Our people
Arad consultants pride themselves in their commitment and ability to offer clients innovation and a fresh perspective. Arad consultants draw on a wealth of experience of working in their specialist fields and appreciate the individual requirements of clients and as such offer tailor made approaches, high quality research methodologies and concrete deliverables.
Please click below to see individual profiles of our consultants:
Our people/Stuart Harries
Stuart's consultancy experience spans over 15 years. His main area of interest and expertise lies within the field of labour economics and the development of the skills economy. Prior to becoming a founder member and Director of Arad Consulting in 2004, Stuart spent 5 years as a Director and Principal Consultant with Newidiem Cyf.
Stuart has led on a number of evaluation and review studies for clients ranging from individual local authorities to Government Policy bodies and Regional Development Agencies. Recent studies include the evaluation of higher education Widening Access activities funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the evaluation of the Dynamo entrepreneurship education Programme funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.
Stuart has also undertaken a number of sector based labour market studies for clients that include the Care Council for Wales, The Welsh Assembly Government, East Midlands Development Agency and the European Foundation. Recent studies of this nature include a review of European Knowledge Intensive Businesses on behalf of the European Monitoring Centre for Change (EMCC) and a Futures Scenario study on behalf of the Countryside Council.
Stuart has also directed a number of studies examining the opportunities and requirements for implementing demand led skill development policies, as well as socio-economic profiling and analysis studies, for a range of local authority areas including Rhondda Cynon Taf, Carmarthenshire and Peterborough and the Fens.
Our people/Martin Jones
Martin has spent over ten years working in the fields of Knowledge Competitiveness, R&D and Education and Training. He has a proven track record in economic and regional development and has led on a wide range of research and evaluation projects at a national and international level. Prior to becoming a partner with Arad Martin worked as Principal Consultant with Robert Huggins Associates in Cardiff and as an independent consultant in Brussels on a range of European Union R&D and Innovation projects.
His recent portfolio of projects includes directing an international impact study of Visual Arts Initiatives for the Arts Council of Wales and leading on an evaluation of the Modern Foreign Language Key Stage 2 Pilot Project for the Welsh Assembly Government. He has also managed a trans-national study relating to Knowledge Intensive Business Sectors for the European Monitoring Centre for Change and an evaluation of Widening Access activities for HEFCW. He has also worked on the production of a European Competitiveness Index and a comparative study of EU regional innovation policies in partnership with the University of Valencia.
Martin started his career working for two years in DG Education and Culture of the European Commission in Brussels as part of the core team on the Arts, Education and Training Initiative. He spent a further 2 years in Brussels as an independent consultant where he managed two SOCRATES lifelong learning projects and a LEONARDO training project. He also spent three years as a consultant with EUCLID International working in Wales and Brussels for institutions such as the European Commission and the Welsh Assembly Government on a variety of higher education, R&D and cultural projects. He speaks very good French and Spanish.
Our people/Brett Duggan
Brett is an experienced consultant and a director of Arad since 2004. He has managed a range of high-profile evaluations, policy studies and reviews for government departments and public sector organisations, including the Welsh Assembly Government, the European Commission and Regional Development Agencies.
He has worked extensively across a range of policy areas including education, learning and skills, culture, languages and community regeneration. He recently directed evaluations of two major student finance programmes for the Welsh Assembly Government. Other studies in the field of higher education have included a strategic review of Welsh medium provision for the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and a review of HE-employer engagement activities for the Open University.
Brett recently directed the First Stage Evaluation of Iaith Pawb, the national strategy for the Welsh language. He has also managed a study for the Arts Council of Wales, examining the impact of its international initiatives, including the Welsh representation at the Venice Biennale of Art. He is currently conducting a feasibility study on behalf of the Department for Economy and Transport, looking at new approaches to community-based service delivery in deprived neighbourhoods.
Brett speaks French and Italian, which has enabled him to undertake consultancy work across Europe as part of transnational projects.
Our people/Sioned Lewis
Sioned is an experienced economic development consultant whose main strengths lie in research skills and methodologies. She has managed a wide range of research projects in the fields of education and skills, youth policies, entrepreneurship and community development, employing a variety of interviewing and analytical methods. She is well equipped with quantitative and qualitative research techniques ranging from facilitating focus groups and one-to-one interviewing to questionnaire design and data analysis.
Sioned is currently focusing on a three year study to develop performance indicators, toolkits and guidelines for youth policies on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. Other recent and on-going studies include providing self-evaluation support for projects funded by the Big Lottery Fund; managing the fieldwork for a range of research and evaluation studies; a review of the impact of European Structural Funds for a local authority and surveying people’s perceptions of their local economic and job opportunities.
Before embarking on her career as an Economic Development Consultant Sioned was a social researcher at the Welsh Assembly Government. A Geography graduate, she also has a Masters degree in Regional Development.
Our people/Hefin Thomas
Hefin is a Senior Consultant at Arad Consulting and has managed a number of research and evaluation projects over the last five years. His economics background and consultancy experience enable him to lead qualitative and quantitative projects including labour market studies, economic assessments, impact studies and policy development.
Recently, Hefin managed a first stage evaluation of two of Wales’ largest student finance packages - the Education maintenance Allowance (EMA) and the Assembly Fee Grant. He has also led quantitative research as part of impact studies for the Arts Council and Npower as well as economic growth analysis for the South East England Development Agency, Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority and the European Comission. He is currently jointly managing a three year project on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government, developing a model to demonstrate the impact of two flagship policies - Extending Entitlement and 14-19 Learning Pathways.
Hefin also recently led a study contributing to a three year plan of customer research for the Assembly’s Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills – the 2007-10 Customer Research Programme. This study involved consultation with a wide range of stakeholders across government departments and external organisations to establish research priorities and current gaps in intelligence in terms of education and skills. An LSE graduate, Hefin is a fluent Welsh speaker.