A Critical Friend is both a person and a process with the use of the term ‘critical’ meaning key or important (as in challenging a tendency for individuals or organisations to avoid difficult issues) as well as referring to critiquing as a review technique. The practice is widely used across the UK private and public sector.

To challenge honestly and constructively, the Critical Friend must have a demonstrably strong background in delivering high value business change projects or initiatives that are deemed to be relevant to the review in hand.

NWT has considerable experience in the delivery of complex, high risk and high value programmes that are designed to help our clients modernise their IT and embrace the digital world. We have been appointed as a Critical Friend to work with individuals and groups of projects with considerable success. Our role as Critical Friend has often gone beyond the facilitation role to that of being an independent expert acting as an advocate for the work, a means of leveraging external networks and a source of suggestions and examples.

It goes without saying that each relationship is unique and that it is important for each project team and the Critical Friend to define roles and responsibilities in a way that works for them.

If you choose NWT as your Critical Friend, you will be choosing a team player with the skills and the attitude to thrive in intense and sometimes challenging situations, incisively getting to the heart of issues, delivering difficult messages and being robust and resilient in the face of challenge and delivering and receiving feedback.

We are a team of experienced forward looking independent thinkers and sound communicators that can engender trust and openness between all stakeholders. We can quickly assimilate and evaluate information and put forward recommendations based on our extensive experience.

Our business consultants have real-world experience in complex high risk programmes and projects and can participate in business critical reviews and challenge projects on deliverability, affordability and value for money. Acting as a Critical Friend, they will engage with, influence and challenge senior stakeholders without disturbing wider relationships. Achieving Results takes leadership and hard work, and the investment you will make in NWT through CFR will help you to deliver the performance and results that you expect and need.