Profile
My work is focused on evidence-informed policy making and in particular practices and leadership of successful research-policy engagement
I have a longstanding interest generating and mobilising research evidence in ways that can help inform and improve policy decisions.
In the 1990s I led a consortium of 40 local authorities which brought together researchers and local government leaders to co-produce and apply evidence on economic regeneration and democratic leadership.
In 2000 I founded the Centre for Local and Regional Government Research at Cardiff University which worked closely with the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments and local authorities and audit bodies to evaluate and strengthen initiatives to improve local government performance and accountability.
In 2013 I was asked by the First Minister of Wales to establish the Wales Centre for Public Policy to support the Welsh Government and public service leaders to access and apply authoritative independent evidence and expertise on the key economic, environmental and societal challenges facing Wales. We developed a pioneering model of demand-led evidence mobilisation and have conducted more than 200 studies in the last decade, working closely with academic experts, ministers and officials.
I was a member of the What Works Council for ten years and have served in a range of other advisory roles including Chair of the UK Government's Expert Panel on Local Governance, Director of the Improvement and Development Agency, and a member of the Boards of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence, UK and Ireland Campbell Collaboration, What Works Scotland and the International Public Policy Observatory.