wise words.

With the upcoming UK General Election weeks away, Harry De Barr, one of our business consultants, dives into the Labour Party ‘s promises for our young people and for the wider education sector. Will they realistically be able to tackle the nationwide skills shortage and soaring cost of tuition to create fairer and more accessible education and a better job market in turn?

Fran Hoey, experienced leader of organisational change and transformation programmes, shares his take on true innovation within an organisation. Does it have to be so complicated? And what are the ingredients to a culture that truly fosters innovation, and all that can come with it…

James Underhay, 4OC client director and experienced NHS executive, takes a closer look at Newcastle University’s Health Innovation Neighbourhood, what it promises, and how it looks set to transform the picture of health and social care in the North of England. Is this initiative something we should be taking nationwide to better the wellbeing of our communities?

On May 29th, Aislinn Gannon and Mark Davidson attended The Wheel Summit 2024, Ireland’s National Association of Community and Voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises, to understand what factors will be affecting the sectors in the coming year. Mark shares his insights from the day below and looks at how non-profit organisations foster an invaluable sense of collaboration and community.

Marking the 54th anniversary of Earth Day, Richard Nash is sharing his view on the day, its meaning and how this can translate in to our day-to-day lives. With the 2024 theme of Earth Day being planet v plastic, we’re reminded of the critical environmental challenges that lie ahead, from combating climate change to tackling plastic pollution. This thought piece dives into the impactful history of Earth Day, explores the urgent actions needed, and celebrates the power of collective efforts in driving significant environmental change.

4OC + Morphologic… a partnership where no-code power meets workplace innovation. This post unwraps how learning to build applications with Morphologic’s platform has sparked our team’s creativity and has improved project delivery by developing our consultants’ skills and insight.

Yasmin Willis shares her experience of growing up with undiagnosed ADHD, the challenges and sense of ‘the outsider’ she felt because of this, and how her sons have enabled her to better understand the brilliance of her neurodiverse superpower.

In this piece, Paddy and Chris look into the transformative impact of platforms focused on improving accessibility to work for neurodiverse people. At the same time, they highlight the pressing need for more personalised support programmes. Drawing on lived experience, they discuss the power of those neurodiverse support programmes in apprenticeships and how these are beginning to level the playing field for neurodiverse people navigating their careers.

Steve Boyle, one of our Managing Consultants, reflects on how dyslexia has been an asset throughout his career, from critical care nursing to NHS management. He advocates for a holistic approach that uses the strengths of dyslexic thinking – creativity and problem-solving – to drive innovation and inclusivity in healthcare.

Championing our passion for inclusive co-design, Lydia Suffling invites us to consider the benefits of neurodiversity in bringing about powerful change. She also gives some hints and tips on how to support neurodiverse individuals to thrive. By Lydia Suffling

In our first post for Neurodiversity Week, Miki delves into her personal experience with receiving an ADHD diagnosis, shedding light on the unique challenges and strengths of women navigating neurodiversity in the workplace. Her story is a call to action for greater understanding and support, affirming the value of diverse minds in professional environments.

As key elections approach, the fusion of AI with democratic processes demands our attention and action. This thought piece examines the journey from the birth of social media to the advent of AI, emphasising that protecting the truth in our electoral system is more crucial now than ever.

In this article, Aislinn Gannon discusses the challenges faced by women in the digital sector in Ireland, including low representation in leadership roles and barriers such as gender bias and discreditation. Drawing on her own experience in the sector, she highlights initiatives and strategies to promote gender diversity and equality in the tech industry and the call for systemic changes to support and empower female leaders.

4OC is made up of lots of different teams, some of whom do the brilliant behind the scenes work we need to keep our shiny project work ticking along. Take a sneak peek at a day-in-the-life of one of our Business Support Coordinators, Patrick Overs.

Yasmin Wills invites us to embrace a warmer, more personal way of nurturing talent with ‘Thriving in the Era of Engagement.’ Discover a world where continuous feedback and growth go hand-in-hand, making every day at work an opportunity to learn, achieve, and shine together.

4OC came together with Connex, the Housing Leadership Network, and several housing leaders for a workshop on the need for and benefits of developing your people while delivering change. Facilitated by Catherine Cross and Paul Marray, the discussion focused on the need for organisations to invest in improving their teams’ capabilities in parallel to investing in new technologies. What everyone agreed was the importance of establishing effective change management, providing clear communications and developing talent to enable successful system implementations and organisational growth.

We finally all get together in Athlone, at the centre of Ireland, to talk strategy, operations, the size of the fish that Paul caught, magical healing powers and everything in between. We’re really excited about building up the company in Ireland.

by Geraldine Rynne Introduction 4OC were recently commissioned by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) to co-develop with them a Digital and ICT Strategy in partnership with the 31 Local Authorities across Ireland. This strategic phase has a core aim to shape the future of local government by harnessing the power of technology and collaboration.  [...]

A short post about some of the things we get up to inside the organisation. One of our Strategic Aims is that 4OC is a great place to work, be and to stay as long as you so choose. Here we talk about some of the ways we do that. And that everyone has their part in it.

In our fast-paced working world, one thing we often don’t stop to consider is how we relate to the concept of ‘work’ – what is work, what should it look like, and how responsive should we be to cultural and contextual changes in the 21st century?