Author Archives: jerry.barnett

Bramble Hub and our partner Commercial Intuition work together to deliver transformative consultancy and systems solutions to the UK public sector.

Founded by Allan King five years ago, Commercial Intuition has grown steadily from a one-person consultancy into a thriving business built on two complementary strengths: management consultancy and systems delivery. The company works across central and local government, defence, energy, and housing, as well as the private sector, providing customers with clear insight and hands-on support for complex transformation programmes.

People are at the heart of Commercial Intuition’s success. Brandon Robertson, Head of Consulting, explains that the company takes pride in being an alternative employer, exploring ways to engage a diverse range of people through apprenticeships and non-traditional career pathways. This focus on inclusion and social value is supported by their active work with schools and charities, alongside a company-wide commitment to community impact.

Data-led change

Commercial Intuition’s consultancy approach stands out for its use of experienced P3M practitioners and data-led transformation. Rather than relying on traditional, qualitative models, the team brings an engineer’s precision to organisational transformation, measuring belief systems, communication patterns, and cultural drivers to help clients make smarter, evidence-based decisions.

The company has recently enhanced this data-led approach with a new suite of products designed to help organisations build a stronger foundation for change and improvement. This includes a set of training materials focused on upskilling client teams and reducing the risk of change failure; a one-day innovation workshop that produces leadership-approved initiatives ready to launch immediately; and a series of maturity assessments that clearly identify areas for development and provide practical guidance for improvement. Upcoming innovations include a new ‘knowledge-as-a-system’ offering, designed to make expert consultancy more accessible to smaller organisations.

Alongside its consultancy work, Commercial Intuition’s systems division delivers ERP solutions using Odoo’s comprehensive suite of applications, helping organisations of all sizes manage their data more effectively.  This helps clients make decisions, streamline and grow, and better capture and collaborate on new opportunities.

Customers in central government

Commercial Intuition works with government departments to strengthen delivery, governance, and organisational capability. Combining strategy, systems thinking, and practical change support, the company helps teams deliver more effectively, make better use of data, and embed sustainable improvements. Their approach links strategic intent with measurable outcomes, aiming to improve transparency, accountability, and performance at every level.

Across a range of programmes, Commercial Intuition has supported departments to modernise systems, enhance decision-making, and build internal capability. Their focus is always on leaving behind capability, not dependency, ensuring that clients can continue improving performance long after the engagement ends.

Example case studies include:

• Redefining a department’s PMO through a full assessment and VMOST (Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategy, and Tactics) alignment
• Developing a board-level balanced scorecard to improve governance transparency
• Conducting a data and systems review to streamline reporting and introduce automation
• Embedding agile practices by providing an experienced Scrum Master for digital transformation
• Redesigning a Strategic Asset Management Plan to guide long-term investment decisions
• Supporting the development of a Full Business Case for a system redevelopment
• Strengthening cybersecurity and risk management using the Secure by Design framework

Through our thin-prime model of doing business, Bramble Hub is able to supply Commercial Intuition’s expert services to the UK public sector via a number of procurement frameworks.

The public sector is, more than ever, under pressure to deliver more responsive and efficient services within a chaotic environment. Traditional hierarchical structures, once effective at driving efficiency, now struggle to deliver value for money and keep pace with evolving citizen expectations, technological change, and operational complexity.

Clear Star, a Bramble Hub partner, is helping the public sector embrace a new way forward: building adaptability and efficiency into the way government works through new organisational and operating models.

The limits of top-down efficiency drives

As Peter Gardiner of Clear Star highlighted in a recent blog post, many efficiency initiatives in government fail because they rely on centralised targets and cost-cutting. These top-down approaches can miss the real opportunities for improvement, and often generate resistance.

Instead, Peter argues that efficiency should be designed into the system itself. By creating local incentives, embedding accountability, and giving teams the authority to adapt, organisations can continuously identify waste, optimise resources, and improve outcomes. In this way, efficiency becomes a sustained capability, not a one-off intervention.

Funding portfolios, not projects

Clear Star’s Matt White summarises the company’s approach: “Shifting from project funding to portfolio funding allows government to adapt quickly and continuously deliver value to citizens.”

A practical example of this approach is Clear Star’s work with a major government department (case study – PDF). The department had previously relied on hundreds of project-based business cases, each taking up to two years to secure approval. This slowed delivery, increased costs, and reduced the organisation’s ability to respond to operational needs.

Clear Star supported the department in piloting a Capability Portfolio Management Business Case model. This shifted funding away from individual projects and programmes, and instead supported portfolios of services with rolling approval processes. The impact was significant:

• Around 80% fewer business case submissions
• 60% faster approval times
• Savings equivalent to multiple full-time roles
• Greater empowerment for service leaders to adapt resources based on user needs
• Alignment of finance, commercial, and delivery teams to support the new approach

This shift not only reduced inefficiency but also established new incentives for adaptability and cross-functional collaboration.

Embedding efficiency

Clear Star’s approach emphasises that adaptability and efficiency are not just about process reform, but also require changes to culture and incentives. Their work shows the value of:

• Setting clear guardrails while allowing local autonomy
• Delegating decision authority to those closest to the work
• Encouraging experimentation and test-and-learn practices
• Aligning funding to outcomes through annual portfolio reviews
• Creating feedback loops that reward optimisation and improvement

By building these principles into the operating model, efficiency becomes continuous, sustainable, and self-reinforcing, and so organisations become more effective.

Towards resilient, adaptable government

Peter Gardiner says that Clear Star doesn’t see itself as a change management organisation; rather, they “… help organisations transition to what they can be: purpose-led, people-first, adaptable, and efficient.”

The public sector faces growing complexity from shifting citizen needs and rapidly-emerging digital technologies. Organisations that remain tied to rigid hierarchies risk becoming less relevant and more wasteful, while those that embrace adaptability will be better positioned to deliver value efficiently and effectively.

Through our partnership with Clear Star, Bramble Hub is able to help public sector customers move beyond hierarchical structures and adopt systemic approaches to change. This enables government organisations to become more adaptable, more resilient, more efficient, and better equipped to deliver meaningful outcomes for citizens.