John Reynolds
Finance Director and Fellow
John Reynolds has wide experience at Director/Board level in Government Departments and Agencies. In 1998 he was asked to set up the Future Unit, which generated influential reports and established future thinking across Whitehall. He also invented the unique creativity centre futurefocus@dti. He later took over responsibility for the Department of Trade and Industry’s Innovation Unit and became Director of the Future and Innovation Unit.
He left the senior civil service following a period on the Board of UK Trade and Investment and leading work on the protection and resilience of the critical national infrastructure, principally energy and telecommunication. This included the preparation of the National Risk Assessment and the associated planning scenarios.
- “Horizon scanning and scenario building: Scenarios for Skills 2020” for UK Commission for Employment and Skills (and related projects for Sector Skills Councils)
- Leading the Environment Agency project on the key driver of change to 2020; and advising the Agency and EA Wales on the implications for their future strategy
- Leading the Natural England Scenarios project to develop scenario for 2050; including stakeholder engagement and public involvement workshops
- Providing future based strategic policy advice to overseas Governments, including the US State Department
- Advising Department of Health on the introduction of new public engagement requirements.
- Providing coaching on strategic futures across government on behalf of the Government Office for Science, Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre.