Max Hardy is a consultant who specialises in community engagement, deliberative democracy and collaborative governance. Although based in the Illawarra Max’s work takes him all around Australia, as well as occasionally to New Zealand, North America and the UK.

Max is a popular guest speaker and lecturer, including at the University of Sydney. He is also a regular guest on ABC Radio Illawarra discussing matters on community engagement and related current affairs.

He is one of the most experienced licensed trainers in the world for International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), having delivered certificate training since 2002, to well over 1,000 participants. He has also trainer other trainers at training academies for that association in Calgary, Canada and in Edinburgh, UK.

Max is a self confessed conference junkie, and has presented papers at International Conferences, including in Banff, Canada in 1999, Salt Lake City in 2002, Madison 2004, Portland, Oregon in 2005, Montreal 2006, Glasgow 2008 and at numerous National Conferences. He also played a major role in the preparation of the ‘Brisbane Declaration on Engaging Communities’ which was presented to and accepted by the United Nations in 2005.

In 2007 he co-authored a book titled "Beyond Public Meetings: Connecting Community Engagement with Decision-Making" and is presently co-writing another book with his colleagues at Twyfords on Collaborative Governance.

In February 2009 Max co-facilitated Australia’s first Citizens’ Parliament, in old Parliament House Canberra, and has recently also contributed a chapter to a book on this significant event. Last year Max facilitated a session at the Opera House on "What’s wrong with democracy and how do we fix it?" at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas.

In his spare time Max enjoys music, live theatre, philosophy, the game of cricket and travelling.