While advising civil society groups and political parties on election issues earlier this year in Cairo, I found that the voices of Egyptians who were at the forefront of the revolution were stifled during the secretive election-planning process.
Britain may pay a "potentially high price" if it does not do more to minimise the controversy, indecisiveness and uncertainty that a hung parliament after the next election is likely to create, according to academic research examining the rules contained in the government manual advising civil servants on how a caretaker government operates.
Utilizing his extensive network of contacts, he frequently traveled to the opposition-held parts of Syria to conduct a wide range of activities in support of nascent governance efforts, in the process advising civil society groups and emergent Local Administrative Councils (LACs) on good governance, rule of law, and foreign affairs, and assisting with elections planning and monitoring.
Mr Cable's political team at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was advised by civil servants to be very careful about their contacts with interested parties and the media.
In Whitehall, where you don't get promoted for philosophising, the permanent secretaries' line is that once the Tory leadership is in place, there will be a reshuffle and incoming ministers will (suitably advised by civil servants) choose a direction; the machine will then deliver what they ask.
It said it had been advised by civil service management that it is about to begin work on a "workforce reduction plan".
But I would also say this, that if I were advising the civil rights movement back in 1961 about its approach to civil rights, I would have probably said it's less important that we focus on an anti- miscegenation law than we focus on a voting rights law and a non- discrimination and employment law and all the legal rights that are conferred by the state.
In perhaps the silliest example, a consultant advises British civil servants to wear different colored hats for different tasks: red for developing hunches, yellow for cheering, black for questioning.
@craigmfagan Craig formerly worked as a policy research analyst at the poverty group of the United Nations Development Programme, where he advised countries on civil society engagement and monitoring and evaluation initiatives.
While publisher of the Post, he grew so close to L.B.J. that he wrote speeches for him and advised him on civil rights and key appointments; he even had power of attorney for Johnson and went out and found him a house to buy.
