also teaches (part-time) A-Level Sociology and Psychology and even manages to fit in a small amount of counselling and therapy for individuals and couples.
www.integratedsociopsychology.net
Peter Fryer
My professional relationship with Peter stems back to my time as Chief Officer for Hull CVS in the early 1990s when Peter was the Chief Executive for the Humberside Training and Enterprise Council (TEC). Keen to get a voluntary sector perspective in the TEC’s policy making processes, Peter invited me to become a member of the TEC Council and I became fascinated by what was for me a whole new slant on management thinking with strange new terminology like “Fuzzy Logic” and “Fractals”. This was my first introduction to Complexity Theory which challenged (and continues to do so) my conventional management training and indeed, the whole concept of management. When the TECs were axed in 2001 to be replaced by the Learning and Skills Councils, Peter established Trojan Mice, which undertakes general consultancy including senior level development, coaching and mentoring; economic development, economic and business research and evaluation; CD-Rom development; recruitment and selection; and general management development. He worked with the London School of Economics (LSE) for several years, initially as a member of a project which looked at the relationship between complex adaptive systems and organisational form. Although retired, Peter retains an interest in complexity theory and continues to be an important mentor.
Mark Friedman
Mark Friedman is a remarkably gifted thinker and innovator who has an amazing ability to unpick the most complex situations and bring clarity out of confusion. He is the founder and director of the Fiscal Policy Studies Institute (FPSI) based in Santé Fe, New Mexico in the United States and is responsible for conceiving and developing the Results Based Accountability™ framework, known in the UK as Outcome Based Accountability™ (OBA). I first heard Mark speak about OBA in 2002 and was immediately inspired by the pure common sense of his approach and the brilliance of his delivery. As a neighbourhood renewal practitioner, I used OBA extensively and with Mark’s encouragement and tutoring have adapted and Anglicised his materials to establish a practice for OBA training and consultancy in the UK.
In addition to Mark’s formal training, I have also enjoyed the benefit of his advice and support and the privilege of working alongside him in the UK, Ireland and South Africa. We have maintained a close friendship and working relationship over the years and I remain indebted to him for his inspiration and wise counsel.
Before founding FPSI in 1996, Mark served as a senior associate at the Centre for the Study of Social Policy in Washington, D.C. for four years, where his work focused on providing technical assistance to states, counties, cities, school districts, and communities working to reform their child and family service systems. Before that, he served 19 years in the Maryland Department of Human Resources, including six years as the department’s chief financial officer. During this time, Mark played a key role in social services program and fiscal policy, including responsibility for financing one of the country’s first family preservation programs and implementing several major revenue initiatives.
http://resultsaccountability.com
“Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you.”
John Wooden
Professor Marjorie Mayo
Professional and Community Education, Goldsmiths, University of London
David is one of the most effective and inspiring facilitators that I have ever come across. He has the most imaginative and engaging way of working with groups, providing the knowledge that participants need whilst stimulating their interest and enthusiasm. David combines an apparently relaxed style with the most demanding professional standards – highly recommended.
Victoria Bissett
Previous Director, Artlink Centre for Community Arts
David is a fantastic facilitator, he is creative and intellegent in his approach and has a genuine care and consideration for you (the client) and for all taking part and experiencing the event
Chris Simpson
(Previously) Head of Community Regeneration and Culture, Blyth Valley Borough Council
David was a great help to us in Blyth Valley in carrying out a review of the VCS infrastructure support in the area. He has extensive knowledge of working in the sector and his final report helped us map out a way forward.
Pete Chilvers
Chief Executive, SDSA
We have worked with David for several years in a number of leadership development programmes. David’s contribution is now one of the first onto the drawing board of any new programme design as his presentation around leadership for outcomes is always totally relevant, challenging and well-received. His presentation of OBA/RBA serves as a powerful reminder of the core purpose of public service.
Steve Brennan
Chief Finance Officer, NHS North Kirklees CCG
David worked with us to introduce the OBA approach to our senior clinical leaders and managerial staff. This invaluable session struck a chord with us in terms of how we can make a big impact on improving the health and social care for our population with the scarce resources we have at our disposal.
Nathan Elvery
Chief Executive, West Sussex County Council
Thank you for the session, it has ignited my organisation and has come at the right time as we plan for the challenges that lay ahead for our organisation, no different to the rest of local government but we are having to change our thinking. The session had very positive feedback and I have already had a list of volunteers to take this forward.
Russ Waterman Ma MCMI ABCI
Manager, Hull Youth Justice Service, Hull City Council
Working in law enforcement and facing the prospect of integrating other public service personnel into the wider policing family long before it became a buzz word could have been a headache without the expertise of David and his team. The training and exercising of leadership and partnership skills was unbeatable and had an immediate and positive effect on our new teams putting them at the forefront of partnership working
Carol Cooper-Smith
Director, Barnsley Development Agency
I have worked with David Burnby on numerous occasions and on very different subject areas, eg LEGI, workforce development, social enterprise. His facilitation skills are excellent and he has a real talent for involving people and bringing out fresh ideas. We’ve been particularly impressed with his work on Outcome Based AccountabilityTM.
David Hewitt
City Performance Officer, Corporate Policy Unit, Sheffield City Council
I was impressed by the way David tailored an excellent facilitation skills course to our requirements. It was full of useful techniques we can take away and use. It was also helpful that David clearly understood the wider context in which Local Authorities work so that he could use examples that were meaningful to us. Recommended without reservation!
Kevin Curley
Chief Executive (Retired), NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action)
A top quality facilitator and adviser, David works from a strong values base and always delivers on his promises. Highly recommended.
Liz Richardson
Research Fellow, IPEG (Institute for Political and Economic Governance), University of Manchester
David is one of the most knowledgeable and inspiring co-trainers I’ve worked with who is able to give people that ‘light bulb’ moment and offer them real tools for skills development.
Kim McLaughlin
Head of Community Planning and Performance, Fermanagh & Omagh Council
I just wanted to take a moment again to thank you for delivering today’s session and for the work that you put in with us to pull together the programme and to support us in improving our scorecards – its been invaluable to us. I hope to be able to engage your support further as we work towards a new Corporate Plan for the Council over the coming months which we aim to align closely to the Community Plan and to take forward using OBA. (February 2019)
Ian McGregor
General Manager, Tees Valley Leisure
I was involved in David’s Outcome Based Accountability (OBA) 2 day course. From what was expected to be a very complex matter upon building strategies to influence outcomes across a broad population, David managed to make the journey simple, straightforward and practical, turning talk into action. I’d advocate businesses adopting OBA and suggest that people should make contact with David to find out more.
Ian Burbidge
(Previous) Policy & Performance Manager, Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk
David has brought a fresh approach and a sense of humour to our partnership working, helping us cut through the talk to get at the actions we need to take to make things better in our area. As a facilitator he is always highly rated by delegates.
Dr Ian Kelly
Chief Executive, Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce
David’s passion and enthusiasm is what makes his work as facilitator such a success. He is great fun to work with and his preparation and insight tease out all the key issues under discussion.
Tony Kluge
Planning and Partnerships Manager, ABMU Local Health Board, Swansea Locality
The training provided by David was well put together and thought out, resulting in an engaged group of senior management from across a range of organisations in the city. The course was pitched confidently and generated a great deal of discussion; whilst not being too technical, it assumed a relevant level of understanding from the audience.
Jackie Wright
Haven Project Manager, Goodwin Development Trust
Our confidence [in you] was not misplaced at all. Already we have improved communication and understanding within the team which is great. Thank you for your understanding and excellent handling of both the issues and us as individuals on the day. Very positive feedback has been received from all members of the team on the day.
Nick Warren
Chief Executive (Retired), Voluntary Action Sheffield
I have worked with David on a number of occasions in recent years and appreciate his skills at facilitating focussed discussion within a diverse group of individuals, analysing complex data and providing the tools for effective decision-making.
Philip Houlden
Justices' Clerk, Humber Division
David assisted with some important work in relation to how best to engage with residents and community groups. His knowledge and skill was a vital part of establishing that aspect of my project which needed to be handled carefully and sensitively
Rikki Arundel
,
Whenever I attend an event that David is facilitating I know it will be a lively and interesting meeting. He has immense knowledge of the voluntary and public sectors, always up to date with the ever changing regulations and has a remarkable ability to help everyone at a meeting get the most from it. I highly recommend him
Jenny Gavin-Allen
North Lincolnshire Council,
Working with David Burnby to embed Outcome Based AccountabilityTM within the Acorns Neighbourhood Management initiative has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. Under David’s expert tutelage, residents and service providers have worked together with the team to develop a common vision, with clear outcomes, indicators and performance measures that we all understand and can share in achieving together.
Nick Pontone
Previous Manager, Hull Business Forum
David’s knowledge and facilitation skills have helped bring our business forum meetings alive. His blend of audience engagement, incisive questions and good humour has consistently been a major factor in the success of our events.
Becky Clarke
Health Trainer Service Manager, Hull Health Trainer Service, (NHS Hull)
David planned and facilitated a team away day for us in the middle of service and team change management. His advice proved to be invaluable in terms of management objectives being achieved and he gauged the sessions just right. I am both pleased and surprised by how the team dynamics changed following this day. Five months on and the team are positive about further developments to the service and working together