WIREDGOV

The National School of Government announced the appointment by Sir Gus O’Donnell of four new high profile fellows to its Sunningdale Institute today.

The new fellows are: Sir Nigel Hamilton former Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service; Sir Richard Mottram who has held a number of permanent secretary posts; Sir David Pepper former Director of GCHQ; and Alice Perkins CB whose civil service career culminated in five years in the Cabinet Office as the Civil Service’s Group Human Resources Director, leading reform for two successive Cabinet Secretaries.

Director of the Sunningdale Institute Professor Sue Richards commented:

“These appointments will increase the experience and capacity that the Institute and the National School has to assist tackling some of the most challenging issues facing government and the Civil Service.

“Harnessing within the Sunningdale Institute experience gained over long careers in senior Civil Service roles will prove invaluable when shared across the Civil Service”.

Part of the National School of Government, the Sunningdale Institute is dedicated to helping Ministers and public service leaders with organisational development and delivery issues. It works with organisations and across boundaries in a variety of ways - research and evaluation, building capacity through knowledge exchange in areas such as public leadership and governance, consulting on organisation and system design, connecting strategy and operations and fostering innovation.

In recent months the Sunningdale Institute has published a report commissioned by the Cabinet Office on making better use of front line in the policy making cycle entitled Engagement and Aspiration: Reconnecting Policy Making with Front Line Professionals. Work with the Cabinet Office on implementing the recommendations from this report has already begun. The Institute is also currently carrying out research into governance structures to achieve transformation.

Notes to Editors:

1. As the Government’s centre of excellence for learning and development, the National School of Government became a government department in January 2007. Under the leadership of Rod Clark, it strives to ensure the highest professional and academic standards in public service organisational and people development. Visit www.nationalschool.gov.uk for more information.

2. New fellows’ biographies:
Sir Richard Mottram GCB is Chairman of: Amey plc; the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory; and the UK Advisory Board of Employment Services Holdings. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of GardaWorld and a board member of Ashridge Business School and the Ditchley Foundation. He is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Government of the LSE. He was formerly a civil servant. From 1992-2007 he held a number of permanent secretary posts, of: the Office of Public Service and Science, responsible for public and civil service change including the creation of “Next Steps” executive agencies; the Ministry of Defence, including during the strategic defence review; the department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; the Department for Work and Pensions, responsible for large-scale service transformation; and, finally, in the Cabinet Office with responsibilities for intelligence, security and resilience.

Sir Nigel Hamilton was Head of the Northern Ireland Service from 2002 until his retirement in 2008. He was Secretary to the Northern Ireland Executive and had a major role both in managing the transition from direct rule to devolution and then ensuring the successful working of the new institutions. In his 34 years in the Service, he had experience in policies and strategies in physical development as well as education, and served as Permanent Secretary in the Departments of Regional Development and Education. He is now Chair of two large charities in Northern Ireland, including The Prince’s Trust, is a Non-Executive Director of the Ulster Bank and Belfast City Airport, and Senior Vice President of Ulster Rugby. Nigel has a strong interest in both governance and the arrangements for and the impact of devolution.

Sir David Pepper KCMG was the Director of GCHQ from 2003 to July 2008. He spent most of his career in GCHQ, including spells as Finance Director and HR Director. As the Director, his focus was on leading transformational change, as GCHQ developed from a Cold War organisation into one suited to the intelligence and information assurance challenges of the 21st century and the Internet age. He also worked in the Home Office from 1998 to 2000, where he was responsible for infrastructure and modernisation. While at GCHQ he was a member of the Joint Intelligence Committee, and he is now a member of the Government’s National Security Forum. He currently has a non-executive role with Gloucestershire County Council, and is involved in giving strategic advice in the public and private sectors; his main areas of interest are security, leadership and organisational change.

Alice Perkins - Executive Coach and Non-Executive Director: Alice worked in the civil service for 34 years until 2005. She held a variety of roles in the Departments of Health and Social Security, the Treasury and the Cabinet Office. In January 2005, she became the Civil Service’s Group HR Director working for Sir Richard Wilson and then Sir Andrew Turnbull. The National School of Government was part of her responsibilities in that role. Since she left the service, Alice has pursued new interests. She has been a Non-Executive on the Boards of BAA and TNS where she was also Chair of the Remuneration Committee and is currently an external member of Oxford University Council and a member of the Said Business School's Business Advisory Council. She is a partner at the JCA Group where she is an Executive Coach.

3. The Sunningdale Institute is directed by the National School of Government’s Professor Sue Richards. A full list of Fellows is attached at the annex. For more details, including Fellows’ biographies, visit www.nationalschool.gov.uk/sunningdaleinstitute.

4. Engagement and Aspiration: Reconnecting Policy Making with Front Line Professionals is available at http://www.nationalschool.gov.uk/downloads/EngagementandAspirationReport.pdf 

5. For more information about the Sunningdale Institute please contact Nicola Mullan at the National School of Government on telephone number 01344 634773, email nicola.mullan@nationalschool.gsi.gov.uk 

6. For media enquiries, please contact Alfred Bacchus email Alfred.bacchus@nationalschool.gsi.gov.uk, tel: 01344 634253 or Chris Clark, email chris.clark@nationalschool.gsi.gov.uk, tel: 01344 634145.