MATHESON ASSOCIATES

Service and Programme Reviews

Iain Matheson has undertaken a number of reviews on behalf of Government organisations. Iain blends his social sector experience and knowledge with a strong analysis of performance and stakeholder expectations in the context of legislative, organisational and professional requirements and, depending upon the nature of the review, provides either clear and insightful recommendations or alternative strategic options. In doing so, Iain works closely with commissioning managers throughout the review process ' all review's to date have been highly regarded and well received. Iain is usually also invited to also provide post-review planning support.

Policy and issues management

Often managers already know what their issues are, but need some help and support to address them. Iain Matheson has experience of, and can assist with: service or programme re-design/performance improvement plans; strategic and business planning; manager recruitment, selection and development; and staff performance issues. In other instances, managers may be at an earlier stage and require assistance with problem definition, critical incident investigation; environmental scanning; analysis of comparable overseas jurisdictions; stakeholder consultation or option appraisal.

Project Management

Iain has also gained considerable project management experience over many years and in working with project and programme managers he can undertake or support specific project activities in relation to the management of scope, time, human resource, cost, quality, communications and/or risk. While full-time project management is not offered as one of our core services, if there are clear synergies and a strong rationale, we may do so occasionally on a time-limited basis, in order to deliver a more integrated solution to customers.

A qualified social sector evaluator (PGDSSER with distinction from the inaugural Massey University postgraduate course in 2007) and third year doctor of education research candidate (University of Otago), Iain Matheson has a wide range of experience in both applied social research and evaluation research. Iain firmly believes that well scoped, appropriately focused, optimally timed and professionally delivered research and evaluation information, can make a highly significant and credible contribution towards an organisation's ability to design or delivery services and programmes that are effective and meet Government, stakeholder and user expectations. As well as delivering research and evaluation reports and evaluative activities, Iain Matheson particularly welcomes the opportunity of working with and assisting Research and Evaluation managers.

Assisting research and evaluation managers

Working with research and evaluation managers allows Iain to bring together a number of different areas of expertise and is an area of work that he particularly enjoys. He can assist with:

• Research and evaluation stakeholder consultations
• Reviewing current performance
• Development of research strategies
• Business and strategic planning
• Monitoring and evaluation frameworks and reporting
• Research scoping and design
• Team planning
• Mentoring
• Performance management
• Provision of research, evaluation and evaluative activity services
• Stakeholder interviews
• Satisfaction surveys
• Focus groups
• Document analysis
• Annotated bibliographies and literature reviews
• Cognitive testing
• Applied social research studies
• Programme evaluations
• Peer reviews

Training workshops and seminars

Iain Matheson designs and deliver bespoke specialist training events that are specifically geared to the needs of social sector managers. Iain is accredited as a Child, Youth and Family Services Community Capability Building Trainer/Mentor and has also been a guest lecturer on the MSc in Social Services Management (Stirling University) and the Postgraduate Diploma in Child Protection Studies (Dundee University). Iain's previous training and presentation design and delivery experience includes:

• Foster care recruitment
• Research and children
• Evaluation in child welfare
• Research methods
• Strategic and business planning
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Intervention logics
• Policy development for NGOs
• Effective inter-agency working
• Safe and effective staff recruitment and selection
• Child welfare legislation and regulatory requirements
• Child protection policy and practice
• Foster care standards
• Education attainment of children in care

With our association with Intuitivmedia Limited we can also assist with training programme strategy, design and planning, instructional design, self-paced learning module development, synchronous web conference training design, learning and development assessment design, 'train the trainer' and trainer coaching.

Management Mentoring

As both a consultant and as a former manager in Government, Iain Matheson has build up considerable experience in the mentoring and coaching of managers. Many management roles have never been more challenging, demanding and pressurised and managers are dealing with a plethora of organisational, political, professional and change management demands. Mentoring offers regular opportunities for managers to reflect with an experienced and trustworthy peer. The aim of this peer-based approach is to support managers to achieve and address what they see as important barriers to their success as well as building upon existing strengths. While specific objectives will be negotiated, broadly our mentoring programme will focus upon one or more of the following:

• Stimulating and challenging thinking and acting as an independent sounding board for ideas
• Enabling more strategic planning
• Examining specific professional management issues
• Assisting in overcoming existing or up and coming challenges
• Helping addressing any dissonance between personal and organisational values
• Supporting professional and career development.

Psychometric assessments

For use as part of a mentoring programme, or as a one-off individual or team development exercise, Iain Matheson is accredited to deliver and interpret a comprehensive range of psychometric assessments including those of Psytech International ' one of the global leaders in this field. Assessment tools are exclusively distributed (and 'normed') in New Zealand by OPRA Consulting (http://www.opra.co.nz). These assessments cover measures of personality, aptitude and abilities, vocational interests, personal values and psychological type and include the following:

• General/graduate reasoning tests
• Critical reasoning test
• 15FQ+ and OPP Personality Assessment
• Maori knowledge test
• Values and motives inventory and Stanton survey of integrity.