The East of England Local Government Association’s Talent Bank has been commended for the support it provided Transport East.
Transport East is a sub-national transport body which brings together local transport and planning authorities, as well as businesses with Network Rail and National Highways. Therefore, enabling the region to speak with one voice on required transport investment through one member-lead organisation.
Due to being an early-stage organisation, Transport East faces the challenge of growing its capacity and capability. It required support to review its basis of funding to ensure its financial resilience, clarify its longer-term direction and how to manage development effectively. So, Transport East contacted EELGA’s Talent Bank for assistance.
We were able to provide two expert Associates to act as ‘critical’ friends:
- Dave Fergus led the assignment and acted as the team’s commercial/financial expert.
- Simon Payne acted as the technical expert on the team.
Working closely with Transport East’s executive team, they also engaged with key stakeholders through interviews and surveys. Additionally, Dave and Simon worked with external parties such as Department for Transport. As part of their work, they carried out detailed research on the funding structures and strategic approach by other strategic transport bodies in the UK.
Following their thorough research and engagement, they developed an output report which was presented to the Transport East Forum. The report’s conclusions received general acceptance and support from members. As a result, an action plan has been put in place to deliver the Dave and Simon’s recommendations.
Andrew Summers, Strategic Director for Transport East, said:
“We are at an important stage of our development, as we mature from a young organisation developing strategy to focus on delivering against the challenging objectives set by our members. EELGA were commissioned to help us in this important process. Dave Fergus and Simon Payne from the EELGA Talent Bank supported and challenged us as an executive team as expert critical friends, working alongside us to deliver a range of positive outcomes.”
You can find out more about the EELGA Talent Bank and Associates we have to offer here. Alternatively, if you have any queries about the Talent Bank, please email joe.winter@eelga.gov.uk.