Episode 30: Gerard Atkinson

Welcome to episode #30 We’re thrilled to be joined by Gerard Atkinson today. 
Gerard is a director at ARTD Consultants. He is well-versed in program and policy evaluation, business analytics, and data visualization. His expertise extends to market and social research, financial modeling, and non-profit, government, and business strategy. A dedicated advocate for neurodiversity, Gerard serves as a board member for various Australian not-for-profits and advises on diversity, equity, and inclusion committees within the research and evaluation community. Outside of his professional endeavors, Gerard is a keen trail runner and was trained as an opera singer.Welcome to the show Gerard!

Questions JN: Can you tell us about your experience with neurodiversity? When did you realize that you weren’t neurotypical? What challenges did you face? What is it like now? Diagnosed as autistic in 2019 But always felt outside the neurotypical norm.Always felt different from others In terms of processing information. Experiencing the world. Was able to mask and was highly intelligentPlaced in the gifted bucket. Diagnosis gave a new framework to experience the world Motivated by seeing other friends go through the diagnosis. There is a lot more awareness around autism, the challenge is around the way society is structured, not necessarily people with autism.Still a lot of opportunities not taken JC: What "work" projects are you concentrating on? Evaluation consultant Governments will design a program, roll it out and spend a lot of money Answers questions: “How effective was it?”, “Was it worth it?” Currently manages 10-12 evaluations at one time Evaluation frameworkProgram logic: What activities are we doing? What outputs will that create? What outcomes will that generate for the target group? Short term Mid term Long term Sometimes measuring outcomes indirectly by measuring other thingsIf we can’t measure this directly, what can we measure as a proxy? Being data and method agnostic. JN: How about the rest of the time? What do you enjoy doing in your off time? Peaks and Trails 50k at Dunkells Long run Training via25k trail run. Weight training (several decades) Music (former opera singer) Sing Art Gardening JC: What does your morning routine look like and how has it evolved over time? 5:30 am wake up  go for a run - social but not too social (or weight training) Coffee Newspaper 8:30 am begin work 
During COVID bad habits of getting straight into work after waking up. Changed habits by working with a mentor. Created a covenant with himself  JN: What do you do to optimize productivity during your working hours? Lives by calendar Chargeable work Non-chargeable workE.g. capacity buildingSupporting staff Tries to block out free time so staff can get time with him. No phone calls out of the blue. When there are callsHave some social time, some small talk. Deep work vs empowering teamBlocks out deep workWill tell the team: “This is deep thinking time” - I need something urgently, put it through email. COMMER