News and views from the Blavatnik School of Government community 
When I first suggested the topic of this blog to a friend, he said it was an oxymoron. Design and government? Thinking and government? If design thinking is all about putting people first, many do not believe that policies really put people first. The design thinking process involves many steps […]
Elections and referenda are just two ways for people to have a say in how they are governed. Protesting is another, which is why rights of assembly and free speech are protected in most democracies. And in many democracies nowadays, those rights are being used to the fullest. Climate activists […]
With the European Union’s latest extension of the United Kingdom’s membership in the bloc, onlookers around the world are right to wonder why the Brexit process has proved so intractable. The short answer is that the UK’s government and parliament are trying to achieve three incompatible goals: preserving the country’s […]
First up, I can’t do what Marie Kondo does. Discard. In her new Netflix series, people who have accumulated clothes over time are seen decorously breaking down and seeking the help of Marie to check whether their shopping sparks joy. If not, the alternative is one: discard. Discarding is so […]
Last year around this time, I was struggling with one of the major decisions of my life – selecting the graduate school for pursuing my higher education. I am sure a lot of you who have received admissions offers from multiple institutions will be going through the same right now. […]
Whether by historical standards, or compared with other parts of the public sector, the financial settlement awarded to English local government in 2010 was undoubtedly tough. As the Coalition Government sought to manage a perilous fiscal situation through a combination of modest tax rises and far more significant spending cuts, grants to […]
Back in October and fresh out of university myself, I joined the Blavatnik School of Government’s admissions team as an admissions assistant. I wasn’t quite prepared for what a whirlwind the next few months would bring, but I’ve enjoyed every bit of what we do. First, let me explain what […]
Donald Trump’s pledge to withdraw US ground troops from Syria and Afghanistan has become one of the most controversial foreign policy decisions of his presidency. The political backlash following Trump’s abrupt announcement to immediately remove all 2,000 troops from Syria last December has caused a series of partial reversals, with […]