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Bedfordshire CC

I worked for Bedfordshire County Council for ten years, during which time I wrote and edited text for promotional literature and press releases, edited a staff newsletter, commissioned photography, design and printing for leaflets and brochures, and increasingly did hands on graphic design myself. With on the job training from colleagues and an external course, I became quite proficient. I also advised staff on matters to do with Plain English compliance, equal access to information, corporate branding and marketing.

In 2002, Improving Services for You, a Bedfordshire County Council booklet that I worked on as editor, was

entered in the Pop Comm Charity and Public Service Publishing Awards in the category "best In-house edited and designed publication". It achieved the runner up (second) position and the judges specifically praised the clarity of the text.

Bedfordshire Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership (2006)

More than 18 public bodies, as well as others in the voluntary sector, were involved in creating or approving the Strategic Plan of the Bedfordshire Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership. Because of the timescale, work had to begin before the final text was agreed by everyone and this understandably, meant lots of revisions and adjustments. I edited the final text and managed the production, steering it through 15 revisions, working with a freelance project manager and a design and print agency to get it delivered to time. Careful attention to equal access issues was needed and the document included a page for visually impaired and non-English speakers explaining how they could obtain the information.