Cogitamus

The Cogitamus team is praised in a new book entitled “Victory Against All The Odds: The story of how the campaign to stop a third runway at Heathrow was won”.

The book – authored by HACAN Chair John Stewart – describes the multi-stranded campaign of the communities affected by the proposed new runway which led ultimately to its cancellation earlier this year.

Cogitamus was retained by HACAN for two periods during the campaign, and was tasked in particular with mustering opposition the the proposed expansion within the Labour Government of the time. The book praises our achievements in helping to organise a significant rebellion amongst backbench Labour MPs, and in reaching out to the trades union movement.

The full text of John Stewart’s fascinating account may be downloaded from the HACAN website.

Cogitamus Limited sponsored the Campaign for Better Transport fringe meeting at the 2009 Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.

The subject was ‘Local Transport We Can Be Proud Of”. Mark Walker, Managing Director of Cogitamus Limited, is pictured here with the three speakers (from left to right) Stephen Joseph, Executive Director of the Campaign for Better Transport, Councillor Guy McGregor, Portfolio Holder for Roads, Transport and Planning at Suffolk County Council, and Steve Norris, Board Member of Transport for London.

Joe McCrea, Paul Beckford, Emma Reynolds and Mark Walker are pictured outside the Brighton Centre during the 2009 Labour Party Conference

Cogitamus Limited has today joined the UK Contractors Group (UKCG) as an affiliate member.

Formed earlier this year, UKCG’s vision is to be the leading trade body for the UK construction industry focussing on sector specific issues. It will endeavour to work along side the newly formed CBI Construction Council to deliver a more powerful voice for the UK contracting industry.

Cogitamus is one of three specialist agencies invited to join UKCG as an affiliate.  UKCG Director, Stephen Ratcliffe, said today:

“All three organisations have a well established track record in supporting the construction industry.  We have worked informally with them for some time and each has been able to add value to our operations.  We are delighted therefore to be able to formalise this relationship.”

Cogitamus Managing Director, Mark Walker, said today:

“UKCG has paid a great compliment to Cogitamus with the invitation to become an affiliate.  We look forward to continuing to provide the best possible public affairs advice to UK construction businesses, especially during the current challenging economic times for the industry.”

For further information on the UKCG, please visit http://www.ukcg.org.uk/

ENDS

Cogitamus is pleased to announce that former Special Adviser and prospective parliamentary candidate Emma Reynolds joined us as a Senior Consultant on 2 January 2009. 

Emma spent two years as Special Adviser to the Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP, initially advising on the Government’s negotiations with other EU member states on the Lisbon Treaty while Mr. Hoon was Europe Minister.  Latterly she worked at the heart of government (in Downing Street) and co-ordinated political strategy to support Mr. Hoon in his role as Chief Whip. 

At the next General Election, Emma will contest the Wolverhampton North East seat on behalf of Labour.  

Prior to working in Westminster, Emma was based in Brussels as Political Adviser to the Party of European Socialists (advising Robin Cook and former Danish Prime Minister, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen).

Previously, Emma represented the concerns of British small businesses to EU decision-makers (Commission, MEPs and member state Governments) for Small Business Europe. 

Mark Walker, Managing Director of Cogitamus, said: “Emma’s appointment is great news for us and our clients.  She brings a very current perspective on the workings of Westminster and Whitehall and will further strengthen our European understanding and capability.”

Kimberley combines exceptional analytical skills, an ability to distil large quantities of data into useable packages and a creative approach to the design and development of user-friendly knowledge management and benchmarking tools.

Cogitamus Managing Director Mark Walker said of Kimberley, “We are delighted to be able to broaden our consultancy offering with someone of such exceptional talent, who will be of great value to our clients in stakeholder mapping and the management and ongoing evolution of MAGIC – our innovative knowledge management system.”

Cogitamus Limited is pleased to announce the acquisition of TransportInfo.Org.UK.

TransportInfo is an invaluable source of information for transport operators and campaigners, bringing together in one place news stories related to roads, railways, aviation and shipping.

Managing Director of Cogitamus Limited, Mark Walker, said today:

“We are delighted to have been entrusted with the stewardship of this valuable online resource for the transport community. By bringing TransportInfo into the family of Cogitamus services, we plan to build on the fantastic work done by Anthony Rae in creating a virtual community of those working or interested in the transport industry and the policies that affect it.”

TransportInfo founder, Anthony Rae, said today:

“I’m very pleased to have found a good home for the service which I started 6 years ago to provide a ‘one stop shop’ for anyone who would be assisted by having access to a compilation of the day’s UK transport news. I have handed over the site to Cogitamus free of charge because the benefit to me will be the continued availability of the service to its users, plus the fact that I can now have a day off from my ‘harmless drudgery’!”

Cogitamus Limited has confirmed that the TransportInfo website will continue to be provided free to all users following its transfer on 1 July 2008.

Cogitamus has doubled in size in just 12 months with the addition of four new consultants to its associate team, driven by our rapidly growing client portfolio. The company now has a team of eight.

The new joins have extended our representation beyond Westminster and Holyrood to give clients coverage at the Welsh Assembly and in Brussels, whilst clients have grown from two, on a project basis, at start-up to eight retained relationships.

The growth is underpinned by development of innovative products and services – a daily monitoring service and a knowledge management system which provide rapid access to comprehensive stakeholder intelligence and market information.

Mark Walker, Managing Director of Cogitamus, says: “In line with our development strategy, these appointments further extend our capability to provide clients with counsel at the most senior levels and deliver highly effective and influential public and corporate affairs solutions across the UK and Europe.”

The new appointments are:

Joe McCrea, Associate Director

Joe McCrea has nearly two decades of experience working at the highest levels of Whitehall, Westminster and the Regions with politicians, civil servants, journalists and other influential opinion formers.

Joining Cogitamus from successfully leading public sector consulting strategy and solutions for a major Birmingham-based consultancy firm, Joe previously worked as an adviser in the 10 Downing Street Policy Unit and subsequently in the Cabinet Office. He is a former Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Health.

Building on his expertise gained in the public and private sectors Joe is leading the ongoing development of the Cogitamus knowledge management system.

Brian Curtis, Senior Consultant – Wales

Brian Curtis is the Cogitamus specialist in Wales. A lifelong trades unionist, he has a strong transport background, as well as expertise in sustainable development and environmental issues. Brian was a member of the National Union of Railwaymen (now RMT) Executive before serving as a regional organiser until earlier this year.

He has been a member of the Welsh Assembly Government Transport Advisory Committee since its inception six years ago and is a former president and long standing member of the welsh TUC’s General Council and Executive Committee, as well as being the TUC spokesperson on transport.

John Conmy, Senior Consultant – Europe

Brussels-based John Conmy represents Cogitamus and its clients in Europe. His expertise covers senior level consultancy in the energy, transport, telecoms, financial and household care sectors. He also has extensive in-house experience, gained within the energy sector and local government.

John has run long-term EU legislative lobbying campaigns on environmental, economic and social policy proposals, with outstanding results. And he conceived and led a high level public affairs and media campaign that changed the Energy Chapter of the draft EU Constitution.

John began his career in the Civil Service.

Kofi Appiah, Policy Officer

Kofi Appiah has joined the Cogitamus research and monitoring team, providing comprehensive parliamentary and media reports for the company’s clients and consultants on a daily basis.

He has degrees in politics from the Universities of Southampton and Toronto, and has significant experience of working in the voluntary sector on international development issues.

The Cogitamus team is delighted to have been shortlisted for this year’s Public Affairs News awards in the category of ‘New Consultancy of the Year’. The awards will be presented at a gala dinner taking place in London on 3 July. For further information, please go to: http://www.publicaffairsnews.com/awards/awards08shortlist.asp.