Testimonials

Pelican Cancer Foundation is deeply appreciative of the professional and thorough way in which: the brief was initially explored; the stakeholder telephone interviews and subsequent Board Review Session were conducted; the consequent Reports were written. The Chair and CEO of Pelican were delighted to collaborate with Jen Curran on this work and were particularly impressed by her skill in drawing out the salient matters for discussion and encouraging honest and open debate. Equally impressive was Jen’s ability in allowing the debate to turn into significant points of strategic agreement and subsequent action. I would recommend Wren and Greyhound without hesitation to any organisation in the public or third sectors as an ethical consultancy firm, living up to its vales and delivering an outstanding service.

James MacBain, Chief ExecutivePelican Cancer Foundation

As a result of an extensive consultation exercise, we had gathered a huge amount of information regarding what people wanted to see in the alcohol and drugs strategy for Aberdeenshire. Jen took the myriad of information collected, effectively facilitated a diverse partnership workshop, and managed to distil the key messages and priorities for alcohol and drugs in Aberdeenshire into a concise, easy to understand strategic document which was unanimously approved by the ADP. This required great skill, knowledge, and genuine care and commitment to the subject matter. Thank you Jen!

Luan Grugeon (Chair) and Wayne Gault (Lead Officer)Aberdeenshire Alcohol and Drugs Partnership

We were completely satisfied with the service. Colleagues commented specifically on how knowledgeable and engaging Graeme was in facilitating the day. In particular, people were encouraged to contribute fully to the discussions and it was noted that the quieter members of the team were given every opportunity to feed in their views, which was appreciated. Colleagues also commented that the neutral facilitating style enabled an inclusiveness to the discussions with participants feeling that they were equal partners in the process with no notion of hierarchy or seniority of role (eg Trustee, Manager or Staff member). The outcomes agreed before the day were fully met, with staff also commenting on how valued they felt to be a part of the process and in gaining a better understanding of, and respect for, the respective roles between Trustees and Staff. Graeme lives and breathes the values of Wren & Greyhound and this was evident in all of his dealings with Youth Scotland.

Ian McLaughlin, Chief ExecutiveYouth Scotland

This is the second time we have engaged with Wren and Greyhound and both times Graeme has added exceptional value to our sessions. He was able to take our theme and deliver a relevant and engaging workshop session to our conference delegates. It is clear that Graeme has extensive knowledge on the topic areas. As well as his knowledge Graeme adds innovation and good humour to his delivery which ensures the sessions are enjoyable as well as highly informative.

Jane Adams, ChairChief Officers of Citizens Advice Bureaux in Scotland

Wren and Greyhound always provide a first class service. From the initial planning conversation, helping to clarify aims, to the delivery of engaging and creative content, Graeme is highly skilled at ensuring Awaydays are both very productive and enjoyable. One of the things that most impresses me is how Graeme can adapt to where the team is at and adjust the pace and exercises to go with that. That’s why we’ve used Wren and Greyhound for several years now for our team Awaydays as well as for senior management and board development events. Graeme provides us with the space – and the challenge – we need to move our business forward. I would highly recommend W&G to anyone looking for top quality facilitation focused on delivering improvement. As always Wren and Greyhound fully live up to their values – truly exceptional!

Alison Douglas, Chief ExecutiveAlcohol Focus Scotland

We have had very positive feedback from those who attended the event. Particular mention was made of the high quality discussions that took place during the workshops, and on how the focus on sustainability led to a slightly different approach to issues that have been around our Network for many years.

Stuart Valentine, Chief ExecutiveRelationships Scotland

Thanks again for facilitating our away day. It was a really positive day that has given me (and I think others in the team) lots to think about as we continue to evolve. It was lovely to see that real sense of shared understanding and commitment across the staff and board and the acknowledgement of how far we have come. Looking forward to using the toolkit more as we reflect and plan – and the postcards will definitely come in handy for supporting some discussion!

Rhona Matheson, Chief ExecutiveStarcatchers

Jen’s ability to quickly analyse what we needed from only a very short briefing in advance was impressive. The materials she prepared for us set the scene for a high quality session. Her unobtrusive steering of the conversation allowed us to come to our own conclusions in a very natural way. Thank you so much for your work, we would certainly come to you again for facilitation services and I would heartily recommend you to other organisations.
‘I found your session positively provocative and has given us a clear outline of where our sticking points are and what we now need to do. That you were able to pull this together in such a short space of time is testimony to your depth of knowledge and experience and it showed!’

Maire Gallagher, Managing Director and Peter Jung, UK Chair ARC UK

(The e-learning programme) fully met our brief and fully achieved our outcomes. Particularly pleased with the careful thought given to preparation and adaptation of normal methodologies to cope with different threats and opportunities of online training delivery.

Jane Salmonson, CEOScotland's International Development Alliance

The work you have done for us exceeded our expectations in meeting our brief and helping us to achieve our outcomes – i.e. to consult with our members, staff and Board on the priorities for the next 3 years with a view to developing a Strategic Plan and visual summary. I have found your guidance and gentle reminders/steer extremely helpful throughout the process and I know that the Board, staff team and the members who attended the consultation events/Members’ Day have greatly appreciated your easygoing, engaging and informal (but clear, productive and constructive) way of working. It is great to have an exciting and visual Strategic Plan in place for the next 3 years.

Cathy Magee, Chief ExecutiveDyslexia Scotland

Thanks for facilitating so well yesterday. Everyone gave very, very positive feedback after you left – for yourself, your approach and the skills you demonstrated. The references you made to your own role as a trustee were picked up by our own trustees, and they appreciated the perspective that brought to the conversations. Board members enjoyed the session! I’m looking forward to distilling and reflecting on all the information and discussion, and I know it will help me greatly in moving forward with the Board in a more deliberate/planned way.

Janice Williams, CEOThe Haven

Every one of the sessions was facilitated brilliantly. You have provided us with the models for our partnerships to use going forward and as an understanding of what they are trying to do and achieve. (You were) very engaging and enthusiastic, and extremely respectful, with great ideas about how we can innovate and improve. Great understanding and showed brilliant experience of the area of work.

Cat Young, Assistant Programme ManagerNHS Lothian

I thought Jen was excellent. Her preparation and research prior to the event was very thorough, including tweaking the format/objectives after she had spoken with our Head of Funding Development. To cover the Board’s role in Income Generation in an hour is an almost impossible task but Jen covered everything we needed to achieve the objectives we had set. She also provided us with a very useful toolkit and a copy of her presentation which we will refer back to in future Board meetings. The lively discussion and ideas which were flowing during the group discussions were testament to Jen’s effectiveness.

Liz Leonard, Vice ChairScottish Refugee Council

We were very satisfied with your service. The event was well planned and I had the confidence that I was in good hands in terms of the how the day would be run.
The event was planned to open up the minds of staff, board, and volunteers regarding the future of the organisation and to have honest conversations regarding sustainability and what the challenges and opportunities we had ahead of us. Many people found the activities helpful, as they were able to look at the bigger picture and be aware of issues that we face. We will have no hesitation in recommending your organisation to partner organisations and also use your services again in the future.

Arun Gopinath, ManagerCentral Scotland Regional Equality Council (CSREC)

The service exceeded my expectations. In fact, I think you have probably raised the bench-mark in terms of what I would expect from future facilitators. The key issues were addressed with a very light touch. The tone was authoritative but friendly and engaging for all participants. As CEO, the ‘exceptional’ contribution came from understanding our present circumstances and adapting the agenda to meet our needs. It was a real achievement that the discussions remained totally focused from beginning to the end, even though we covered some very difficult ground. The outcome of the day for me, personally, was feeling endorsed and supported to face some challenging tasks. Outcomes achieved for the Board were a sense of unity, of being appreciated, and of the importance of the role of the Trustees for Kindred. I have no hesitation in recommending Wren & Greyhound to other voluntary organisations as I believe you have a real understanding of the challenges of the sector.

Sophie Pilgrim, DirectorKindred Advocacy

I, and my colleagues in WWF Scotland, were very pleased with work you did for us. You took a methodical and coherent approach to a big task and in a short space of time were able to engage with and review our work in an informed and constructive manner. The work met the brief and met my, already high, expectations. It was a pleasure to work with you, the work lived up to all of your values.

Sam Gardner, Acting DirectorWWF Scotland

I was extremely happy with the service, we managed to cover a lot in a short space of time utilising simple and manageable techniques that will be easily replicable for us in the future. Graeme met the brief and helped us to achieve our outcomes, engaging the full team and providing a host of materials and methods that would help us interact with our audience in the future.

Shona Morris, Project ManagerCycling UK

Wren and Greyhound were asked to evaluate the Tackling Sectarianism funding programme. Liaison and communication were key to evaluating the programme successfully, being able to engage with a number of organisations and individuals over a short period of time was essential and this was clearly a hugely successful part of the evaluation. The work clearly met the brief that was set out and provided a rich set of information and data to be considered for future work and policy development. Clear highlights and recommendations were identified through the evaluation, (which was) delivered efficiently and on time.

Stephen Coulter, Policy OfficerScottish Government

The service received was of high quality with excellent communication and delivery. The team was always supportive, understanding, responsive and respectful. Graeme’s insight helped to sharpen the focus of the work and shape the plan. Jen’s knowledge, experience and understanding of the work required was impressive. She was also always understanding and supportive to VAF’s time constraints, setting timeframes for information required that were reasonable and achievable. The final report was very well balanced and of high quality, with priority given to capturing contributors’ experiences. The report recommendations were on point, identifying learning for future funding programmes.

Khalida Hussain, Programmes ManagerVoluntary Action Fund

Working with Graeme throughout the project was an absolute pleasure-everything was well planned and delivered, on time and on budget, with all of our outcomes and expectations fully met. Graeme’s ability to keep things on track whilst working with a range of internal and external stakeholders was very impressive and his clarity of purpose was second to none. He very quickly gained the respect of everyone involved and worked creatively and collaboratively with us throughout the length of the project. We were delighted with the final report which was honest, jargon free and very astute.

Andrea Wood, Chief ExecutiveKey

Working with Graeme was a delight. Our meetings were always rigorously planned, focused on the needs of our organisation, and productive. Graeme brought insightful questions to each stage of our work, along with creative responses and a reassuring professionalism. As a result of working with Graeme/Wren and Greyhound we now have a robust strategic and work plan which will help steer us into the future.

Ruth Harvey, DirectorPlace for Hope

We were extremely satisfied with every aspect of the service provided. We were particularly pleased that Graeme attended our events and gained first-hand experience of the work on the ground which is very important. We were also particularly pleased that he took time to come along and present the findings of the report to all staff involved, which was appreciated by all and really brought the report alive and generated discussion about implementation of recommendations and forward planning. The work met the brief completely and achieved our outcomes. The work was carried out with great efficiency and respect. It was delivered on time and on budget and we would not hesitate to use Wren and Greyhound again and to recommend the services to others.

Sheena Young, Head of Business DevelopmentFertility Network Scotland

I can say without any hesitation that we received an excellent service. There is now a shared understanding of the need to define what we mean when we talk about Strategy and Scrutiny and the importance of getting the balance right. We have a diverse board with a range of skills that demonstrate competence in governance. Following the Wren and Greyhound facilitated session we have a board that has just raised the level of their competence in governance and reached a clear position on strategy and scrutiny and the parameters of board and SMT roles and responsibilities.

Isobel Lawson, CEOStepping Stones for Families

100% met our objectives. We hoped to have enough information to create a new strategic plan and after the session that is exactly what we had – it all fitted together perfectly and I really appreciated the additional support to map and align our outcomes afterwards. Both the preparation and the workshop itself used new ideas, models and visual representation of concepts we had not encountered before. Graeme is fantastic as a facilitator – keeping us on track and to the point with ease. Thank you for taking so much time to research and learn, this all came across when you were working with us.

Natalie Stevenson, Countryside Trust ManagerLoch Lomond and Trossachs Countryside Trust

Thanks again for your work on this strategic review for and with us all at LINK. We’ve valued your advice, your clarity of focus (helping us to get a cohesive set of documents as a product!) and your professionalism. This can’t be a simple process for any organisation – and it certainly has additional complexity for a network where the commitment to the cause and the operations is largely voluntary, and where there is the duality of organisation and network responsibilities. Given that extra challenge, we are all very pleased with the result!

Jen Anderson, Chief OfficerScottish Environment LINK

I was very satisfied with the service I received from Wren and Greyhound. Their contribution to our event was highly rated by participants and their approach was inclusive, engaging and hugely creative. I won’t hesitate to use their services again in the future.

Claire Cairns, Network CoordinatorCoalition of Carers in Scotland

We felt our recent event was delivered efficiently and effectively due to your help. You managed to bring to life and organise everything and everyone just as we planned. The verbal feedback we have received regarding the event has been excellent and we believe we have captured some very valuable data which can help us to steer and continue to grow the project.
From the pre-event consultations to the follow up work sent out, we are extremely happy with the service we received. We would have no hesitation in recommending your services, or indeed using them again in the future.

Johann Duffy, Health Walks Co-ordinator and Hayley Andrew, Senior Access OfficerGet Walking Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire Council

Graeme very quickly understood what we were looking for and tailored everything accordingly. He worked incredibly well to bring everyone into discussion and to ensure nothing was missed throughout the sessions.
Certainly met our brief 100%. Absolutely lived up to his stated values.

Jess Wade, ManagerSelf Directed Support Scotland

We are 100% happy with your services. There can sometimes be difficulties in working with evaluation consultants where evaluation-speak is a barrier and source of frustration between client and consultant. We are delighted to say that our communications were blissfully jargon-free! Graeme worked closely with us to fully understand the project, its aims and objectives. He worked alongside our volunteers, mentors and staff and by doing so was able to understand the context and environment in which the evaluation data was to be gathered. For us this was an unexpected but very welcome and reassuring bonus. The final report reflected Graeme’s honest, common-sense and insightful approach. The report was not simply score-keeping. It provides all stakeholders with a valuable, thought-provoking reflection, record and tool to inform our future work and performance. canal college was a huge, complex and ambitious project and before we began it was feared that the evaluation would impose yet more complexity and effort on a small project team. To our relief, Graeme helped us to distil the essence of the project and designed an evaluation plan which complemented and often improved of processes. All staff were very impressed with Graeme’s creativity and enthusiasm. We felt respected, listened to and understood. Graeme quickly became like one of our team – helping, advising and providing insight, often going the extra mile to assist. Overall very satisfied with service and I would absolutely recommend to other prospective clients.

Alan Forrester, Project Manager and Karen Moore, CEOScottish Waterways Trust

Graeme was brought in as an external consultant to help us develop an outcomes framework for DA and to help us refine our thinking regarding our monitoring of outcomes. The service provided has been extremely flexible and has adapted to meet our changing requirements. As well as the focussed events, Graeme has been available to us via email/telephone and has provided us with valuable tools and suggestions to help us create logical solutions to complex and changing challenges. Graeme’s way of working and his value base is very much in line with DA’s and his approach was enabling, empowering and supportive. This allowed us to get the most out of the time we had with Graeme. I would highly recommend Graeme to other socially minded enterprises who need some space for effective strategic thinking in a constantly changing environment.

Luan Grugeon, Chief ExecutiveDA (Drugs Action)

The VHS team liked Graeme’s approach when he facilitated workshops for staff and board members on the development of a new three year strategy. Graeme had a light but skilled touch in guiding staff and board members through the development process: he was always empathetic and inclusive whilst maintaining his objectivity and focus on guiding everyone to get through the task in hand. As Chief Officer at VHS I very much appreciated his knowledge and experience of strategy development and presentation and this is reflected in the end result.

Claire Stevens, Chief OfficerVoluntary Health Scotland

I was very satisfied with the work that Graeme has done with our organisation. Graeme has exceptional facilitation skills, expertly judging mood, tone and dynamics, helping us to achieve our outcomes through genuine consensus. We have been able to steer our way through a delicate but necessary change process where different partners had to understand each other’s perspectives and work hard to reach common ground. Graeme helped us focus on the areas of agreement whilst enabling us to have open and honest discussion about the differences. Graeme also provided excellent aftercare – making sure I was completely happy that we had something we could work with. We were left with no loose ends or areas of concern. I had complete confidence that Graeme was motivated by doing the best possible job and not just by earning the fee

Frances Simpson, Chief ExecutiveSupport in Mind Scotland

Graeme did an excellent job and we were very, very pleased with the quality and content of the end report. The brief and timescale were met and our objectives were clearly achieved. We needed to look critically at what we were doing and learn from our journey to date, with a view to thinking about how we move forward into the next phase. We have a great end product that will help us in our funding searches and meet the requirements of our current funders. The Evaluation Report was well worth the money we spent on it and Graeme was a pleasure to work with. He is very professional yet has a wonderful friendly manner and is very engaging.

Anne-Marie Monaghan, DirectorThe Community Brokerage Network

Graeme’s work fully met – and also added real value to – our brief. We were delighted with the balance struck between identifying strengths, areas for improvement and also how he brought the real impact of the project to life through user quotes and feedback. We got more than we expected and Graeme’s work on this has provided Barnardo’s with a clear direction to take the work forward

Tommy McDade, Assistant DirectorBarnardo’s

The support received from Wren and Greyhound was specific to our needs. The whole process was consultative and it was made clear that we, the customer, were in charge. I have been very pleased with the service I have received. Time was taken at the initial consultation to tease out our exact requirements and the work has been tailored to our exact needs as a result. I have found the service to be of an extremely high standard. Graeme was always at the other end of the phone/email to answer questions or offer feedback and I firmly believe that the whole process has added value to our project as we now have a robust evaluation framework in place

Gillian Reid, Placement Development CoordinatorPSS Person Shaped Support

The preparation and delivery of the course was excellent and demonstrated an understanding of our group context and an ability to shape the session to accommodate our specific needs on the day. We came away with a clear, aligned understanding within the group of our common vision. All the group members benefited from the experience, regardless of their different starting points. Your very professional but relaxed style was in synch with our own way of being. Your ability to grasp the issues was key and suggested a real recognition of our experiences as opposed to delivery of yet another ‘strategy’ session

Shona Sinclair, DirectorWork for M.E.

Graeme fully met the brief we gave him prior to beginning the work. Wren and Greyhound’s work with us achieved our objectives to develop our project outcomes, indicators, evaluation tools and develop a work plan for our project coordinator. The amount of time and work Graeme gave to supporting us to achieve our objectives was definitely good value for money. The level of detail Graeme gave us exceeded our expectations.

Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland

I was fully satisfied with the service provided. This was down to the time taken to learn about our organisation and to talk to us in detail about what we wanted. The sessions were well organised and staff were consistently positive in their feedback. Not only did the sessions raise awareness they also helped increase confidence and empathy when talking to students. Graeme is an excellent trainer and facilitator who works well with a wide range of staff, making everyone feel relaxed. The sessions exceeded my expectations.

Open University in Scotland (staff development programme)

Provided an excellent service with the minimum of supervision and fuss. Graeme more than fulfilled my expectations and also provided very useful feedback for the further development of a health information service for north Edinburgh. Friendly, helpful and very efficient, very happy with Graeme’s performance.

Pilton Community Health Project

The dedicated set of supports provided by Wren and Greyhound were invaluable in moving the work of the VAF Development Officers forward. The individualised nature of Graeme’s approach gave them the confidence and knowledge to support their dealings with very strategic organisations. I see this as very good value for money as I can see a tangible difference in both the way the DOs work and the progress they have made working with their designated organisations.

Voluntary Action Fund

We are delighted with the Consultation Toolkit. Thank you for your skill and effort in working with the group to translate our initial vision and their ideas into such a dynamic, practical resource which has exceeded our expectations. It’s always a pleasure to work with you.

Don Williamson, Chief ExecutiveShared Care Scotland

Excellent input, insight and expertise. It was fantastic to have an ‘outside perspective’ to help us discuss, analyse and then move forward with our plans. Having this independent support also gave us focus and ensured we had protected time to undertake this work. Graeme’s approach is very professional, considered, conscientious, supportive and ethical and we found him very positive and productive to work with. We achieved so much in a short space of time. Many thanks Graeme.

Programme LeadAlcohol Focus Scotland

The session on measuring the impact of volunteering took the participants “back to basics” and brought this difficult topic to life with real examples and simplified concepts. The forum members engaged really well with Graeme’s relaxed and informal style and appeared to get a lot from the session which although was short, covered a lot of ground.

Volunteer Midlothian

This event was excellent, with a real energy amongst participants. This energy was helped both by the structure of the programme but also the manner in which Graeme helped to guide people through the day. Graeme went beyond the brief in providing support and ideas to help shape the day, which was beyond our expectations. The input from Graeme was very good value for money and would be happy to recommend his work and support to any other organisation.

Elaine Wilson, Programme ManagerPartnership Drugs Initiative

Graeme’s whole approach to delivering the required brief was exceptional. Graeme’s own style of facilitating guided the trainee facilitators through the process and when presenting to new students came across as organised, polite, reflective and totally engaged the audience. A real boost for their own confidence all due to Graeme’s expert tuition. I wouldn’t hesitate to utilise Graeme’s vast experience in future delivery of SSE Scotland programmes.

Tracey Muirhead, CEOSchool for Social Entrepreneurs Scotland

All the members were thrilled by the day, saying it was one of the best they had been involved with and how much they got from it. Can you also pass on their thanks to Graeme who, they all thought, was great!

Membership involvement strategy and consultation