Brian Collins is an active consultant in infrastructure systems thinking. Previously the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser in the Departments of BERR (then BIS now BEIS) and Transport where he initiated consideration of systems thinking into transport and infrastructure policy and investment. Brian then moved into academia and now balances his time across academic and consulting practice. Brian was Founding Convener of the UKCRIC research collaboratorium.
A systemic thinker and practitioner, Brian brings insight to the development of public policy and understanding of how government works, and a substantial grasp of the national and international context in which decisions are made. He is an adviser to governments around the world. Prior to the UK activities and positions he was a senior civil servant, a CIO of two large organisations and a research scientist and director.
No ‘perhaps’ at all about Peter Dudley, he is a man of unreasonable beliefs. Unreasonable enough to believe that ‘right thinking’ is the basis of ‘right action’. Unreasonable enough to believe that the world we are creating has all the characteristics of a mediocracy – where it is regarded as desirable to be lacklustre, to be passive and to fit in. Unreasonable enough to believe that organisations and institutions whose mediocre performance is protected by rules that allow only mediocre protest are both undesirable and dangerous. And unreasonable enough to believe that something can, and therefore should, be done about it.
Peter is an expert in Adaptive Systems. His international consulting career extends over ten years with particular experience of working with public sector organisations.
Peter holds a PhD in Management Systems and Sciences, a first degree in Management Information Systems and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Operational Research Society. He has produced 3 books in the field of Management Science and is a regular contributor to management journals.
Keith Elford has been helping leaders of organisations across the sectors make the changes required for sustainable success since 1998. His route into consulting was unusual – it started when, as the Bishop’s Chaplain, he co-led a major change project in Guildford Diocese. He is now particularly adept at helping clients manage the human dimension of change: articulating purpose and values, engaging people, defining and shifting mind-set and behaviours. He helps clients make sense of new challenges both rationally and emotionally and consequently operate in different ways to get different outcomes. His practice is rooted in an understanding of organisation as a system, combining people and processes, and set in a changing environment.
Keith remains an Anglican priest and has a passion for finding ways of recognising and realising the ‘connectedness’ of life. He likes to cross or break down the barriers so characteristic of society today, those that separate the ‘private’ worlds of, for example, business, the arts and community. ‘Creating the Future for the Church’, his book applying principles of organisational effectiveness to the Church of England, was published in September 2013. Keith is also a part-time doctoral student at Roehampton University in organisation and theology.
Simon Gimson was until August 2010 a Director at South West Trains where he led the relationship with the Department for Transport and management of the Franchise Agreement. He was responsible for reducing operational costs, whilst preserving the customer experience. He has worked extensively in the integration of operating businesses, delivering service quality improvements and directed franchise bidding in relation to Customer Services, Stations, Catering, Environment and Revenue Protection.
Simon previously worked with GNER in a variety of operational, quality improvement and bidding roles – delivering continuing savings and performance improvement into the business. He was the General Manager running the Kings Cross operation as well as the Bid Team Leader for the GSER and GSWR franchise bids.
Between 2015 and 2021 Simon managed all HS2 related issues for West Midlands Trains. This included adapting the operation of WMT due to the reduction of platforms which were part of the radical changes at Euston station and engineering works. During 2013-15 he led projects at the Department for Transport for contract extensions on the Greater Anglia and South Western franchises.
Doug, based in the Wirral, operates as a management consultant and executive coach. He has 35 years teaching and practising in applied statistics, operational research, quality improvement, business information systems and change management.
In the last 15 years, he has been a senior manager at Liverpool Business School where he focused on business analysis and organisational change. Recently, Doug has strengthened his development skills by qualifying as a Myers-Briggs Practitioner and gained a postgraduate certificate in business and executive coaching and facilitated team development initiatives within change programmes.
Doug is passionate about facilitating learning both for individuals and through facilitating business improvement and cultural change at all organisational levels. He currently chairs the risk management governance committee for a large charity and is active in several communities of practice in the North West.
Chris is an experienced consultant with a passion for helping individuals, teams and organisations release their potential. His most frequent client engagements involve advise and support on governance matters and with clients seeking to clarify their long-term strategic objectives. He is often involved when the dynamics of the organisation or team are causing sub optimal business performance. He currently support a wide range of UK based organisations – many of these are employee owned – across a wide range of different sectors.
Chris qualified as a Chartered Accountant, before finding his way into consulting via the training department of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, travel in South-East Asia and VSO in Ghana. He was a founder of Telos Partners (including serving as Chair from 2006-2012) and is a past member of the EOA (Employee Ownership Association) Board.
During the Covid-19 pandemic Chris & John produced a series of videos based on their shared experiences of cybernetic systems.
Peter Kawalek is Professor of Information Systems in the School of Business and Economics at Loughborough University and Director of the Centre for Information Management. He is a Visiting Professor at Instituto de Empresa in Madrid and Letterkenny Institute of Technology in County Donegal. He is also a Senior Visiting Fellow at Deusto Business School in the Basque Country. Peter’s PhD is in Computer Science. He has experience to board level in media and rail industries, and has worked extensively with government, including Office an Taoiseach, Department of Communities and Local Government, the NHS, Leeds City Council, Tameside Council, Greater Manchester Police and Salford City Council.
He has been working on projects with Beckford Consulting for 20 years.
Chris is a senior strategic leader, consultant and security specialist with over 30 years of experience with HM Police Forces.
Demonstrating significant strength in defining policies, strategies and leading programmes, Chris works across the spectrum from designing transformational change to developing the frameworks that organisational foundations are based upon. With a strong record of delivering at a national level and an extremely effective project / programme management ethos, he has a proven record of implementing cost efficiencies whilst elevating performance.
Learning from each strategic and tactical role he’s held over the years, Chris brings a wealth of experience to a multiplicity of issues, liaising with National Government right through to operational development of practical policing or security solutions.
Chris has extensive experience in the specialist field of CBRN protection, and now works closely with a leading University as a coach and tutor on the delivery of a prestigious leadership development programme for the UK Civil Service.