Mark Burford

Mark advises public and private sector clients in a broad range of public policy and strategy areas with a strong focus on public management, education policy and water, environmental and climate policy.

Project experience

Government policy

• led policy work on public sector reform, governance of public institutions, market reforms in vocational education, school and health funding, inter-governmental relations, and whole-of-government strategy and implementation
• advised the premier on policy issues coming before cabinet
• helped reform governance in Victoria’s water businesses and led the development of the state’s 2007 water plan.

Consulting experience

• recommended options for the establishment of a national tertiary (vocational and higher education) education regulator, after detailed research and consultation with all governments and stakeholders.  
• provided advice to the Victorian Government on expanding regional higher education provision
• carried out policy and organisational review for new vice chancellor at leading Victorian university
• advised leading Australian university on the set up of a global research center
• developed urban water policy reform options and pathways for Melbourne
• carried out organisational capability review for a major irrigation authority
• led work for analysing the carbon sequestration opportunities in Australia’s outback
• worked in partnership with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and the National Institute of Labour Studies to advise national review of school funding.

Education / accreditation / board membership

• Master of Commerce (Economics), University of NSW, Sydney
• Bachelor of Arts (Political Science), Flinders University, Adelaide

Past employment

Mark was executive director in the Victorian Premiers Department under Premiers Bracks and Kennett. In 2006 and 2007 he was executive director in the Office of Water in the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment. Prior to Nous in early 2008 Mark was a senior adviser on tertiary education and inter-governmental relations to the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. Mark also has significant business experience as a developer of innovative, sustainable buildings.

Interests

Mark tries to spend as much time as he can with his partner Sue and their two girls. He shares a passion with them for music of all kinds (with a special weakness for country music), plays a little golf (although he is obsessed by it), gets to gym and yoga class a fair bit, and spends time restoring an acre of land around the family’s Shoreham beach-house to indigenous bush.