How I help
Every programme I work on needs one of three things: a case strong enough to be funded, someone to get it moving, or someone willing to say it has drifted. Most need all three at different moments.
Get it funded
Local ambition has to meet the rigour of national funding. A business case is an argument before it is a document. Most cases that struggle don't fail on the economics; they fail because nobody found the story that makes the investment make sense. I find that story, then build the evidence and the numbers that carry it.
Strategic, Outline and Full Business Cases (SOC, OBC, FBC) under the Green Book Five Case Model
Economic appraisal and economic modelling
Options appraisal
Benefit-cost ratios, net present value, and sensitivity analysis
Benefits frameworks
Funding strategy and bids to UK and devolved governments
I wrote the £2.2bn business case that secured HM Treasury approval for the Priority Schools Building Programme, and the Full Business Case and National Lottery Heritage Fund bid that won National Galleries Scotland £56m and £8.5m. At DfE I helped local authorities draft their cases to national government, then reviewed them with colleagues and presented them to the Treasury where needed. I have written investment cases and approved them, from under £1m to over £2bn.
Get it moving
Policy is written as intent. Delivery happens in a real place, with a real budget, team, and supply chain. Programmes stall in the gap between the two: nobody is sure who decides, money doesn't flow, the client lacks what it needs in-house, or public and private partners talk past each other. I work in that gap, turning the vision into the governance, decision routes, and funding flows a programme needs to get on the road.
Programme set-up and governance
Target operating models
Capital programme structures
Client-side capability
Mobilising programmes
I built the £1bn Building Safety Fund in six weeks, designed and launched the £440m Condition Improvement Fund, ran the programme management office for the Priority Schools Building Programme, and played a key role in mobilising the Free Schools Programme. As interim COO, I built the Chartered College of Teaching from nothing: governance, finance, HR, and systems, through to national launch.
Keep it honest
A programme can take on a life of its own. Over time it drifts from what the organisation behind it needs, and the people running it are rarely best placed to say so. I give SROs and boards an independent view: what is working, what isn't, and what it will take to bring it back into line.
Assurance reviews and programme health checks
Gateway readiness
Portfolio reviews
Recovery of drifting or stalled programmes
I have briefed ministers, reviewed business cases for over £6bn of public investment on behalf of government, and led independent assurance and governance reviews for the Houses of Parliament, the Royal Household, and the Government Property Agency. Most of this work stays confidential. That's rather the point.
PPP handback
Many PFI and BSF-era contracts are in their final years, and handback planning needs to start well before the end date. On Building Schools for the Future, I was the national point of contact for five London and South East authorities, guiding their projects, including PFI schemes, through delivery. I can help you plan handback, test the payment mechanism, and make the value for money case for what comes next.
How we'd work
Most work starts with a conversation and ends with a fixed price scoped to the job. I also join larger consultancy and contractor teams as a named specialist, and take retained roles with SROs who want an experienced adviser alongside them.
PlaceSense is available through the Constellia and Bloom frameworks, so public bodies can appoint me without a separate tender.
Health check
A review of your key documents, a day with your team and stakeholders to understand the issues, and a short, to-the-point written view within a week: what's working, what isn't, and what to do next. All for a fixed price of £3,000 plus VAT.