Some thoughts from @ojgarling.bsky.social and me on the pitfalls and possibilities of Andy Burnham's English devolution agenda, courtesy of @brightblueuk.bsky.social centrewrite.brightblue.org.uk/what-burnham...

What Burnham should do on devolution

There is clearly a risk this turns out to be a two-tier model which favours some of the existing top-tier authorities with stronger local economies.

centrewrite.brightblue.org.uk

Some thoughts from me on the challenges which the UK's unbalanced devolution model poses for Andy Burnham www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/burnham...

What will Burnham’s key challenge be for devolution? - Bennett School of Public Policy

The clearest of Andy Burnham’s proposed policies is introducing greater levels of devolution – the handing over of more power from Westminster to regional and local authorities. Michael Kenny, Head of...

bennettschool.cam.ac.uk

We're pleased to welcome Prof Oliver Hauser from the University of Exeter to our senior leadership team, joining @michaelkenny.bsky.social & @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social Oliver's expertise focuses on how emerging technologies can support growth, public value and accountability. shorturl.at/W0oQT

New appointments drive expansion of public policy teaching and research at the Cambridge Bennett School - Bennett School of Public Policy

Oliver Hauser joins the University of Cambridge’s Bennett School as Professor of Public Policy, as it expands academic capacity across new and existing public policy programmes, strengthening teaching...

bennettschool.cam.ac.uk

My latest @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk productivity blog indicates AI is finally emerging in the productivity statistics www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/uk-prod...

Is AI observable in the UK productivity statistics? - Bennett School of Public Policy

The effects of artificial intelligence (AI) are starting to be visible in the UK productivity statistics with the rise of data centres, Thomas Aubrey argues. To what extent this is sustainable remains...

bennettschool.cam.ac.uk

Perfect timing to listen to Prof Michael Kenny at Sorbonne Nouvelle CREW seminar @thibaudharrois.bsky.social, just before elections 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 & 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Parliaments, for councils & some mayors in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Two💡: 👉 British unionism a dwindling feature of British politics, whilst 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 nationalism growing in significance 🧵1/2

What does it take to shape markets for inclusive growth? Dr Henry Kippin, Chief Executive of the @North East Combined Authority (NECA), explores how devolution, investment, & local leadership can unlock change—from Grainger Market to AI growth zones. www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/shaping...

Join physicist & author Prof Cesar Hidalgo in conversation with @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social about his new book "The Infinite Alphabet" He'll walk you through the 'three laws' that predict how knowledge grows, moves, & decays. 📅9 March 2026 🕕18:00–19:30 📍Waterstones, Cambridge 🎟️https://bit.ly/406XT1X

Last week @michaelkenny.bsky.social attended a royal audience with King Felipe VI in Madrid aimed at fostering collaboration with heads of some of the World’s leading public policy schools. He also met Prime Minster Pedro Sánchez, to discuss some of Spain’s pressing policy challenges. bit.ly/3MBiUP8

Q. What makes climate policy stick? A. Institutions A new literature review by @terzibus.bsky.social et al. explores a fundamental question in climate policy: What role do institutions play in making climate policies effective and durable? Read paper: www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/publications...

The Bennett School’s new MPhil in Digital Policy prepares early-career professionals to lead on AI & digital governance. The programme includes interdisciplinary study across economics, law, computer science & politics. Apply now to start in Oct 2026: www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/study/mphil-...

Wrapping up for Christmas with a piece looking back at how the UK government has approached devolved relations since Labour took office, and looking ahead to 2026 and the upcoming elections in Scotland and Wales. www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/uk-inte...

UK intergovernmental relations under Labour: a fragile reset, with potential challenges ahead - Bennett School of Public Policy

As the prospect of nationalist First Ministers across the UK’s devolved governments grows stronger, Alex Walker examines whether Labour’s promised ‘reset’ of intergovernmental relations can withstand ...

bennettschool.cam.ac.uk

My reflections on @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social and @michaelkenny.bsky.social 's recent article in Nature about getting science back into policy-making occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald...

We're looking for a Professor of Public Policy to join our senior leadership team. They'll play a leading role in teaching on the School's postgraduate courses, & make a significant contribution to its research & research leadership. Apply by 9 February 2026: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/profess...

This looks a v good conference on geopolitical risk and lessons from the past at the @churchillcol.bsky.social Archives Centre archives.chu.cam.ac.uk/geopolitical...

Geopolitical Risk event - Churchill Archives Centre

A three-day residential conference from Churchill Archives Centre March 9-11, 2026: Cambridge, UK This conference is for leaders and aspiring leaders. It brings them together with historians, practiti...

archives.chu.cam.ac.uk

On the increasingly troubled relationship between science, evidence and policy; some thoughts, and proposals, from @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social and me.

Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge@bennettschool.cam.ac.uk · 10mo ago

It's time to get science back into policymaking Misunderstanding & hubris have broken public trust in governments’ use of science, but it can be restored. @michaelkenny.bsky.social & @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social discuss 'how' in their comment for @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Important piece on the challenges facing evidence-informed policy and how researchers and universities should respond (including acknowledging uncertainties and trade-offs, a wider understanding of what counts as evidence, and stronger connections between unis and local communities)

Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge@bennettschool.cam.ac.uk · 10mo ago

It's time to get science back into policymaking Misunderstanding & hubris have broken public trust in governments’ use of science, but it can be restored. @michaelkenny.bsky.social & @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social discuss 'how' in their comment for @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Come and work with us at the @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk ! Brand-new 2 year researcher position - details here www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...

Are you an early career professional looking to progress your career in digital policy? Our MPhil in Digital Policy is a multidisciplinary, practice-oriented, evidence-based course that focuses on the knowledge & skills needed to engage with policy issues relating to digital tech & AI bit.ly/44LGTkl

Really excited to be recruiting to this role at @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk. We're looking for someone to help broaden our connections between the school and the worlds of academia and policymaking. Sound interesting? Details below. www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/about-us/vac...

“I worry that sometimes the world of statistics can become a proxy battleground. Statistical debates about what to measure can be used as a way to transpose a philosophical or political argument about what we actually value in more cloaked and technocratic way.” Yup pbe.co.uk/insights/bey...

Beyond ‘beyond GDP’ | PBE

By Hetan Shah I was involved in some of the calls for improved measurement of wellbeing in the early 2000s. Two decades on, sometimes the debate feels like it has not moved on sufficiently from those ...

pbe.co.uk

Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · last yr.

‘Let us not risk getting trapped in the last war.’ My piece for @pbe.co.uk on why the wellbeing v GDP framing has run out of road pbe.co.uk/insights/bey...

Really support this. We’ve been banging on about the importance of this community social infrastructure for a while including this recent report with @bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk on how it can be measured www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/value-o...

Value of social and cultural infrastructure ‘risks being neglected in decision-making' without new measurement framework, British Academy report argues

A new report commissioned by the British Academy emphasises the urgent need for policymakers to recognise social and cultural spaces – such as libraries, leisure centres, galleries, and community hubs...

thebritishacademy.ac.uk

Eliot Higgins@eliothiggins.bsky.social · last yr.

One thing to consider here is how community spaces where community leaders could have influence on discourse have been closed down over the last several decades. That's created vulnerabilities in information ecosystems. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...

📸 A productive & inspiring team away day! Team Bennett is hard at work planning for the exciting opening of @bennettschool.bsky.social this October 2025 - under the leadership of @michaelkenny.bsky.social & @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social #Research #Teaching #Engagement #Impact

How can democracies think long-term? The Heywood Fellowship team says the UK is being outpaced – and is building a plan for action: 🧬 Diagnosis 🎯 Objectives 🧭 Big bets 🔀 Trade-offs Learn more about their call for a long-term national strategy + Spain’s example ➡️

Heywood Fellowship

The Heywood Fellowship is a visiting fellowship created in memory of Jeremy Heywood, Cabinet Secretary from 2012 to 2018. The purpose is to give a UK Civil Service Permanent Secretary the opportunity…

bsg.ox.ac.uk

New piece from me and @ojgarling.bsky.social on what kinds of thinking and policy on infrastructure now needed to achieve more equitable growth acss.org.uk/the-role-of-... @acadsocsciences.bsky.social

The role of infrastructure in good growth – Academy of Social Sciences

acss.org.uk

Starmer is meeting with the devolved heads of government and English regional mayors today for the second instalment of the Council of Nations & Regions Good time to read our report with @policywise.bsky.social to find out what it is & why it matters! www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/publications...

A more collaborative way of governing? Why the UK's Council of the Nations and Regions matters - Bennett Institute for Public Policy

The Council of the Nations and Regions represents an opportunity to foster better relations between the key players in the territorial government of the UK – the UK’s central government, its devolved ...

bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk

Can tomorrow's Council of Nations & Regions meeting navigate the big and small 'P' politics of national and local #devolution? Watch our webinar with @michaelkenny.bsky.social @alwalker.bsky.social & Dewi Knight www.youtube.com/watch?v=tru3... Read our report www.policywise.org.uk/about/inter-...

Watch the Webinar: "A More Collaborative Form of Governance?

YouTube video by PolicyWISE

youtube.com

Shrewd overview of the politics surrounding the second Council of Nations and Regions summit happening this Friday - with reference to our brand-new report on this under-the-radar constitutional innovation (with @policywise.bsky.social) www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The UK risks falling apart. Keir Starmer can mend it now – but he doesn’t have much time | Martin Kettle

The PM has little choice. Unless he brings the fractured nations together, none can move forward, and neither can he, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle

theguardian.com

Drawing on in-depth research, @alwalker.bsky.social & @michaelkenny.bsky.social set out why the Council of the Nations and Regions matters for devolution in times of political fragmentation. In a new blog, they discuss what’s needed to make it work. www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/why-the...

Our new report is out! @michaelkenny.bsky.social, Dewi Knight and I look at the Council of the Nations and Regions. This initiative has so far flown pretty under the radar, but we argue it has the scope to be significant. Some key points below. www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/publications...