Speakers

Further to completing an MA at Liverpool University, Philip worked in education and social care in London, local governments and the voluntary sector for over 18 years. Then he joined the New Opportunities Fund in 2002, and subsequently transferred to The National Lottery Community Fund in Newcastle.

Philip has worked on a number of different social investment contracts, grant programmes and related initiatives since 2010. This has included secondments and support to various government departments, and support of the programme development of the Life Chances Fund. Since 2013, one of Philip's main work projects has been to take care of the programme oversight and evaluation of the Commissioning Better Outcomes fund.

Chris Drinkwater was an inner city GP in Newcastle for 23 years and he is now emeritus Professor of Primary Care Development at Northumbria University. He led the establishment of HealthWORKS Newcastle as a City Challenge project in the early 1990s.

From 2014 to July 2022, Chris chaired Ways to Wellness, a charitable foundation established to deliver social prescribing at scale through a social impact bond in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is currently VCSE representative for the Child Health & Wellbeing Executive, where he Chairs the Operational Oversight Committee. He is also a Director of the West End Schools Trust (8 inner city primary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne).

Neil is a founding Director of ATQ Consultants, a boutique consultancy which, since 2012, has specialised in outcome based commissioning including payment by results (PBR) and social impact bonds (SIBs); and the use of social investment to support new models of public service delivery by the social sector.

Neil has worked extensively with both commissioners and providers to develop SIBs and other outcomes-based contracts, and is also supporting the evaluation of the Commissioning Better Outcomes (CBO) Fund, working in partnership with Ecorys UK. He is also an experienced speaker and workshop facilitator at open access and client specific events both in the UK and overseas,

Neil’s experience and expertise in outcome based commissioning build on more than 25 years involvement in the reform and improvement of public services, with a particular focus on complex commissioning and contracting with both the private and social sectors. Neil was a visiting Fellow of Practice at GO Lab in both 2017 and 2018. In addition to his role at ATQ Neil is a Non-Executive Director of Family Psychology Mutual CIC, a staff-led mutual social enterprise that delivers evidence-based interventions to young people and families.

James is Director at Ecorys UK and mainly works in the social enterprise and social investment thematic areas. In these areas he has provided support and analysis to social enterprises, NGOs and governments, both in the UK and internationally.

James leads on Ecorys’ social impact bond work, including overseeing three SIB evaluations (Commissioning Better Outcomes Evaluation for Big Lottery Fund, Youth Engagement Fund Evaluation for DCMS and Turning the Tide Evaluation for North Somerset Council), and Ecorys’ consultancy work in helping organisations understand the evidence base and potential savings linked to SIB interventions (for example for Family Lives and Catch22).

James holds a BA and MA in Geography from the University of Cambridge. In his spare time he is a Governor at Barkston Ash Catholic Primary School.

Eleanor Carter is the Academic Co-Director for the Government Outcomes Lab (GO Lab) and is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow.

Eleanor’s research investigates challenges in coordinating complex public service delivery networks and cross-sector partnerships. She is one of Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential Academics in Government. Eleanor’s work explores the ability of novel contracting arrangements – like social outcomes contracts and impact bonds – to facilitate purposeful partnerships and effective services that avoid perfunctory or cynical behaviour by contract holders.

Before moving to Oxford, Eleanor gained experience from the policy-maker perspective working as an advisor for the Social Investment and Finance Team in the UK’s Cabinet Office and through collaborative research projects with the Department for Work and Pensions.

Eleanor’s work has been published in a range of journals including Social Policy and Administration and Journal of Social Policy. Key research outputs have also been translated into policy submissions and she frequently advises on policy design and evaluation strategies for government departments and voluntary sector organisations.