Julia Slay
Helping people and organisations build the strategy, knowledge and skills they need to achieve their goals.
What I do
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Strategy
When it comes to defining your strategy, bringing in an outside expert can make a huge difference.
I help organisations review and update strategies, across their core work, programmes and partnerships. This can include:
𑇐 designing a strategy process
𑇐 gathering data and insight to inform strategic decisions
𑇐 facilitating meetings to develop new strategic goals
𑇐 drafting new strategic frameworks
𑇐 finding ways to measure the impact of a strategy.
Recent clients: V&A Museum, Child Poverty Action Group, Greater London Authority
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Policy & research
I’m a trained researcher with 10 years’ experience working at a leading social policy think tank.
Now, I’m often commissioned to carry out research and develop policy proposals and advocacy strategies for organisations. This can include:
𑇐 qualitative research
𑇐 horizon scanning research
𑇐 collaborating with other researchers
𑇐 bringing research skills to strategy and learning work
𑇐 policy development
𑇐 influencing strategies.
Recent clients: Camden Council, The People's Health Trust
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Facilitation
Teams often find it helpful to have someone independent holding space for them to reflect and learn.
As a facilitator, I regularly lead meetings, workshops and events with a wide range of professionals. This can include:
𑇐 board and team away days, retreats and offsites
𑇐 partnership development work, convenings or summits
𑇐 UK and international events, lasting from 1 to 5 days
𑇐 communities of practice or learning events.
I also run training through my company, Facilitation 101.
Recent clients: Wellcome Trust, Health Foundation, Media Trust
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Training
As an experienced trainer, I support teams and individuals to build their skills and grow in confidence.
Through my training company, Facilitation 101, I deliver courses throughout the year at all levels to help people lead more effective meetings, workshops and events.
I also offer training to help teams and individuals build other skills, including:
𑇐 leadership development for teams and organisations
𑇐 line management skills
𑇐 coaching skills for teams and individuals.
Recent clients: Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Waltham Forest Council, Breaking Barriers
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Learning
I work as a learning partner and evaluator, supporting organisations to build skills and knowledge.
I can help teams:
𑇐 gather and make sense of learning from their work, or programmes they have funded
𑇐 support individual and peer learning through 1:1 guidance, coaching, reflective practice and group learning sessions
𑇐 synthesise insights and findings from a project, and share these in a way that helps create a legacy
𑇐 build internal capacity for ongoing learning and reflection.
Recent clients: National Lottery Community Fund, Innovation Unit, Paul Hamlyn Foundation
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Coaching and OD
I offer both 1:1 and team coaching, and help organisations find new ways of working together.
Organisational development looks at how the whole system works. It can include:
𑇐 clarifying your purpose, strategy and operating models
𑇐 reviewing your structures, governance and decision-making processes
𑇐 strengthening team dynamics and cross-team collaboration
𑇐 supporting culture change
𑇐 designing and embedding new ways of working.
Recent clients: Youth Fund Learning Network, Disability Rights Foundation, NHS Leadership Academy
Facilitation 101
I’m the Founder and Director of Facilitation 101, a UK training company.
We help people build the facilitation skills and confidence they need to work with groups in any scenario. If you lead team meetings, run workshops or host events, our courses will help you become the best facilitator you can be.
From two-hour masterclasses to a five-week course, we offer a range of training, both in person and online.
Take a look at the Facilitation 101 website to find out more.
About me
Hello, I’m Julia. I work on research, learning and strategy projects with a wide range of organisations. I’m also a qualified coach, action learning set facilitator and the founder of training company Facilitation 101.
My work flows from a curiosity about how change happens. I’m interested in how I can help people learn from – and with – each other, to make an impact in the world.
I bring my facilitation skills to everything I do. That could be running learning programmes, supporting senior leadership teams, or bringing partners together to identify common goals and strategic priorities.
As well as being commissioned by organisations directly, I’m also an associate with Innovation Unit, Koreo and New Local.
Previous roles
Assistant Director of Communities & Social Policy, GLA
Senior social policy researcher New Economics Foundation
The Frameworks Institute (secondment)
Office for Civil Society in the Cabinet Office (secondment)
Trustee & non-exec roles
Chair, Haringey Giving
Lay member, Tower Hamlets CCG
Lay member, Haringey GP Federation
Fellowships
Clore Social Leadership
Winston Churchill Memorial Trust
My work
Publication
Mapping Just Transition Initiatives at the City Level
This rapid research explores how cities in the UK and worldwide have approached a Just Transition. It was commissioned by the University of Warwick and Grapevine Coventry on behalf of Coventry’s Climate Change Board.
Publication
A snapshot of Leadership Development in the UK Refugee and Migration sector: a scoping report
This report presents findings from a scoping review of leadership development in the UK migration and refugee sector. It was funded by Migration Exchange and co-authored with Kate Weiler.
Publication
Surviving Austerity
Insights from an 18-month qualitative research programme using peer research, photo-journalism, interviews and workshops to explore how people in some of the UK’s most deprived areas were experiencing austerity.
Publication
Everyday Insecurity
Following on from ‘Surviving Austerity’, this research looked in more detail at the impact of public spending cuts and changes to the welfare system on the most disadvantaged.
Publication
Budgets and Beyond
This programme of research explored people’s experiences of personalisation and co-production in social care. It was funded by SCIE.
Thinkpiece
How Think Tanks Create Change
A short provocation written during my Clore Social Leadership fellowship, on how think tanks create change. It shares perspectives from funders, civil society, think tanks and politicians.
Talk
TedX: Building a Stronger Safety Net for All of Us
A public talk outlining my thoughts on what a modern safety net can mean for us in the 21st century.
Project
The School for Local Government Innovators
This pilot programme was designed to create a space for local government councillors to think differently about the challenges they faced locally, and their role in supporting fresh thinking and new approaches.
Project
Transforming youth services
This programme involved helping three local authorities transform their commissioning of youth services, with a focus on social, environmental and economic outcomes. It was co-produced with young people and supported by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Project
Commissioning for Outcomes and Co-production
This was a major three-year programme of work, implementing learning from the ‘Transforming Youth Services’ programme. It involved designing learning products and rolling out training to over 1,000 commissioners.
Project
The Art of Commissioning
In this programme, I led work with two pioneering local areas to embed arts and cultural activities as part of service provision in health and social care. It was supported by Arts Council England and delivered in partnership with NVCO, NPC and NEF.
Publication
Public Services Inside Out
A position paper exploring how co-production can work in practice across public services, delivering better outcomes for less money. This work was co-authored for NEF as part of a year-long co-production research project with Nesta.
Publication
The Co-production Catalogue
This report features case studies on co-production in health and social care. It was commissioned as part of Nesta’s People Powered Health programme with the Innovation Unit, and co-authored for NEF with Joe Penny and Lucie Stephens.
Project
V&A strategy work
In 2025, I worked alongside another consultant to help the V&A devise their next organisational strategy. Working with their Executive Team, Board and over 800 staff and volunteers, we helped them reimagine their strategy for the next 5 years.
Publication
City and Hackney Anchor Network: interim learning report
This interim learning report summarises the first stage of work with anchor organisations in City and Hackney, exploring how they can collectively build wealth and tackle inequality in the local area. It was published with Renaisi.
Publication
Co-production in Mental Health
This literature review explored the evidence on how co-production is used in mental health settings. It was commissioned by Mind and co-authored for NEF with Lucie Stephens.
Project
Tackling health inequalities through place-based partnerships
Working as an associate with the Innovation Unit, I helped support 12 projects across England that were working to tackle health inequalities. I designed learning events, ran team coaching sessions, and supported leaders with 1:1 support and coaching.
Publication
The Quiet Revolution: how anchor organisations are using their economic power to build wealth and tackle disadvantage in local communities
A report on qualitative research I conducted in North America and Australia, as part of a 2019 Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship.
Publication
Co-production: Right Here, Right Now
A position paper on how to make co-production more mainstream, so it becomes the default approach in public services. This work was co-authored for NEF as part of a year-long co-production research project with Nesta.
Project
Paul Hamlyn Foundation: Youth Funding Learning Network
For over five years, I’ve co-facilitated a learning network for 150+ PHF Youth Fund grantees. This has included:
- 1:1 coaching and action learning
- designing and facilitating communities of practice
- facilitating network events, online and inperson
- identifying learning needs and commissioning training
- creating systems to support information sharing
- delivering training.
Get in touch
If you’d like to explore how I could support your team or organisation, I’d love to talk. Email me on juliacslay@gmail.com and let’s set up a call.