Meet the team

As the first Director of PolicyWISE, I worked with colleagues to set-up and establish PolicyWISE’s unique mission and operation. I lead the team and our work across the UK and Ireland.

My background is education policy and strategy, having worked in government, universities, and international relations.

Prior to leading PolicyWISE, I was the Welsh Government’s specialist adviser for education reform where I authored the national education strategy and brand 'Our National Mission'. This was recognised by the OECD as a leading international example of successful system change.

I worked on UK–China education policy relations for the British Council and was Director of Policy and member of the Executive Board at the University of Bedfordshire. I am a board member at Seren Books and a Leadership Mentor for UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellows Network.

My research interests include inter-governmental relations, curriculum reform, higher education policy and funding, comparative policy analysis and education history.

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As the Senior External Affairs and Communications Manager, I am responsible for building and maintaining our relationships with governments, partners, and wider society. As well as managing our communications functions, I lead on the development and delivery of strategic plans for external affairs for PolicyWISE, aligning these activities with the work of The Open University and our partners.

I have previously led research and communications projects in the housing and equalities sector, working across justice, health, and human rights in UK-wide and devolved nations. I am enjoying being part of the PolicyWISE team, meeting committed and inspiring people from across the nations, as well as seeking opportunities for research and evidence to help solve policy challenges across the UK and Ireland.

I have an MA (Econ) in Social Policy and Social Development from the University of Manchester

As the Communications Assistant, I am responsible for creating digital content and maintaining PolicyWISE social media platforms and supporting the team with any design work from reports and Wise in 5 briefing to email graphics and presentation slides.

Lottie is a South West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership (SWW DTP) student undertaking a four-month placement at PolicyWISE.  Lottie will be helping deliver policy reports and research as well as supporting the team at events and training initiatives. 

Lottie has just finished the first year of my PhD at the University of Bristol (alongside the University of Exeter as a secondary institution).  Her thesis investigates how the Conservative party shaped its popular appeal during the period of expanding democratic participation between the Second Reform Acts of 1867 and 1868 and the onset of the First World War. It will do so by examining both national-level strategies and local political dynamics in Newcastle, Glasgow, and Swansea. Central to the study is the party’s use of masculine rhetoric to incorporate newly enfranchised working-class men – the “Conservative working man” – into its vision of British nationhood. Lottie looks forward to exploring the parallels between this research and today’s political landscape, especially when it comes to the importance of moving beyond an Anglocentric approach to British history. 

Before embarking on her doctoral studies, Lottie worked in the corporate world for several years including for a communications agency delivering campaigns across housing, market research, and legal sectors, and for an academic publisher where she supported the publication of political and social science, medical, and education journals among others.