Brian Cox

Associate Director, Centre for Health Enterprise

Brian Cox has held senior management posts in both social care and the NHS. He was Regional Director for the NHS University, Assistant Director of Social Services in Nottingham and led regeneration programmes attracting European funding for social care in Birmingham. A qualified social worker Brian has been a community development worker, senior manager and an elected member. He joins the Centre for Health Enterprise with a reputation for innovation and fresh thinking in health and social care grounded in operational reality.

As Head of Leadership at the National Skills Academy for Social Care, he led the creation of the first National Leadership Strategy for the Care Sector and the first Leadership Qualities Framework. Working across private, statutory and not-for-profit employers he built rapidly a wide ranging leadership offer for the Academy providing leadership development across the spectrum ranging from front line practitioners to senior sector leaders. Previously working with the Care Services Improvement Partnership and the Department of Health, Brian specialised in workforce development in support of personalisation, user control and service improvement.

With higher degrees in Industrial Relations and Applied Social Studies his research and academic interests focus on leadership, community and user control, health and social inequality and professional governance and accountability. He is particularly interested in the nature of care work in terms of agency and control and ways in which leadership systems and behaviour can foster resistance and inertia, or empowerment and innovation. Brian has successfully designed and led executive and managerial leadership programmes and for over twenty years has worked to establish sustainable and accountable partnerships across health, social care and local government with the aim of developing better services and tackling inequality.

Brian's Publications

"De-Colonialising the Land Rover; The rediscovery of craft and the role of leadership development", The International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Volume 6 Issue 4, November 2010.

"Barging in the Queue for Coffee - reflections on recruitment, leadership and the creation of culture", The International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Volume 6 Issue 2, June 2010

"Exceeding Expectation: The Principles of Outstanding Leadership", Ian Lawson (Work Foundation) with Brian Cox, The International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Volume 6 Issue 1, February 2010

"Leading and Following Together - leading leadership and leading leaders," The International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Volume 6 Issue 1, February 2010.

"Building a strong and confident leadership culture in a large scale service - the task of the National Skills Academy for Social Care," The International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Volume 5 Issue 4, December 2009.

"Voluntary sector & Social Work Training", Mullender & Cox, (CCETSW 1990)

"The Issue is Money", Community Care, 1989.

"Section 11 and Social Services", Cross, Johnson & Cox, (New Community 1987)

"Poor Black Welfare"; Cross, Cox & Johnson, 1987 (Routledge)

"The Needs of Black & Ethnic Minority Communities- Section Eleven Expenditure and Local Social Services Departments"; Cross, M.; Johnson, M.; and Cox, B.J. (Home Office 1986)