Ian Kessler worked as a research officer at civil service trade union, the Institution of Professional Civil Servants, before becoming a senior lecturer at Bristol and Thames Polytechnics. Joined the University of Oxford in 1990 and has produced a range of publications from research on reward strategies, employee communications, human resource management in the public services and the 'psychological contract' at work. He has been involved in a number research programmes including projects funded by the Economic and Social Research Council on employment relations in the public services and has just completed a three year project funded by the National Institute of Health Research on nurse support roles in secondary healthcare. He has acted as an adviser to the Audit Commission and the National Audit Office, Royal College of Nursing and the Police Federation. He was a Commissioner on the Local Government Pay Commission, 2005.


Paul Heron is a Senior Research Associate at Said Business School. His interest in health services research and, more specifically, the role of support workers in the public sector has been supported by grants from the Economic and Social Research Council and National Institute for Health Research. He has a background in survey based research and an interest in the role of surveys in mixed-methods research.

Sue Dopson is Rhodes Trust Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Faculty Dean at Said Business School. She is also Dean of Green Templeton College, Oxford, and Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta, Canada. She is a noted specialist on the personal and organisational dimensions of leadership and transformational change, especially in the public and healthcare sectors. Sue has been extensively involved in some highly innovative executive development programmes. She teaches on the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme, the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme, and Consulting and Coaching for Change, as well as a number of programmes delivered to clients in the Middle East. She has worked closely with organisations ranging from the UK Department of Health to Roche Pharmaceuticals. As a founding director and current member of the Oxford Health Care Management Institute, she is involved in the development of courses for the NHS. She has also worked as a tutor with Centrica