John McCafferty has worked in local government for the past 17 years, firstly with Renfrew District Council (where he was involved in the regeneration of Ferguslie Park and other areas in Renfrewshire) and since October of 1996 with South Lanarkshire Council. John was lead officer for the Douglas Valley Partnership (1996-2000), a multi-agency initiative which looked at the economic, physical and environmental regeneration of the Douglas Valley.

John has been involved in the Douglas & Nethan Valleys Healthy Living Community from the start (Aug 1999), co-writing the Stage 1 and Stage 2 applications to the New Opportunities Fund. John is currently South Lanarkshire Council's voluntary sector liaison person and is formally the Council's representative on the Healthy Living Community Board.