County Council Network Conference:  The County Council has a slot to present its approach to Big Society in Oxfordshire.  I am sharing the presentation with Joanna Simons.  Here is  a link to the Power Point.

Business Breakfast:  I joined Cllr Bob Price at this business breakfast to give an update on our budgets for the next few years.  Here is my "paper Power Point" presentation.

Senior Singapore officials   I took part in an Oxford university programme for mayors and other officials from Singapore.  The programme was delivered on behalf of the Singapore National Technical University.  It was introduced by Sir Michael Scholar, President of St John's College and a University Pro Vice-Chancellor.  I shared a platform with Cllr Bob Price and the session was chaired by Alan Hudson, Director of Leadership Programmes for China at the University. Here is a link to my presentation entitled Developing a 21st Century Economy for Oxfordshire. 

Shanghai Administrative Institute  This was not a formal lecture but a meeting with five representatives from the Shanghai Administrative Institute who hope  to formalise a programme with the University but who wanted to gain a better understanding of our political structures and processes.  The panel comprised Sir John Elvidge a retired Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government; Patrick Diamond, previously Head of Policy in the Prime Minister's Office and a special adviser in the Cabinet Office during the Blair/Brown era; Cllr Richard Stevens, Deputy Leader of the Labour Group on the county council; Alan Hudson, Director of Programmes in Leadership and Public Policy, Oxford University; and me.  Their questions were fascinating and ranged over a whole range of national and local political issues.

Senior Chinese officials   I took part in an Oxford University programme for senior Chinese government officials today at Lincoln college.  I shared a platform with Cllr Bob Price, Leader of Oxford City Council.  The delegates were sent by China's international agency of the Foreign Experts Bureau.  They were high level personnel in national and provincial finance departments.  Bob and I had a most interesting session for two and a half hours with some great questions and debates despite the language barrier which was effectively bridged by two very good interpreters.  Here are links to my presentations on Policy & Budgeting In Local Government: The Impact of the Economic Crisis and Participation in Decision Making in Local Government.

Local Government Conference   Ben Page, Chief Executive of IpsosMori, gave a fascinating presentation to the LG Group conference entitled Leading the workforce of the future - the next generation.  He has kindly provided me with a copy.

Local Government Conference   I shared a plenary session with Cllr Steve Reed, Labour Leader of Lambeth Council and Cllr Abi Bell, Liberal Group Leader of Hull City Council.  Here is a link to our shared Power Point and to my speaking notes.  

Sandy Bruce Lockhart Memorial Lecture   I was privileged to hear this  first lecture in the series from Rt Hon Greg Clark MP.  It is well worth reading.

India Chevening Programme  This is a high level programme for high-flying Indian civil servants.  I share a platform with Bob Price, Leader of Oxford City Council.  Here is a link to my presentation entitled   Developing a 21st Century Economy for Oxford & Oxfordshire.

Thai Officials  I address delegates on this course for Thai government officials.  Here is a link to my presentations entitled Policy & Budgeting in Local Government: the Impact of the Financial Crisis

Public Administration College of the Kazakhstan Government  I addressed delegates on this course for Kazakhstan government officials.  Here are links to my two presentations entitled Policy & Budgeting in Local Government: the Impact of the Financial Crisis and Participation in Decision Making in Local Government.

Royal Institute of British Architects   Conference: Power to the People: The Effect of Localism on Conservation   I have been invited to make a presentation at this conference at The Four Pillars Hotel, Abingdon Road, Oxford.  Here is my Power Point.

SW Region Public Health Transition Event  Here is the Power Point I used in discussions with NHS colleagues at a LG Improvement event today in Swindon.

Oxfordshire City-Region Local Enterprise Partnership  Here is the Power Point with which I started the round Table event  which was then picked up by Martin Dare-Edwards, LEP Chairman and Martin Tugwell, Oxon CC Deputy Director, Growth & Infrastricture.

Next Generation Access from BT  Bill Murphy, Managing Director of NGA BT gave this presentation to county and district council representatives as part of the County Council's priority to establish Super Fast Broadband across the whole county.  You can view the Power Point here.

Oxford Brookes planning students I am addressing Oxford Brookes planning students on Tuesday 9 November.  I understand  they are mainly postgraduates in the final year of their RTPI accredited MSc programme.  There will also be some staff from the planning faculty.  As usual, my Power Point presentation is here for anyone who is interested.

Chinese government officials I am addressing senior Chinese government officials who are attending an Oxford University short course.  I am sharing a platform with Cllr Jim Campbell who is an Oxford university lecturer and Oxford City.  As usual, my Power Point presentation is here for anyone who is interested.

Corporate Induction  I shared a platform with Joanna Simons for the Corporate Induction for new staff at the Kings Centre, Osney Mead.  As usual, my Power Point presentation is here for anyone who is interested.

Presentations by other speakers should be available on the LGA web site from Monday 13 September.

Here is a link to the Power Point presentation I used.

Local Enterprise Partnership  Further to my note immediately below, I have now recorded an interview for the Oxfordshire Town Chambers Network about Local Enterprise Partnerships.  Here is the link where you can hear my thoughts and those of other Oxfordshire business leaders.

Local Enterprise Partnership  In the wake of the abolition of Regional Development Agencies, Eric Pickles and Vince Cable have invited local government and businesses to work together to create Local Enterprise Partnerships.  These are to cover upper tier authority areas, to contain an equal number of business people and elected members with a business chairman.  I invited our two vice chancellors, chief executives of the top 100 Oxfordshire companies, business organisations such as CBI, IoD, FSB, OEP and Chambers and Oxfordshire council leaders to a meeting in County Hall in the early evening at made a presentation for a proposed bid to government for an Oxfordshire-based local enterprise partnership to be called The Oxfordshire City Region Board.  Here is a link to my Briefing Note and to the Power Point.

Word file

Oxfordshire Partnership  I made a presentation to the Oxfordshire Partnership on 14 July 2010 entitled New Government - Emerging Themes.  It was an attempt to do some horizon scanning and the likely impact on Oxfordshire.     Here is a link to the Power Point.

Here is a link to my speaking notes.

Here is a link to the Power Point presentation I used.

Here is a link to the Power Point presentation we used.

Oxfordshire Business Awards Dinner  I was honoured tonight, not only to attend the Oxfordshire Business Awards Dinner  but also to make the presentation for a new award For lifetime achievement in Oxfordshire's economy by contributing much to Oxfordshire's economy  to a couple who have given something back to Oxfordshire's business life  The award went to Sir Martin & Lady Wood   They founded Oxford Instruments, a hugely successful Oxford company.  They went on to found the Northmoor Trust, the Oxford Trust (now known as Science Oxford), Oxford Innovation Ltd which helps local spin out businesses and the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership.  Here is a link to the full list of their achievements which I used as a speaking note.

Local Government Association Finance Briefings After the LGA Executive today, there was a meeting of the Strategy & Finance Policy Review Group at which we had three presentations:

	Prof Tony Travers of the LSE;
	Stephen Jones, LGA Finance Director and an ex Treasury civil servant;
	Paul Raynes, LGA Programme director - regeneration & transport, & culture, tourism & sport

You can access each of these Power Point presentations by clicking on the presenter's name.

Town & Country Planning Association Annual Conference - Making Planning Work  I addressed a conference at One Whitehall Place, Westminster run by the TCPA.  I shared a platform with Nick Raynsford MP (Lab) and an anonymous Liberal who stood in at very short notice for Cllr Richard Kemp (Lib) who cried off at very short notice.  My five minute presentation is here.

Oxford University Chinese Government Programme   I addressed 30 senior members of the Chinese government and Communist Party on local government issues.  They were interested in the relationship between elected members and officials.  Given that democracy is a relatively unknown quantity in China, I spent quite a bit of time out of my allotted 30 minutes in talking about voting systems, majority and minority administrations and the current controversy around pay for public servants.  I also talked about the critical importance of there being a good working relationship between members and officers with a clear understanding of respective roles. I shared a platform with Bob Price, leader of Oxford City Council.  We had simultaneous translation which is better than consecutive translation but nevertheless means there is less dialogue and audience reaction than we are used to.  However, this was compensated for in the question and answer session that followed where we had some lively questions that showed they had been listening intently to what we had been saying and the interpreters had clearly done a god job of translating our ramblings into coherent Chinese.

District Councils Network Executive Away Day The Executive is working with the Leadership Centre for Local Government to plan for the difficult political and financial issues all of local government faces.  I was invited to give a county council view of two-tier working and was encouraged to be provocative!  I hope I succeeded in the interests of promoting a good level of debate.

Corporate Induction Event  This is an induction for new county council staff across all directorates.  It was attended by some 130 staff, including our new Director for Children, Young People & Families.  This is my presentation which talks about the importance of political awareness in an organisation that is member-led  

Apprenticeship Summit  A conference jointly sponsored by the High Sherriff and me to highlight opportunities for apprenticeships in Oxfordshire and to promote a sense of Corporate Social Responsibility for young people Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEETs)

Launch of SEEDA Innovation and Growth Team for Oxfordshire  - SEEDA has invested a considerable sum in this team which is designed to promote innovation and economic growth in Oxfordshire. In my address to 100+ attendees, I sought to promote the success and diversity of our economy.  My Power Point presentation is quite large and I hope that, by clicking this link, you can access it.

Partnership Event This was open to members of Oxfordshire partnerships – the Oxfordshire Partnership, the District Local Strategic Partnerships and the Thematic Partnerships. 

Bicester Summit  This Power Point presentation was given at the Bicester Summit held at Chesterton Golf Course on 9 December 2009.  The South East Regional Minister, Jonathan Shaw, was in attendance.

City/County Business Breakfast at Blake Lapthorns  This address was given to the regular Business breakfast jointly hosted by Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council.  It sets out the financial position faced by the County Council in the medium term.

Local Government Association (LGA) finances  This presentation was delivered to senior members of the LGA as an introduction to a business planning workshop  

Green Belt Policy  This presentation was delivered to senior Chinese government officials on an Oxford College course

Safe Cycling in Oxford   This presentation was delivered to Lord Krebs, Principal of Jesus College and a selection of fellows, under-graduates and staff of the College following an exchange of correspondence about a statement he had made in a speech in the House of Lords about cycling policy in Oxford

Constructing Excellence at NW Bicester  This presentation was delivered to an audience of more than 100 people at the Said Business School.  It presents a series of challenges tot he developers of the proposed eco-town at NW Bicester.

The View from the Public Sector - I am a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Accountant by profession.  The monthly magazine of the latter body is Accounting & Business and they recently invited me to contribute a public sector viewpoint. 

Credit Crunch - Cause & Cure - Address to Nebraska State University Students attending Oxford University Programme

LGA Finance team Away Day - Briefing for LGA Finance team

County councils: Improving Performance and Good Governance - Presentation to senior Chinese government officials attending Oxford University Programme

Working in a Political Environment - Presentation to Seminar for new staff members

State of the County - Presentation to Oxfordshire Strategic Partnership