Meg Abdy works primarily in economic regeneration and voluntary sector policy.  She was Director of the Durham City Vision programme and also managed the University of Durham Cultural Strategy, recommending a range of outreach services and facilities.  Meg has carried out ‘place-shaping’ work in Blackpool, Gloucester, Leeds and Basingstoke.  Within the voluntary sector, Meg has set up a series of consortium research and forecasting projects, including Legacy Foresight and Third Sector Foresight.  Her consultancy work focuses on strategic planning, social innovation and intelligent funding.

Richard Banyard has extensive operational, managerial and commissioning experience at all levels over 30 years in the NHS, as well as overseas.  This includes over 10 years at Board level, including Chief Executive and various senior Health Authority positions, such as Director of Commissioning, a LIFT Director in Hull and Director of Contracts.  Having worked for Acton Shapiro for 3 years, Richard now runs his own health consultancy ‘Future Health Solutions’.  Richard is also experienced in teaching, conference presentations, examining and writing.  He has a Masters degree in Health Service Management, is a qualified Further Education teacher and has headed-up a part-time Foundation Degree programme in Health Services Management at Hull College for local NHS staff.

Jean Barclay has been a freelance consultant since 1999, following permanent posts in strategy and business planning at the RNIB, RNID and NSPCC, and has combined project work with interim director roles at the Long-Term Medical Conditions Alliance, the Refugee Council and Groundwork UK.  She combines extensive experience of evaluation and business analysis with a customer-focused approach.  Jean has an MSc in charity finance (with distinction) and a BSc in economics.  She is a visiting fellow at London South Bank University, an associate of CASS Business School, chair of Charities Evaluation Services (CES) and a non-executive director of West Sussex PCT.

Margaret Bolton is an independent consultant who specialises in voluntary sector policy.  Previously Director of Policy and Research at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) she was seconded, in 2001, to the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit to work on a major review of charities and other not-for-profit organisations.  She is a board member of Capacitybuilders, a new agency set up in April 2006, to distribute ChangeUp funding to improve the quality of support services for the third sector.  Her main specialisms are social investment and third sector capacity building.  She has authored a number of reports on voluntary sector issues.

Jacqueline Curtis is an independent consultant and management coach who has worked at director and senior management level in the NHS and at national and regional level with a large registered social housing association.  Her career has spanned both strategic and operational management and she is highly skilled in developing and working in partnerships.  She has an MA in public sector management, is PRINCE trained and is a member of the Institute of Healthcare Managers.  Jacqueline has served on several national working groups and has written widely on health and housing.

Annette Given is a highly experienced practice manager.  She has a BA (Hons) degree in combined business studies and has twenty years’ management experience in the NHS and voluntary sector, including eight years in general practice management.  She specialises in training, project management and consultancy in primary care and is particularly interested in organisational and individual development.  Annette is a full member of the Institute of Healthcare Management and is an assessor for the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Quality Practice Award.

Diana Sanderson has worked as a health economist for almost eighteen years, initially at York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) at the University of York and latterly working on a freelance basis.  She has a strong interest in services for older people and housing provision and she has recently undertaken the economic analysis for a project on retirement communities funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation with colleagues at the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York.

Terry Wolf has achieved a strategic management NVQ at level 5 and holds a BSc (Hons) and MA in social policy.  She is a qualified social worker and social work practice teacher, as well as an NVQ assessor.  Terry has an excellent track record in managing voluntary organisations, developing teams and offering training.  As a consultant, she has managed and delivered a range of consultation, research and evaluation projects with not-for-profit organisations, particularly in the fields of social care and adult learning.  She also has a longstanding interest in quality and performance standards issues.

Agencia is a management consultancy offering a range of services to the public, private and voluntary sectors.  It works particularly in the areas of health and social care, local authorities and the judicial services.

The Department of Health Sciences at the University of York is a multi-disciplinary department offering a broad range of programmes in health care, including nursing and midwifery.  It works to develop the role of evidence in health care through high-quality research, teaching and dissemination.

McNeil Beechey O’Neill Architects designs buildings that both look good and function well.  The practice has extensive experience in working in partnership in the public, private, voluntary and commercial sectors.

The National Centre for Independent Living (NCIL) is controlled by disabled people and is at the forefront of promoting independent living including direct payments and personal budgets.  Current work includes working with the Department of Health on developing user-led organisations in every locality, membership of the Department of Health’s Project Board for the implementation of personal health budgets and working with the Department of Work and Pensions on the Right to Control trailblazers.

Partners in Commissioning is a unique consortium set up to respond to the Department of Health's Framework for procuring External Support for Commissioners (FESC).  The consortium brings together a team of experienced, like-minded experts, who believe that commissioning must be evidence-based to maximise benefits.  Partners in Commissioning combines the expertise of Acton Shapiro, CHKS, the Association of Public Health Observatories, the Sollis Partnership and the York Health Economics Consortium and helps PCTs to:
• strengthen their commissioning functions
• monitor current and planned levels of activity and expenditure
• provide and support information management solutions to meet PCTs' needs in respect of the above
• assess and plan the need for and delivery of services
• collect and analyse GP feedback and patient information.

Sandison Easson and Gordon are chartered accountants, who deal almost exclusively in tax and accountancy for doctors, dentists and vets, and are now part of the Tenon Medical Services Group.

The Social Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of York has an international reputation for excellence in research in social policy, especially health and social care, poverty, social security and social work.

York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) is a health economics consulting company owned by the University of York and is part of the largest and most active group of Health Economics departments in the United Kingdom.  It provides a range of services, including modelling, planning and resource allocation, economic evaluation, applied research and training to the Department of Health, NHS and health care industries.  Over the years YHEC has established a reputation for undertaking high-quality, credible and practical research and consultancy based on sound methodological principles.  Recent clients include the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement, the National Patient Safety Agency, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, The Department of Health, Scottish Government, Local Authorities and a number of Primary Care Trusts.