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Quintin Oliver - Director

Quintin Oliver was born and educated in Northern Ireland. He holds a MA from St. Andrews University and a Professional Diploma in Management from the Open University. 

Quintin has worked in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors - and with all levels of government - in Scotland and Ireland.

Director of the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (1985-1998), Quintin went on to lead the successful non-party and cross-party "Yes" Campaign in the May 1998 referendum.  He was the founder and first President (1990-92) of the European Anti-Poverty Network, helping design and then implement European strategies and programmes on social exclusion, partnership and peace/reconciliation. In 1991 he was appointed by President Mary Robinson to sit on the Council of State of Ireland.

As the founder of the company he is responsible for organisation, management, training, marketing and planning. Client work includes policy activity with Amey (education provision), the EAGA Partnership (energy and water efficiency), ESB (all-island energy market), AES Kilroot (power generation), Prince’s Trust (leadership and positioning support), Sesame Workshop (children’s creative development) and joint work with Democratic Dialogue on Health Policy (supported by Pfizer).

Projects have included the award-winning Fort George Consultation (for Londonderry Port and Harbour) in 2001,   ‘Political Audit' for North and West Health Trust in 2002, ‘A wake-up Call on Race’ for the Equality Commission (with Paul McGill, also in 2002), the ‘Community Arts Review' for Department of Culture (2003), a successful campaign for pharmacists against de-regulation (2003), ‘Influencing Policy’ (with Caroline McCamley) for Combat Poverty Agency, Dublin, 2004) and a political audit for the Arts Council (2004). In 2005 he worked on interpreting the Cyprus referendum for USAID, and stakeholder management for both the Equality Authority (Dublin) and Human Rights Commission (Belfast).

He regularly delivers Stratagem training courses and strategic reviews for clients; he trains all the political parties’ women candidates for elections.

Quintin was appointed as Independent Adviser to the Northern Ireland Hospice in 2003, by the Health Minister.

He is the former Chair of the Oscar-nominated Nerve Centre in Derry that undertakes multi-media development and creative learning; and is a board member of the Belfast-based think tank, Democratic Dialogue. He is a trustee of the Scottish anti-sectarian charity Nil by Mouth.  

In 2003, he became a founder director of The Consultation Institute across the UK and Ireland, to provide best practice support, training and networking in the discipline of good consultation. He became an independent assessor for the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) in 2005 and a non-Executive director of the EAGA Partnership in the same year.

In 2001 he established Politicks, a global network of referendum specialists, who have trained or advised on the subject in London, Paris, Tel Aviv / Jerusalem, New York and Uganda. He is Politicks's first President.

E-mail address: quintin@stratagem-ni.com

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Quintin Oliver | Katherine McDonald

Julie Daly | Gráinne Walsh | Gráinne Magee| Claire Flynn | Mark Shepherd | Howard Salisbury