Jonathan Breckon has been Director of the Alliance for Useful Evidence since it was created at Nesta in 2012. Formerly Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the Arts and Humanities Research Council, he has had policy roles at the Royal Geographical Society, the British Academy, and Universities UK. He is a member of the Cabinet Office What Works Council and a Director of the Department for Education’s What Works for Children’s Social Care.
His research and professional interests cover politics and psychology, particularly the ever-awkward relationship between evidence and policy-making. He is a Visiting Professor at Strathclyde University and a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London’s Policy Institute. When not at work, or being ordered around by two young children, he wastes time protecting his family’s veg garden from slugs, or finding excuses to go sailing in the Solent.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the use and communication of evidence. We are still in the midst of a terrifying upward curve of Covid-19 cases in the UK. History may show that countries such as the...
Part of the backwash of Brexit is that the once-United Kingdom might split up. The Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, riding high on recent electoral success, is calling for a referendum on leaving the United Kingdom,...
Around the world, a small but growing movement of experimenters are bringing fresh ideas to how we solve social and public problems. From crafting better services, to making the back-office of organisations more efficient, new methods...
We have now come to the end of our seven years of core funding. So, what next? Firstly, before offering some ideas, it is good to pause and thank the Economic and Social Research Council, the...
Following the signing of the 2017 Evidence Declaration, this report examines the role of the royal colleges, faculties and other professional bodies in mobilising evidence.
As Brexit sucks all the oxygen out of British government, it’s easy to miss an important success story. The UK has set up ten What Works Centres (WWCs) to orchestrate the best evidence for frontline professionals...
People are hacked off with politicians. Whether it’s hurling abuse at MPs outside the House of Commons, or the burning barricades of Gilets Jaunes in Toulouse, discontent is in the air. The evidence movement must respond...
A growing wariness between what is fact and what is fiction in recent years has been highlighted by increased political polarisation, a fractured media and the accelerated pace of technological change. The Evidence Initiative, the recently launched...
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