Team

Professor Graeme Reid, UCL and Chair of the Advisory Board

Professor Graeme Reid is Chair of Science and Research Policy at UCL. He is a member of the Council of Research England. He worked in the Business Department, the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury and before moving to UCL.

Graeme has advised both Government and the House of Lords on the implications of Brexit for research and innovation. He led research and innovation policy reviews for the Scottish Funding Council and the Welsh Government.

He is Chair of the National Physical Laboratory and strategic advisor to the National Centre for Universities and Business. Graeme is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and a Chartered Engineer.

Sarah Foxen, POST

Dr Sarah Foxen is Knowledge Exchange Lead in the UK Parliament. She heads up Parliament’s Knowledge Exchange Unit; the team which enables and supports knowledge exchange between Parliament and the research community. Sarah is formally seconded to this role from UCL’s department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP), through an ESRC-funded project. Sarah and the Unit work with colleagues across Parliament, and universities across the UK, to increase and diversify the research that is available to and used by Parliament. As part of this, Sarah leads the UK Parliament’s engagement and input into national level frameworks to assess universities’ and researchers’ engagement with, and impact on, policy, such as the Research Excellence Framework and Knowledge Exchange Framework.

Katrina Hann, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Katrina is Head of Research at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). The GMCA Research Team works on behalf of the GMCA, the Mayor and the GM Local Enterprise Partnership to support Greater Manchester’s economy to grow. Her work addresses topics such as: economic development, productivity, innovation, skills and employment and translates these research findings into actionable policy recommendations to support decision making across the city region. Prior to this, Katrina has worked at Deloitte and Experian as a consultant working with Central Government, Local Authorities and sub-regional organisations across the country.

Nick Starkey, Royal Academy of Engineering

Nick is Director of Policy at the Royal Academy of Engineering. He leads the Academy’s policy work spanning all areas of engineering from data and computing through to construction and infrastructure. He also directs the Academy’s leadership of the National Engineering Policy Centre which brings together organisations across the engineering sector to provide practical advice on policy issues of national importance and connects policy makers with critical engineering expertise.

He has previously worked for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Cabinet Office, Defra, the National Farmers’ Union, and the British Red Cross.

Dr Sophie Boldon, Government Office for Science

Sophie is the Deputy Director for Science & Innovation, Systems & Capability in the Government Office for Science. She leads GO Science’s work to shape the Government’s aspirations for the use of science, deliver key commitments of the Science and Technology Framework, improve the operation of Government’s science networks and links to academia, oversee the Government Science and Engineering Profession, and ensure Departments make the best use of the science investments and assets. 

She previously worked for the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Chris Pook, Nuclear AMRC

Chris Pook is currently Government Director at Nuclear AMRC. He was previously Deputy Director in the Government Office for Science, responsible for strengthening science capability and science systems across government. Prior to this he held a number of positions in government working for BEIS, DCMS, DIT and FCO or their predecessors where he held a number of posts working on industrial strategy, climate, energy, science and innovation. He has led work to develop the UK digital communications infrastructure, support offshore wind, nuclear and energy intensive industrial sectors, develop the green economy and strengthen the UK science and innovation system. Chris was Science and Innovation Counsellor in Washington DC from 2001-2004 and in Tokyo from 2005-2011. He was SE Asia Regional Director based in Singapore from 2015-2019.

Molly Morgan Jones, British Academy

Dr Molly Morgan Jones is the Director of Policy at The British Academy. Molly oversees all the Academy’s policy work and activities, on topics ranging from the future of the corporation, understanding cohesive societies, reframing childhood, and informing and enriching dialogue about the value of humanities and social sciences for societal productivity and prosperity.

Prior to joining the Academy, Molly worked at RAND Europe, an independent policy research institute, where she specialised in research and innovation policy and the evaluation of research impact. Molly has also worked for the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Julie Tam, Universities UK

Julie is Deputy Director of Policy at Universities UK. She leads on UUK’s funding and sustainability programme of work, covering policy positions including teaching, research, and innovation funding, and the undergraduate and postgraduate system of loans. This programme also includes improving the visibility and transparency of financial management in universities, and examining the financial health of the sector.

Julie joined UUK as Head of Analysis in 2012. Prior to joining Universities UK she was Deputy Head of Policy at the Russell Group. She has worked as an economic adviser in the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, an Economist at HM Treasury, and as a Senior Consultant at SQW.

External advisors to the Project Delivery Group

Sally Burlington, Local Government Association

Sally leads the LGA’s work on social policy issues including children and adult social care, bringing a deep understanding of the national perspective and the evidence about policy and practice and “what works” to improve outcomes in local communities.

Originally joining HM Treasury as an economist, she worked on a range of microeconomic and policy issues before joining the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Social Exclusion Unit. She led the secretariat for Sir Michael Lyons’ Inquiry examining local government and how it is funded. She worked at the Department of Children, Schools and Families working on children in care and early intervention policy.

Catherine Haddon, Institute for Government

Catherine is an expert commentator on changes of government, the constitution, the role of ministers, No.10 and the Cabinet Office, preparation for government by political parties, policy making, the history of government and civil service reform. She also leads the Institute’s professional development programme for ministers and opposition parties.

Before joining the Institute, Catherine was a lecturer on security and intelligence history; taught contemporary British history; and worked as a historian and researcher, contributing to various publications for the Cabinet War Rooms’ Churchill Museum and for media outlets.

Gemma Harper, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dr Gemma Harper is Director for Food Vulnerability and Deputy Race Champion in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Gemma is a social scientist by training and studied social psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. During her post-doctoral research, she contributed to a range of national and international research projects. After eight years in criminal justice research at the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, Gemma joined Defra in 2010. From 2010 to 2017, Gemma was Defra’s Chief Social Scientist and, during this time, a member of the British Academy Public Policy Committee, the Social Research Association Strategy Group and the Government Social Research Leadership Board.

Imran Khan, Wellcome Trust

Imran is Wellcome’s Head of Public Engagement, and works on the connections between science, society, and culture. He leads Wellcome’s efforts in involving the public in its mission of improving health through science and research. This includes supporting the public to trust, use, and inform health research, as well as working with scientists to connect with the rest of society. Imran is also a trustee of the UK’s innovation foundation, Nesta.

Henry Kippen, North of Tyne Combined Authority

Dr Henry Kippin is director at the North of Tyne Combined Authority, responsible for its work on inclusive growth, investment, skills and devolution. He was formerly an executive director at the West Midlands Combined Authority. Previous to this he was chief executive of Collaborate CIC and held roles in UK public policy and international development. He is a member of NESTA’s Government Innovation Board, and between 2013-18 was a fellow of the UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence.

Tom Sasse, Institute for Government

Tom Sasse is a senior researcher at the Institute for Government. He is currently working on how government needs to change to deliver net zero. His past projects include a series of reports on government outsourcing and the legacy of the collapse of Carillion; and work on how government uses evidence and expertise in forming policy. He also helps to deliver the Institute’s training programme for academics on how government works.

Previously Tom worked at the Open Data Institute where he advised governments and businesses on data policy; and at the think tank Reform where he worked on health and criminal justice.

James Wilsdon, University of Sheffield

James Wilsdon is Digital Science Professor of Research Policy at the University of Sheffield and Director of the Research on Research Institute (RoRI), a global consortium of research funders working to advance transformative & translational meta-research. He is also vice-chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA). An interdisciplinary social scientist, he works on the governance and management of research systems, and the relationship between evidence and decision-making. Over his career, in addition to posts at the universities of Sheffield, Sussex and Lancaster, he has worked in think tanks and as director of science policy for the Royal Society. Previously, he chaired the UK’s Campaign for Social Science, and led an independent review of the role of metrics in research, published in 2015 as The Metric Tide.