Delivering purpose-driven government in the UK
Join UCL IIPP in conversation with Mariana Mazzucato, Nick Kimber, Susan Acland-Hood, Chris Stark and Catherine Day.
Delivering purpose-driven government in the UK
18 Sep 2024, 17:30 – 19:00
About this talk:
The UK’s new government has set and adopted five missions. This policy shift presents both an unprecedented opportunity and a significant challenge: how to translate the promise and practice of mission-oriented government into effective action across the civil service, local authorities, and the broader public sector.
At this event, the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) shared insights gathered from its work with governments globally – from the European Commission and US Government to national and local governments in the UK. Drawing on global insights and our hands-on experience in our local Borough of Camden, IIPP and its guests examined the policy tools, public institutions, and dynamic capabilities needed to ground Labour's mission-led vision in the day-to-day practice of government.
This timely event brought together policymakers, practitioners, and thought leaders to explore the practical realities of implementing missions in the UK. From setting up inter-departmental mission boards to redesigning procurement processes and establishing community wealth funds, this session investigated how to operationalise missions in the civil service. It offered crucial insights into moving beyond traditional siloed policymaking towards a more dynamic, purposeful model of governance capable of delivering transformative change in line with the government’s mandate.
It foregrounded three pivotal reports that offer crucial insights into mission-oriented approaches: "Mission-Oriented Industrial Strategy: Global Insights," "Mission-Led Procurement and Market Shaping: Lessons from Camden," and "A Mission-Oriented Community Wealth Fund for Camden."
Meet the panel:
- Mariana Mazzucato | Founding Director and Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
- Nick Kimber | Director of Strategy, Design and Insight at London Borough of Camden, Policy Associate at the Future Governance Forum (FGF) and Policy Fellow in the IIPP Policy Studio at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
- Susan Acland-Hood | Permanent Secretary for the UK Department for Education
- Chris Stark | Head of Mission Control for Clean Energy for the UK Department for Energy and Net Zero
- Chair: Catherine Day | Deputy Director for the Cabinet Office
Founding Director and Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
[[{"fid":"15300","view_mode":"small","fields":{"format":"small","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Mariana Mazzucato","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"small","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Mariana Mazzucato","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"320","width":"320","class":"media-element file-small media-wysiwyg-align-left"}}]]Mariana Mazzucato (PhD) is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL), where she is founding director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. She has won international prizes including the Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in 2021, Italy's highest civilian honour, the 2020 John von Neumann Award, the 2019 All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, and the 2018 Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. Most recently, Pope Francis appointed her to the Pontifical Academy for Life for bringing ‘more humanity’ to the world.
Professor Mazzucato is the author of four highly-acclaimed books: The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths (2013), The Value of Everything: making and taking in the global economy (2018), Mission Economy: a moonshot guide to changing capitalism (2021) and The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies (2023).
She advises policymakers around the world on innovation-led, inclusive and sustainable growth. Her current roles include being Chair of the World Health Organization's Council on the Economics of Health for All, Co-Chair of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, Co-Chair on the Council on Urban Initiatives, and a member of the South African President’s Economic Advisory Council.
Director of Strategy, Design and Insight at London Borough of Camden, Policy Associate at the Future Governance Forum (FGF) and Policy Fellow in the IIPP Policy Studio at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
[[{"fid":"12633","view_mode":"small","fields":{"format":"small","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"nick_kimber_350x350.jpg","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"small","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"nick_kimber_350x350.jpg","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"350","width":"350","class":"media-element file-small media-wysiwyg-align-left"}}]]Nick is Director of Strategy and Design at the London Borough of Camden. He leads on corporate strategy and is responsible for service and policy design, taking a leading role in introducing new digital and design capability into the Council and local government more generally.
Between September 2022 and December 2021, he was the senior Council officer responsible for the Camden’s Renewal Commission, chaired by Cllr Georgia Gould and Mariana Mazzucato, which developed four community-led renewal missions which are now embedded within the Council’s strategic plan.
Nick’s interests as a policy fellow are in the operationalisation of missions in a place-based context, with a particular focus on measurement and capabilities required for implementation.
[[{"fid":"15787","view_mode":"small","fields":{"format":"small","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Susan Acland-Hood","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"small","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Susan Acland-Hood","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"310","width":"465","class":"media-element file-small media-wysiwyg-align-left"}}]]Susan Acland-Hood has been the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education (DfE) since September 2020. Susan’s previous roles in government include Chief Executive at HM Courts and Tribunals Service from 2016 to 2020, Director of Enterprise and Growth at HM Treasury from 2015 to 2016, Director of Education and Funding at the Department for Education from 2013 to 2015, Policy Advisor on home affairs and justice, and then education policy at Number 10, and Head of Strategy at the Home Office. She has also held senior roles in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and in the Social Exclusion Unit. Her civil service career began in 1999 at the Department for Education and Employment.
Head of ‘Mission Control’ for Clean Power 2030
UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
[[{"fid":"15788","view_mode":"small","fields":{"format":"small","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Chris Stark","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"small","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Chris Stark","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"852","width":"999","class":"media-element file-small media-wysiwyg-align-left"}}]]Chris Stark was chief executive of the Climate Change Committee from April 2018 for 6 years. Under his leadership the committee recommended a UK net zero target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – a target that is now in law. He was Director of Energy and Climate Change in the Scottish Government from May 2016 to April 2018.
He has served as chief executive of the Carbon Trust, and is currently Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and on the board of climate charity Murmer.
[[{"fid":"15797","view_mode":"small","fields":{"format":"small","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Catherine Day","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"small","alignment":"left","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Catherine Day","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][title]":"","field_caption_heading[und][0][url]":"","field_caption[und][0][value]":"","field_float_left_right[und]":"none","field_file_image_decorative[und]":"0"}},"attributes":{"height":"640","width":"956","class":"media-element file-small media-wysiwyg-align-left"}}]]Catherine Day is Deputy Director, UK Cabinet Office, building off a distinguished career in the civil service. She leads on transforming how governments approach opportunities and challenges to drive impact, now through economic and domestic strategy and the Joint Data and Analysis Centre. Catherine has worked on some of the UK’s biggest security challenges, including providing leadership on the UK Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, instigating a programme to improve national security culture, serving as Senior Policy Advisor on global conflict, and working on the frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development. She has worked in the House of Lords and House of Commons and has held an attachment as Member of the Royal College of Defence Studies. Catherine is also a Visiting Fellow at Kings College London.
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