Beyond the Chainsaw: Rethinking Efficiency in Government
Join UCL IIPP for this IIPP Forum 2025 session, taking place on Friday 20th June at 10:00 - 11:30 BST.
Beyond the Chainsaw: Rethinking Efficiency in Government
20 Jun 2025, 10:00 – 11:30
About the session
Efficiency has become the rallying cry for bad faith and good faith efforts to rethinking public service in an age of AI and automation. DOGE in the USA has leveraging efficiency as the argument for public sector austerity and techno-solutionism. In turn, DOGE has become emblematic of a larger theory of efficiency. But as countries look to experiment with new visions of efficiency, particularly under automation, they can benefit from understanding the alternatives. This panel will introduce new thinking to reframe efficiency in the future of government work and public sector reform.
What theory of efficiency is being used? Who benefits from what kind of efficiencies? What are the key approaches and frameworks to align efficiency, automation, and public value creation? Is AI really a good excuse for public sector reduction and cuts? How can new thinking on public service and public value reframe the role of efficiency?
Moderator:
- Josh Entsminger, PhD student in innovation and public policy at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP).
Meet the panel:
- Yamini Aiyar, Former Chief Executive Officer at the Centre for Policy Research
- Rohit Chopra, Former Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Former FTC Commissioner.
- Elizabeth Linos, Emma Bloomberg Associate Professor of Public Policy and Management
- Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value, University College London and Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
- Damon Silvers, Visiting Professor of Practice in Labour Markets and Innovation at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
Key information
- When: Friday 20th June at 10:00 - 11:30 BST.
- Where: Beveridge Hall, Senate House, University of, Malet St, London WC1E 7HU
IIPP’s Forum 2025 - Rethinking the State
The Rethinking the State Forum is UCL IIPP’s flagship annual event, convening global thinkers, policymakers, students, and practitioners to examine how states can build the capacity to drive inclusive, green, and digital transformations. Taking place from 18–20 June 2025, the Forum offers a space for critical reflection and exchange on the evolving role of the state in tackling today’s complex challenges. Through public panels, interactive workshops, and cross-sector dialogues, the event explores themes such as decolonising public administration, rebuilding public institutions, and reconfiguring governance for the common good.
Yamini Aiyar was the President and Chief Executive of the Centre for Policy Research. In 2008, she founded the Accountability Initiative at CPR, which is credited with pioneering one of India’s largest expenditure tracking surveys for elementary education.
Yamini’s work sits at the intersection of research and policy practice. Her research interests span the fields of public finance, social policy, state capacity, federalism, governance and the study of contemporary politics in India.
Rohit Chopra was nominated by President Biden in 2021 to serve as the 3rd Director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In 2017, he was nominated by President Trump to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission. Over the years, he has led a series of efforts to hold Big Tech and Wall Street conglomerates more accountable. He holds a BA from Harvard and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
PhD student in innovation and public policy
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)Josh is a PhD student in innovation and public policy, supervised by Professor Mariana Mazzucato and Professor Rainer Kattel. In addition to doctoral work, he currently serves as a fellow at the Center for Policy and Competitiveness at Ecole Des Ponts Business School, and fellow at IE School of Global and Public Affairs’ Public Tech Lab. He was a research contributor on two World Economic Forum reports delivered at Davos in 2018 and 2020.
Emma Bloomberg Associate Professor of Public Policy and Management
Harvard Kennedy SchoolDr. Elizabeth Linos is the Emma Bloomberg Associate Professor for Public Policy and Management, and Faculty Director of The People Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The majority of her research focuses on how to improve government by focusing on its people and the services they deliver.
Founding Director and Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (UCL IIPP)Mariana Mazzucato is Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London, where she is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose (IIPP). Her previous posts include the RM Phillips Professorial Chair at the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University. She is a member of the UK Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) and the Italian Academy of Sciences Lincei.
Visiting Professor of Practice in Labour Markets and Innovation
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)Damon A. Silvers a Visiting Professor in Labour Markets and Innovation at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP). He is on sabbatical from the AFL-CIO where is has served as the Director of Policy and Special Counsel for the AFL-CIO. He joined the AFL-CIO as Associate General Counsel in 1997.
Further information
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