ABSTRACT
The term ‘critical friend’, and the approach associated with it, has tended to be mainly restricted to the public sector and especially education. Our research suggests that the idea could have wider applicability. In the context of this handbook we will focus on the learning dimension of this role. In this respect a ‘critical friend’ is someone who is outside one’s team or project group who can be called in to comment on what is going on. The ‘critical’ part is associated with the notion that the person will critique the work of the team or individuals in it. The ‘friend’ part is around the notion that the person is assisting with a review of work from the position of a friend rather than, say, a detached auditor or assessor. The critical friend is there to help the team learn from and improve on its practice.
