Institute for Government

The Institute for Government has launched IfG Academy to give ministers, civil servants and people working in and around government the knowledge and skills they need to improve government effectiveness. There is currently little in the way of formal training for people who take on government roles. From first-time ministers to those promoted to cabinet, and from non-executive directors to special advisers, many people in government are expected to learn on the job. There is not much in the way of support to help people get up to speed, learn the inner workings of Whitehall and develop in their role. So what more could be done to change the culture and practice of support for those in government? Why has it been so difficult to reform the current approach? And how is IfG Academy going to fill the gap? To discuss these questions and more, the IfG brought together an expert panel including: Tim Durrant, Associate Director at the Institute for Government David Gauke, former Secretary of State for Justice, and former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Philip Rycroft, former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union Salma Shah, Partner at Portland Communications, former special adviser to Sajid Javid The event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government.

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve. Data Bites aims to change that. Our latest event, the 37th in our series, was a social mobility special. The Social Mobility Commission presented its new report on data gaps across government and the impact that has on its work, complemented by other speakers on social mobility and missing data. Each speaker has eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience. This month's speakers were: Oliver Anderson, Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) Strategic Analysis Lead at the Department for Education, on post-16 education and labour market activities and outcomes Alun Francis OBE, Interim Chair of the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) and Principal and Chief Executive of Oldham College, on the SMC's recently published data gaps report Michael Pandazis, Head of Evidence for the Social Mobility Commission, on the data gaps impacting the SMC's annual State of the Nation report Anna Powell-Smith, Director of the Centre for Public Data, with an update on their Missing Numbers work. The event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Associate at the Institute for Government.

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Jonathan Brearley, Ofgem’s Chief Executive Officer, for a briefing on the energy market, energy bills and a look ahead to what the coming year will mean for consumers across the UK. The event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government, with an opening address from Jonathan Brearley followed by a Q&A. Ofgem is the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets. It is a non-ministerial government department and an independent National Regulatory Authority. Jonathan Brearley became Ofgem's Chief Executive Officer on 3 February 2020. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/jonathan-brearley-ofgem

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This session was a live recording of the IfG’s weekly podcast. Speakers: Dan Snow, Historian, author, TV presenter and host of the HistoryHit podcast Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government This event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. Speakers included: Councillor Ben Bradley MP, Member of Parliament for Mansfield and Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of the North of Tyne Seb Payne, Director of Onward Jennifer Williams, Northern England correspondent at the Financial Times This event was chaired by Akash Paun, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This session was a keynote speech by Lisa Nandy MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. After her speech, Lisa Nandy was in conversation with Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government, and took questions from the audience.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This session was an IfG expert briefing. Speakers included: Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government Jess Sargeant, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government This session was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This session was a keynote speech by Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, Leader of the House of Commons. After her speech, Penny Mordaunt was in conversation with Dr Hannah White, Director at the Institute for Government, and took questions from the audience.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This second session discussed whether the civil service needed to reset, regroup or reform in 2023. Speakers: Stephen Bush, Associate Editor and columnist at the Financial Times Munira Mirza, former Head of No.10 Policy Unit, and Chief Executive of Civic Future Antonia Romeo, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice This session was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

The Institute for Government hosted its inaugural annual conference, to look at the key questions facing government in 2023. After a tumultuous 2022, which saw three prime ministers, war in Europe and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the Institute brought together influential speakers and IfG experts to share ideas, stimulate new thinking and discuss what we should expect from government in the coming year. This first session included an introduction from Dr Hannah White OBE, IfG Director, and Government 2023: the challenges of the year ahead. In her introduction to the conference, Hannah set out the Institute’s priorities for 2023 and explained how the IfG is working to make government more effective. Plus opening remarks from Grant Thornton UK. Speakers included: Sam Freedman, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Ayesha Hazarika, Times Radio presenter and former Labour adviser Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Rt Hon Chloe Smith MP, Member of Parliament for Norwich North