2017 Dr Carron Blom
Carron (BSc (chemistry/zoology), MSc(Hons) (environmental science/zoology), PhD (engineering), FEngNZ, AAMINZ)is Managing Director of Anguillid Consulting Engineers and Scientists Ltd. She has more than 25 years of experience in environmental science and engineering; notably the technical and specialist management in the assessment, consenting, delivery, and operational strategies for major infrastructure. This experience includes senior management or strategic review roles in a number of billion dollar projects in Australasia.
In 2008, Carron established her own company Anguillid Consulting (see www.anguillid.co.nz), which has evolved into a specialist consultancy in systems thinking for complex adaptive systems, with a particular focus upon infrastructure stewardship. “Anguillid doesn’t just do a project… it establishes a way of doing things for the future…” (Local government client, 2013). Carron recently completed a term as a Deputy Environment Commissioner of the Environment Court of New Zealand, and has held a number of diverse governance/strategic advisory roles.
Her recent PhD research at Cambridge University investigated the misalignment between the strategic intent and management of infrastructure systems within New Zealand’s land transport sector. Prompted by her practical experience, her research also canvassed a wide range infrastructure sectors as part of the problem definition. The findings are of relevance across the spectrum of infrastructure practice and to the broader State sector, where the concepts have already been used by the Treasury of the New Zealand Government, amongst others (see http://www.treasury.govt.nz/statesector/investmentmanagement/think/ltip/guidance/investmentmanagement-ltip-guidance.pdf). The trans-disciplinary, ‘whole-of-system’ action research has generated numerous peer reviewed papers. Academic/peer reaction to the research includes the following editorial observation: “The paper lays down the challenge for outcome-based infrastructure — a challenge the existing orthodoxy will have to overcome to deliver the desired outcomes” (Moodley, 2015).
Additional publications:
Blom, C. and P. Guthrie, Strategic intent and the management of infrastructure systems. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers–Engineering Sustainability [Online ahead of print], 2018.
Blom, C. and P. Guthrie, Approaching complexity: An exposition on research methods for infrastructure systems. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers–Engineering Sustainability [Online ahead of print], 2018.
Thesis:
Strategic intent and the management of infrastructure systems. This research used the New Zealand land transportation system to investigate the relationship between the stated strategic intent of public infrastructures and how these are operationally managed to deliver long term outcomes and benefits. The research revealed a range of systemic issues at several levels that need to be addressed if complex systems, such as infrastructure, are to deliver their intended strategic outcomes. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/268224
Email: carron.blom@anguillid.co.nz