Ben Lee
“I have always been interested in how improvement and innovation spreads (or doesn't) from person to person within the public sector.  This may or may not stem from my first ever job which was as a Department of the Environment civil servant looking after the Citizens' Charter (mainly dog mess, litter, and horses startled by Concorde's sonic boom)...

After a stint in Camden council's central policy unit I joined Shared Intelligence.  Among other things I manage the National Neighbourhood Management Network whose members share learning about new forms of neighbourhood service delivery.  We are currently in the middle of the exciting task of transforming it from a government sponsored support programme into a member-led independent network.

Although I have worked in many public sector teams involved in policy development, being in an independent consultancy allows me to implement ideas straight away - even sometimes risky experiments.  Being a relatively small organisation there is scant bureaucracy, but a huge amount of personal responsibility. 

I'm also lucky to have a wonderfully varied workload - from scrutinising London's public toilets, to researching health and fitness in North East England....”  

Matthew Daley
Consultant
“I joined Shared Intelligence in 2003 after studying economics at university. I became interested in economic development and regeneration whilst writing my final year dissertation on regional disparities in the UK economy.  Working at Si has enabled me to apply some of the economics I learnt to the real world, as well as challenging me to learn about new subjects.

Since joining I’ve been involved in a whole range of projects, including the Northern Way, the Thames Gateway Strategic Framework and the Black Country Study. I‘ve enjoyed working in different parts of the country with different people and this variety is certainly one of the most appealing parts of the job. While there is no strict graduate programme, the company is keen to see you progress. I’ve benefited from being given a lot of responsibility early on – writing reports, proposals and attending interviews – making the work challenging but also rewarding.

Si is not always about work, I’ve been given the great honour of captaining the Si mixed football team in the King’s Cross 5-a-side Cup, and even organised an Si bowling night in my unofficial (temporary) capacity as social secretary.”