IMPOWER’s Leo Jones named ‘Thought Leadership Consultant of the Year’

We are absolutely delighted that Leo Jones, Director at IMPOWER, was named ‘Thought Leader Consultant of the Year’ at last night’s Management Consultancies Association Awards.

In addition, our Valuing SEND work with Lincolnshire County Council was Highly Commended in the Change and Transformation in the Public Sector category.

We are very proud of Leo’s achievement, which recognises powerful thought leadership around ways to improve outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

In 2017, Leo spent a year as a Deputy Director of Children’s Services before returning to work for IMPOWER in June 2018. Through first-hand experience of working in the sector and in consultancy, he has challenged the national discourse that the flaws within the current system are purely financial, and stimulated national debate on how to drive better outcomes at a lower cost. He made it his mission to help local government make the changes that can improve public services, in ways that are sustainable and which support the most vulnerable.

He has used his position and relationships in the sector to drive new thinking – particularly through facilitating three national roundtable discussions that have engaged parents, Government policymakers, school, health and council leaders. In partnership with clients, he has demonstrated how new approaches can deliver real improvements. This has led to Leo being invited to share his approach with the National Leadership Board that’s leading a Government review of SEND.

As Dame Christine Lenehan, Director for the National Children’s Bureau and DfE Advisor, says:

“In a hugely complex policy area, I have been incredibly impressed with both Leo’s drive to deliver better outcomes for children with additional needs and his ability to help clients bring about real change on the ground. He’s challenging traditional thinking in a way that’s having an impact at a national level.”

The award also validates IMPOWER’s wider approach to public services change and transformation. We were the first consultancy to use demand-led insights to improve outcomes for users of social care services, which both promotes independence for people and reduces costs for councils. Our unique EDGEWORK approach helps clients move beyond conventional problem solving. We understand that public services are complex, non-linear systems. Responsibilities are distributed and success depends on creating the right relationships across and between system boundaries. This reframing enables our clients to achieve better outcomes at lower cost.

Many congratulations to Leo on this award, and to our colleagues at Lincolnshire County Council for their highly commended SEND work. Read more about our work in Lincolnshire in a recent guest blogpost from Coralie Cross, Chair of Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum (LPCF). An upcoming video series will demonstrate the impact achieved in the county, and includes colleagues from the local authority and LPCF, as well as a special and mainstream school.

More information on our winning submission is available on the MCA website.

If you would like to work with Leo and the IMPOWER team, please contact us.