Partnerships:Chief Executive Officer, International Newcastle Oct 2018+Co-ordinator, Express Yourself: NE Festival of Languages 2020+Chair, Bridge Northumberland Partnership Board 2021-22Chair, South Tees Carers Forum Dec 2019-2022Adopt NE Early Permanence Project 2018NewcastleGateshead Cultural Venues Co-ordinator 2009-18Creative Fuse NE Cultural Sector Broker 2017-18Ageing Better Middlesbrough Partnership 2014, Review 2016Talent Match South East Review 2016Middlesbrough Mental Health Partnership Review 2015REACH Partnership development 2014, Review 2015 Talent Match Middlesbrough Partnership 2014, Review 2015Culture Window 13 Partnership Co-ordinator 2012-2014Quality in Infrastructure Support Services Tees Valley 2012Inspiring Partnerships NE 2010-2011Project Management:Creative Fuse Cultural Sector Engagement 2017-18Dementia Friendly Cinema 2015-16Family Explorers 2012-14 Evaluations: Linx, Middlesbrough YIF (Youth Investment Fund) 2017-20Tees Valley YMCA YIF 2018 & 2019TV YMCA Annual Review 2019TV YMCA Motiv8+ 2019TV YMCA Performance Management System Review 2019Looking Ahead Review Middlesbrough 2016-17Tees Valley YMCA 2016Richmond YMCA Youth Services 2016Tees Valley YMCA Motiv8 Strategic Review 2015MVDA Carers Grant Programme 2014 Kidz Konnekt 2009-2014 South Tees Access the Expert 2013 Quality in Infrastructure Support Services (Tees Valley 2009-12)Women's Health Advice Centre x 2Capacity Building:South Tees Carers Forum - Strategy 2021-26 and Action Plan Adopt NE (Barnardo's) Early Permanence Planning stakeholder engagement 2018Case Study workshops Community Connect, MVDA 2017Voices for Choices (Mental Health Service Users/Carers) 2016Partners in Prevention (Middlesbrough) 2016Tackling Cancer Together Case Studies (Middlesbrough) 2015Voluntary sector case study workshops Tees Valley 2015Motiv8 strategy 2015Parenting partnership review - Middlesbrough 2014-15Northumberland Support & Advice Service 2012-14

The role of CEO of International Newcastle combines all the things I am passionate about - internationalism, languages, communities, building alliances and networks and both profiling Newcastle on the global stage, as well as welcoming the world to our incredible city. Our priority is for the city's children and young people (0-30) to access international and intercultural opportunities and experiences and play their part as confident, global citizens. We have a local, regional, national and international partnership which supports these ambitions. We have developed Newcastle City of Languages to support language learning and teaching, co-ordinate the annual Express Yourself North East Festival of Languages for schools and communities, we have raised over £1.2m for schools' international visits and helped establish over 60 international school partnerships. Now a national exemplar, we are proud of our achievements, but are always happy to work with new partners to achieve our goals and ambitions. Contact: declan@internationalnewcastle.org.uk

I have been co-ordinating the Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages since 2020 and we have run annual festivals since 2021. The Festival is a celebration of the diverse languages and cultures in the region and our connections to the world. Working with a small steering group we have developed this activity to provide free, fun and engaging activities and events to inspire children, young people and communities in the region, promote language learning, raise awareness of the different cultures here and encourage people to find out more. We have many local, regional and national partners contributing their time and resources for free as part of the Festival each year and enabling schools, communities and groups to get involved. We aim to widen access to resources, support language learning and teaching and build future skills for children and young people, who will be working in an increasingly globalised workforce. Over 55,000 children and young people and 1114 schools have participated in our first three festivals (2021-23) and we ran our 4th Festival in 2024. We always welcome new partners. https://expressyourselfne.com/ info@expressyourselfne.com

I joined Bridge Northumberland as an independent Chair, working with partnership of six inspiring voluntary sector leaders and Northumberland County Council to help them look beyond the current programme and prepare partnership approaches to supporting people who face the biggest barriers and challenges to connecting or reconnecting with education, training, volunteering and work. The Bridge Project is a multi-million pound investment, funded by the European Social Fund and National Lottery and runs until 2023.

As Chair of South Tees Carers Forum, I supported a partnership of public, private and voluntary sector partners and unpaid Carers with lived experience to develop the South Tees Carers Strategy (2021-2026) and a detailed Action Plan using the Forum’s combined expertise and shared resources to improve: services and systems that work for Carers; employment and financial wellbeing; support for Young Carers and those transitioning; recognition and support for unpaid Carers in the wider community and society; and improving research and evidence to improve outcomes for Carers. Good communication is key to improving outcomes for unpaid Carers, to help them identify themselves and be recognised, to share information, advice and guidance and to enable professionals to signpost to appropriate and complementary services and support. We Care You Care is now the brand and one-stop-shop for South Tees unpaid Carers, those providing services and support and for the Forum.

It was a real privilege to act as the Creative Fuse NE Cultural Sector Engagement Broker for 18 months, working with all five of the North East’s universities - Newcastle, Northumbria, Durham, Sunderland and Teesside - to engage the cultural sector in a major programme across the region, fusing academic expertise, with creative digital and IT sector and cultural sector knowledge and ideas. This resulted in a wide range of business innovation activities contributing to the growth of the region's creative economy and some amazing innovation. Creative Fuse NE was jointly funded by the universities, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, European Regional Development Funding and Arts Council England (Creative Local Growth Fund). NewcastleGateshead Cultural Venues and lead organisation Tyneside Cinema, enabled both funding to be levered into the programme for the cultural sector, but also opened up access across the whole Fuse programme for cultural organisations and freelancers.

I provided partnership management and support for some of most creative and inspirational people in the North East, who have a passion for delivering high quality and inspirational cultural experiences to the people of and visitors to the North East. NewcastleGateshead Cultural Venues (NGCV) is a partnership of ten regional and nationally acclaimed organisations running 20 iconic cultural venues in Tyne & Wear across a wide range of cultural forms: BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, International Centre for Life, Dance City, Live Theatre, Northern Stage, Seven Stories, Theatre Royal, Sage Gateshead, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and Tyneside Cinema.I supported NGCV in their collaboration around standards of excellence, sharing learning and experience across the partnership, as well as in developing strategic and creative initiatives and in being a strong collective voice. NGCV collaboration continues to be a national exemplar for the cultural sector.

I acted as Project Manager for Tyneside Cinema's Dementia Friendly Cinema action research pilot project in 2015-2016. The pilot was initiated by the Elders Council of Newcastle, supported by a steering group of specialist partners (Alzheimers Society, Newcastle Carers, Dementia Care and the Quality of Life Partnership and Elders Council) , part funded by the Ballinger Charitable Trust and evaluated by Newcastle University’s Institute for Ageing. The pilot identified and overcame barriers and stigma to enable people living with dementia, their carers, companions and families to come to the cinema and watch a series of classic films and musicals. The simple steps and care that was taken in developing Dementia Friendly Cinema enabled people who are often excluded, to enjoy an everyday cultural experience in a supportive, friendly and social environment. The pilot was very successful and had a dramatic impact on both the cinema’s staff and operations and the audience members. I produced a case study for the project and we had a film made by Northern Stars which demonstrates its impact and I raised money from Ballinger Trust for the project to continue for a further three years. Details of the project and links to the film and case study are available online: https://www.tynesidecinema.co.uk/whats-on/dementia-friendly-cinema

Culture Window 13 was a regional action research project involving 17 cultural venues and 18 schools across the North East, engaging families in exploring the cultural offer during 2013 and sharing their experiences with each other and others. As Project Manager I worked with a small project team and a regional steering group involving all the venues, plus Arts Council England, local authorities, Bridge North East and Newcastle Gateshead Initiative's Juice Festival. The research outcomes have now informed a public regional initiative, called Family Explorers North East and the network of cultural organisations is a Local Arts Network, as part of the national Family Arts Campaign.

WHAC (now Cygnus Support) is a charity providing high quality counselling and support services to vulnerable girls and women predominantly, and has extended its services to support boys and men. It is run by highly dedicated core team of women and has a large team of professional counsellors who give their time for free, as well as a Board drawn from housing, health, mental health, law and regeneration. Everyone is focussed on providing the highest quality of support for the mental health and well being of service users, delivered in a relaxed and non-judgemental setting. I had worked very closely with the paid staff who were important members of Wansbeck Initiative and was delighted to have the opportunity to join their Board in 2009. As a WHAC Trustee I was involved in supporting the development of evidence base and for raising money through funding bids, providing advice and support on employability aspects of service delivery, evaluation and monitoring, as well as with the whole Board on strategic planning and business development for the charity. I helped WHAC develop a new income-generation based business model and to extend services to both men and young people and also expand the offer across the county - Northumberland Support and Advice Service information, which has now continued as Cygnus Support, delivering contracts and services across the county to vulnerable people. I have total admiration for the staff and volunteers of WHAC and was very proud to play my part on the Board.

Inspiring Partnerships was a series of activities designed to support effective partnership behaviours, cultures and attitudes in the North East, supported and funded by the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership. As Project Manager I worked with inspiring people who understand and help drive effective partnerships themselves. We designed and commissioned activites with a range of additional experts to help people have an impact in their own partnership arena and the communities they serve. These included partnership skills training modules, a diagnostic tool and coaching for Partnership Boards, a 105 strong Partnership Champions network with quarterly events and a range of 16 interesting case studies to stimulate thinking and creativity. Although the RIEP has officially ended in March 2011, the Champions Network will continue on a voluntary basis and I am assisting that, so that we can continue to share their learning and experience. This network will be supported by an online Inspiring Partnerships community on the regional Be Better website: http://be-better.org.uk

Newbiggin Maritime Centre is a £3m new build project to create a visitor attraction and iconic building in Newbiggin Bay, driven by passionate people from the local community who have raised the funding and are involved in every aspect of design and delivery. I was privileged to work with the Board of Trustees in my capacity as Wansbeck Initiative Manager and then as a Trustee and helped with strategic partnership working, funding, business plan review, lobbying strategy and as a critical friend.

As Partnership Manager of one of the few independent LSPs in the UK, I was incredibly fortunate to work with hundreds of inspiring and committed people from the public, private and voluntary sectors and with dedicated and tireless representatives of local communities. Our vision was to make a positive difference to the people and communities in Wansbeck, Northumberland's most deprived area. Everyone worked together to tackle problems, share resources and find the best way to move forward in a way which would bring lasting, positive change in an area with complex and significant challenges. The people and the partnership made a real difference and was valued as a vehicle to empower people and organisations to have an impact. Within 5 years the partnership moved from being considered as one of the worst, to one of the best in the country by the people in it and outside. The partnership ceased to exist in 2009 due to local government reorganisation in Northumberland when 6 districts merged into one county.

I was one of the 5-strong Executive Team for the Newcastle Gateshead European Capital of Culture 2008 bid. We worked with the wider team at NGI and with partners across the city and region to promote NewcastleGateshead and help raise its aspirations and ambitions for the people and places that make the North East so special and share this with the world. As Co-ordinator I was involved with a range of areas for the strategic development of the bid, but we all sought to build relationships and awareness, links and new approaches to make a lasting change and have a positive impact on the region as a whole. My key roles: communication with partners, consultation, supporting VIP briefings and visits, work with the European Commission and EU partners, Regional Cultural Research Consortium, helping prepare regional strategies on transport and international relations, working intensively with communities of interest and identity (Deaf Community - Becoming Visible; LGBT Community).

Providing European policy support to the Leader and Chief Executive of the Council, in particular supporting the Leader's European work on Committee of the Regions and the Council of Europe. Developing and supporting European transnational projects with Council departments and partners on themes such as police, community safety and domestic violence, bullying in school, land use planning and development.

Providing policy advice and support to the region's local government electedmembers on a wide variety of Euroepan bodies, including: Assembly of European Regions, Conference of Peripheral Martime Regions, Council of Europe, Committee of the Regions.