John works as an independent consultant / critical friend to individuals and groups working across all sectors but primarily with NGOs and public sector organisations. He has over 40 years of experience working in post 16 education. His particular passion is understanding and learning about collaboration from individuals learning together to organisations wanting to work in 'partnership'. He is attached to three UK universities and sits on the Global Advisory Board of the TELLAL Institute based in Dubai.

In September 2020 he was due to be taking a train from Los Angeles to Orlando for a month to write about the conversations he has as the USA goes through the 2020 Presidential Campaign.

He is co-editor of the Sage journal Teaching Public Administration and co-editor of an international book series for Palgrave on Community-University Connections. He is fascinated too by both what we learn when we collaborate as well as what we unlearn.

In 2013 he was the Founding Director of Edge Hill's Institute for Public Policy and Professional Practice (I4P) - now the Institute for Social Responsibility. I4P was set up to provide a bridge from the university to the outside world and to support connections going the other way. Imagined as a cross boundary multi disciplinary initiative it acted as a hub for shared learning and knowledge exchange. How we imagine such developments philosophically, intellectually, ethically as well as practically has, always, intrigued him.

We talk about:

• American literature and politics,
• Manctopia/Mancmageddon and East Manchester regeneration under New Labour
• Obama, Trump and Hillary and Bill
• Cultural shifts (Clinton nearly lost the democratic nomination because of an affair - Trump builds an election campaign on the back of them)
• American Presidents and the Rapture...
• Personal Experience, Data or Science - what do we follow?
• NHS Improvement or Transformation - lessons from Covid
• Schools and Education - what do they actually teach?
• The role of imagination in transforming public service
• Words you don't see in public policy position statements
• Marmot and widening inequalities
• The role of interdisciplinary explorations and imagination
• How might we relocate power through networks and alliances of influence
• The post pandemic context and why we might not reach it
• Stranded in the strategic high peaks

You can find John on twitter @ProfJohnDiamond

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