Decolonising Public Administration: Rethinking Public Governance and Policy
Join UCL IIPP for a panel discussion, taking place on Wednesday 18th June at 18:00 - 19:45 BST.
Decolonising Public Administration: Rethinking Public Governance and Policy
18 Jun 2025, 18:00 – 19:45
About the session
This panel explores what decolonising praxis means for public administration, systems, and governance, concerning how it is (1) understood and taught, (2) practised and researched, and (3) created and experienced, both within and outside the classroom. We will hear from a dazzling panel of speakers currently exploring this nexus throughout their teaching, research, and practice initiatives.
The panel discussion will also highlight emergent insights and reflections from the recent UCL IIPP and STEaPP Policy Hackathon, Decolonising Public Administration—Rethinking Public Governance & Policy, a collaborative two-day workshop held in June that brought together interdisciplinary teams of students, public officials, researchers, scientists, artists, designers, residents and others to codevelop new policy case studies on what decolonising public administration looks like in practice.
Meet the panel
- Carolina Alves, Associate Professor in Economics at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
- Dr Leo Anthony Celi, Clinical Research Director and Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Laboratory of Computational Physiology (LCP)
- Rowan Conway, Visiting Professor of Practice at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) and Deputy Director of the Just Transition Finance Lab at LSE’s Grantham Research Institute
- Nai Lee Kalema, PhD candidate at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
- Rainer Kattel, Deputy Director and Professor of Innovation and Public Governance at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
- Rev. Dr Keith Magee, Senior Fellow in Culture and Justice at UCL and Chair and Professor of Practice in Social Justice at Newcastle University School of History, Classics and Archaeology
- Professor Julius Mugwagwa, Associate Professor in Innovation & Development at the UCL Department of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP). He also leads on the GGI Global Health cluster.
Key information
- When: Wednesday 18th June at 18:00 - 19:30 BST.
- Where: Seminar Room, IIPP, 11 Montague St, London, WC1B 5BP
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.
Associate Professor in Economics
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)Dr Carolina Alves is an economist by training whose influences are rooted in intellectual traditions such as Classical Political Economy, Latin American Structuralism and Dependency Theory, Marxian and Kaleckian macroeconomics, and the new Cambridge Tradition, particularly the contributions of Joan Robinson and Tony Lawson. These foundations firmly place her within the field of heterodox economics.
Leo Anthony Celi has practiced medicine in three continents, giving him broad perspectives in healthcare delivery. As clinical research director and principal research scientist at the MIT Laboratory of Computational Physiology (LCP), he brings together clinicians and data scientists to support research using data routinely collected in the intensive care unit (ICU). His group built and maintains the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC) database.
Policy Fellow and Visiting Professor of Strategic Design, leading the Transformation by Design module
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)Rowan is a Policy Fellow and Visiting Professor of Strategic Design, leading the Transformation by Design module of the MPA in Innovation, Public Policy and Public Value at UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP). Between 2019-2022 she worked with Professor Mariana Mazzucato to lead the Mission Oriented Innovation Network (MOIN) at IIPP, convening global policy-making institutions.
PhD candidate in Innovation and Public Policy
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (UCL IIPP)Nai's doctoral research looks at the global political economy of digital transformation, specifically examining how global digital and AI governance influences public-sector digital transformation and digital governments in the Global South. Specifically, Nai's empirical cases look at digital public infrastructure and digital-era government projects linked to digital identity in Kenya and Uganda. Nai's doctoral research is funded by Vinnova and UCL IIPP Policy Studio.
Deputy Director and Professor of Innovation and Public Governance
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)Rainer Kattel is Deputy Director and Professor of Innovation and Public Governance at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP). He has studied at the University of Tartu, Estonia, and the University of Marburg, Germany, in philosophy, political philosophy, classics and public administration.He led Ragnar Nurkse School of Innovation and Governance for 10 years, building it into one of the leading innovation and governance schools in the region.
Keith Magee is a Senior Fellow in Culture and Justice at UCL and Chair and Professor of Practice in Social Justice at Newcastle University School of History, Classics and Archaeology. A public intellectual, theologian, and social justice scholar, Magee is the Director of The Social Justice Institute, which aims to integrate public policy and public theology to impact the whole of public life.
Born and raised in Zimbabwe and educated in Zimbabwe and the UK, Julius Mugwagwa is currently Professor of Health Innovation and Public Policy at UCL STEaPP. He also currently serves as UCL’s Global Strategic Academic Advisor for Africa, Thematic Director, Global Health at UCL’s Global Governance Institute and is former Head of STEaPP’s Master’s in Public Administration Programme.
Further information
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