Assistant Director

Professor Paul Jensen is an industrial economist who has applied his technical expertise to policy areas as diverse as climate change and health services. He specialises in the economics of innovation, science and technology policy, and has published in prestigious international journals. Paul participates regularly in policy debates and his research has given him great insight into the interface between public sector and private actors and systems.

Theme description

This theme addresses three key questions:

  • What are the emerging ideas, tools and frameworks that will shape the way in which public policy is designed and implemented in the 21st century?

  • How can 'evidence' be best utilised in order to support the construction of better public policy and better institutions?

  • How can innovation (methods and media) help bridge the gap between citizens and professional or technical experts?

Decision makers confront a number of policy problems that appear resistant to intervention, from climate change to inter-generational disadvantage. These seemingly intractable grand challenges pose enormous hurdles for researchers, policy makers, politicians and society at large. To address this challenge will require a discrete change in the way in which we manage the interface between research and policy, and a bold new vision for the way in which we can harness the power provided by 'big data'. In recent years, new inter-disciplinary research programs have started to emerge which may hold the key to shedding new light on these grand challenges. These initiatives involve new approaches, techniques, ways of thinking and data sources. Our vision for this research theme is that it will embrace these new approaches with a view to providing a more comprehensive and insightful set of tools for public policymakers in the 21st century. In summary, this research theme explores how interactions between policy makers, academics and citizens can create space for innovation and the development of practical solutions.

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