Mike Durke BA (Hons), MA, MBA, PGCE (PCET), FHEA, FCMI

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Senior Lecturer

Institute of Management and Health

Tel: (01792) 4836944
Email: mike.durke@uwtsd.ac.uk

Role in the University

  • Senior Lecturer
  • Academic Misconduct Co-ordinator
  • Academic Development Co-ordinator

Background

My career in public services began in 1985 upon joining the Ministry of Police as a Police Constable. This provided an early insight into the operation of the UK government, how policies impact on society and on the power of the media to shape debate.

Following a fantastic and life-changing 4 years studying philosophy at Swansea, I worked as a Care Officer with adults who had learning disabilities, then for 5 years with Looked After Children and their families within a large local authority social services department. This was the best and worst of roles: the best because often I was one of the few positive, non-abusive adults that the children had known; the worst because some of the children I had the privilege of looking after died tragically young.

A spell as a manager in in the Child and Family Division of the newly formed Welsh Government, enabled me to see how the Welsh Ministers aimed to design national policies, and to work through local government structures to transform services for the most vulnerable children. I came to the understanding that national strategy means little if it is not married to dynamic, life-changing local action.

After an enjoyable post overseeing 49 community buildings delivering community recreation services to Swansea, I became the Chief Executive Officer of the Hill Community Development Trust in Townhill, Swansea and stayed in that post until November 2014. The Trust was set up to build on the foundation laid by the only European Union Urban (I) Community Initiative in Wales. My challenges were broad and diverse covering the entire life of the community: job creation, education and training, improving the environment, health considerations, crime and community safety. In essence, the idea was to take a grassroots approach to tackling very long-standing issues, to provide much needed community services and to generate an income stream thereby reducing dependency on government grants. It is fair to say that this approach was more successful than anyone dared to hope on day one. It is an example of best practice which has been built upon in many parts of the UK and beyond.

In the 2017, local elections I was honoured to be chosen to represent the community I was born in as a Councillor for the City and County of Swansea. Local government in Wales faces many, varied challenges as the purse strings continue to get tighter. Bright-eyed innovation and new ways of working will help to ensure that the people of Wales continue to access the services they need and depend on.

Member Of

  • Swansea Council as a Councillor and Chairperson of the Education and Skills Service Transformation Committee. 
  • Chartered Manager and Fellow (CMgr/ FCMI)
  • Higher Education Academy Fellow (FHEA)

Academic Interests

Undergraduate modules (BA/BSc Policing, Criminology, Law and Business)

  • Level 4: Behavioural Dynamics; Preparation for Employment
  • Level 5: Volunteering: the Gateway to Employment; Preparing for Research
  • Level 6: Strategic Management and Sustainability; Global Ethics; Independent Project (Dissertations and Placement-based projects)

Postgraduate modules (MSc Policing Operational and Strategic Leadership)

  • Level 7: Corporate Governance in Policing; Policing and the Political Landscape

Research Interests

Policing reform at a time of unprecedented challenge and demand for radical change at both a political and an operational level

The viability of community-centred alternate models for public service delivery where cost savings, mutually advantageous community and professional collaborations and improved efficiency are central elements in the reform process.

Looked After Children: in some areas, we have seen a doubling of the LAC population within 10 years. At the same time budgets have never been tighter, major investigations into the most tragic cases of child abuse have seen professionals under the intense examination of the media microscope. Where might innovation lie in this most challenging of public services?

Democracy and political structures: with the memberships of the major political parties at approximately 10% of their post-war levels, have we seen the steady growth of a political class which is remote from the lives of ordinary everyday people? What impact does this have on the design and delivery of policies? How has this membership evaporation affected the political landscape of Wales?

Expertise

I have professional experience in a range of areas:

  • Local Government
  • Safeguarding children
  • Management in the public and voluntary sectors
  • Running and developing a social enterprise
  • Human resource management
  • Financial management: not as a chartered accountant but as a financial manager with accountability to a board of directors
  • Development of management systems for the collation of diverse financial information into a colour-coded, easily understandable and communicable format
  • Community engagement
  • Innovative solutions for the public sector
  • Child welfare
  • Children’s nurseries – having run a Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW) children’s nursery for eight years

Enterprise, Commercial and Consultancy Activities

My main achievement here rests with the development of the Hill CDT Ltd from an innovative high-level, 100% government-funded enterprise, to a community owned and managed organisation which, from a standing start, consistently generated £250k pa through trading activities. In total, I led the organisation to secure £4.5m over 12 years, 50% in self-generated income.

Consultation work for regeneration organisations across Wales and the UK, United States, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Lithuania, Latvia, Brussels, Malta and Poland, to share knowledge and expertise honed through development, management and leadership of an innovative community organisation.

Child Poverty seminars for colleagues across Wales to get to grips with the many challenges of the Welsh Government’s ambitious Child Poverty agenda.

Support for a number of health service innovations including developing GP Clusters.

Publications

2020: From Despair to Hope: building harmony in a challenged community. Chapter in The Harmony Debates. Lampeter: Sophia Press.

2018: Website suggested by students to help with their studies www.mikedurke.co.uk

2012: Trust and Partnership: why community ownership and close collaboration are the keys to future success. HCDT Ltd: Swansea

2011: The Townhill Baseline: a springboard for action. HCDT Ltd: Swansea

2011: Why do we have ‘deprivation’ on the Hill? HCDT Ltd: Swansea

2011: Why do we have ‘child poverty’ on the Hill? HCDT Ltd: Swansea

2011: Street Level Performance Management: a summary for Welsh Ministers

2011: Street Level Performance Management: a coffee break summary

2004: ‘Who Cares? A week of investigation into child abuse in Swansea with Susan Bailey. South Wales Evening Post. October 2004.

1993: ‘Flying a Philosophical Flag’: an examination of the importance of philosophy for children. Western Mail.

Additional Information

  • Governor at Gendros Primary School and Dylan Thomas Community School in Swansea.
  • Chairperson of Friends of Ravenhill Park.

Papers presented at a number of events:

  • UWTSD’s Harmony conference at Lampeter, ‘Harmony and Disharmony in Building Community.’
  • Welsh Branch of the British Psychology Society – ‘Looking After Ourselves’
  • International MBA Conference at Hamk University, Finland ‘Management Training for Community Organisations’
  • Public Sector Reform Conference, Barbican, London, with Lord Maurice Glasman – ‘A Street-Level Approach: improving services and saving money in the most “deprived” communities.’
  • Roehampton Trust, Wandsworth with world-class yachtswoman Tracey Edwards