Team Verso comprises specialist consultants and researchers working across all states and territories of Australia.
We tailor teams to each project, with consultants who bring a unique mix of professional credentials and a committed approach.
Douglas Faircloth, Managing Director
Doug coordinates and manages resources to ensure quality outcomes in all Verso projects. He has over 12 years’ experience in managing and delivering complex consulting projects.
Selected major projects led by Doug include:
- Review of Placement Prevention and Reunification Services for Aboriginal Children and Families
- Evaluation of the Victorian Therapeutic Residential Care program
- Wheatbelt Aboriginal Aged Care Framework
- Developing a Sustainable Model of Aged Care for Rural and Remote Australia
- National Review of HACC Transport Services
- Foster Care Recruitment Evaluation
Doug designs project methodologies, provides team leadership and maintains client liaison. He contributes a creativity and reflective perspective to community consultations, market research, service reviews and innovative service models.
Doug has a broad background in community capacity building and social entrepreneurial activities in the not-for-profit sector. He has practical experience in youth and welfare services as practitioner working directly with young people from diverse backgrounds.
Jodie McNair, Senior Consultant
Jodie’s project management and communication skills have supported a decade of successful planning projects and funding campaigns. Her research capability is exceptional – during her time with Verso, Jodie has delivered a diverse range of feasibility and community profile analyses. She identifies detailed insights within population data to determine options for future service models and locations. Her community needs studies are used to inform business case development for service establishment and program expansions.
Jodie has specialist expertise in practice model development and implementation in child protection services. Her program evaluation skills have contributed to statewide and organisation-specific evaluations in therapeutic residential care for vulnerable children and young people.
Her involvement in policy development has included a focus on privacy, confidentiality and informed consent. This gives her a solid background in development of field research tools and processes in line with ethical and legislative compliance. Jodie is skilled in consumer and stakeholder interaction through feedback processes and ‘help-lines’ requiring cultural sensitivity.
Brian Sullivan, Senior Consultant
Brian has undertaken senior roles in unions, with a key public employer representative peak body and with Government. He also offers specialist expertise in current community, aged and health policy trends and funding environments and the establishment of beneficial workforce arrangements.
Brian played a key role in consultations and the development of research materials in the Wheatbelt Integrated Aged Care Solution(s) and supported research and consultation activities in the Central East Aged Care Integrated Aged Care Solution(s). Brian acted as lead consultant in the development of the Shire of Carnarvon Aged Care Plan (2012) leading consultation, research and report writing for the project. Brian’s deep and varied experience in human resources management and industrial relations roles in membership organisations covers the health, aged, community and disability sectors and in government, including local government. This has resulted in high level skills in the evaluation of workplace arrangements and their integration into health program and community services planning. He has undertaken policy review and development projects. Brian has provided discrete high level support across a broad range of organisations including providing industrial relations management of the Victorian Hospitals Industry Association, which included negotiation of agreements with the Australian Nursing Federation, AMA etc.
Associate Consultants
Dr Peter Brann
PhD(Psych), GradDip(Family Therapy), MClinPsych
Dr Peter Brann is a clinical psychologist who has worked in the field of child adolescent mental health for many years. In the evaluation of therapeutic residential care for the Department of Human Services in Victoria, Dr Brann worked as a Verso Associate. He played a key role in tool identification/development for the evaluation, as well as training therapeutic specialists in the application of the tools, providing ongoing support in the use of the tools, and in the analysis of the data collected. Dr Brann prepared the figures and tables in the report from a comprehensive data base populated by the data gathering tools completed by the community service organisations conducting the pilots. Dr Brann undertook the primary analysis of the data sets.
Dr Brann has conducted a number of qualitative and quantitative research projects. Of most relevance is the state-wide evaluation of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Schools Early Action project for DHS (Victoria). This evaluation of an early intervention program for young children with disruptive behaviours consisted of both quantitative analyses of a range of measures, including the SDQ, from multiple perspectives. Qualitative components included interview approaches with schools, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and other providers about the impact of the program as well as a questionnaire material from parents and children.
Dr Brann co-authored the national protocol for the implementation of the strength and difficulties questionnaire for the national outcomes and case mix collection for all Australian mental health services. He is the Commonwealth Government’s invited expert on the Child Adolescent Mental Health Outcomes Expert Group, contributed to the development of Take Two’s evaluation and has completed a PhD in the area of routine outcome measurement.
Dr Brann is currently working with Verso on an outcomes framework for therapeutic out-of-home care services.
Robert (Bob) Noakes
PhD(TransEcon)
Bob has worked on numerous local and regional plans where community development service delivery at least cost has been required under alternative economic, social and environmental conditions. For example, he has been involved in forecasting the transport service investment requirements under which alternative demand/growth scenarios, involving aged, limited mobility and medical service-dependent community members, can arise; and has applied economic appraisal criteria to the identification of the most appropriate investment options, relevant to the preferred scenario.
He also has specific experience in the development of strategic infrastructure master-plans, including strategies (at state, regional, local and location/specific levels) involving integrated planning and project component evaluations (use of latest cost-benefit analysis methodologies involving quantification of externalities), preparation of detailed market/demand analysis and forecasting studies, preparation and estimation of performance measures and productivity indicators/benchmarks (often using international best practice) and in the preparation of investment feasibility reports (involving both economic and financial evaluations, sensitivity analysis and risk assessments).
Most recently, Bob was part of the Verso team reviewing placement prevention and reunification services for Aboriginal children and their families, focusing on the investment analysis and modelling.
Dallas Terlich
LLB(current), Dip(Min)
Dallas has deep and varied experience in community services, youth justice and welfare sector spaning the last 25 years. He has worked with disadvantaged children, youth, young adults and families in various capacities, always with an emphasis on building robust and trusting relationships.
Much of his work over the past fifteen years has been with the indigenous community across education, youth justice, employment and community & cultural connection initiatives. Dallas and his wife have fostered five indigenous children since 2009; they are currently kinship carers for an 8 year old Aboriginal girl.
Dallas was presented with the Aboriginal Justice Award by the Victorian Department of Justice (2004), and has held a range of positions with Victorian state government departments including Program Manager Hume Region Youth Justice Group Conferencing Pilot and Mentor Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative.
Most recently, Dallas drew on his strong relationships with Aboriginal community controlled organisations across Victoria to undertake targeted consultations as part of the Verso team conducting the review of placement prevention and reunification services for Aboriginal children and their families.