Mark Cook is Collaborate’s company secretary. He is a partner at Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP, advising people and organisations on how to work together across the public, business and social sectors. He is a leading expert in sustainable procurement, including partnership working, contracting, commissioning and procurement of services between the social, public sector and business sector. With over twenty years of experience of public private partnerships and the legal framework that enables them, Mark brings wisdom and practicality to the many situations he is asked to advise upon. He works hard to deliver solutions that involve people in local communities and he believes in the ability of those on the ground to make the difference.
In their own words:
Fundamentally, I support Collaborate because I am inspired by the collective of individuals that have and do work under its banner. Collaborate’s work is aligned with my conviction that those on the ground make the real difference to the neighbourhoods where they live and work. I also believe that conventions, rules and regulations should not get in the way of better public services. In turn, I offer Collaborate my experience as a lawyer who has pioneered in helping disparate organisations to work together, confounding traditional views about what can and cannot be done. Collaborate gives me hope that lateral cross-working can endure rather than the linear lines that are often entrenched in the public sphere.