Institute for Public Policy Research

Institute for Public Policy Research
Headquarters	14 Buckingham Street, WC2N 6DF
Type	think tank
Interests	water
Sponsored by	Hewlett Foundation

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is a UK-registered charity and think tank with links to the Labour Party. It describes itself as "progressive" and engages with the public, with opinion formers, and policymakers and politicians of all parties and none.

The IPPR organised an extensive series of fringe events at the 2004 Labour Party conference, in association with the television station Channel 4.

History

According to the IPPR website, the organisation was "founded by Lord Hollick who developed the idea for an independent progressive think tank in 1986. With John Eatwell, Lord Hollick spent two years establishing the institute, which was publicly launched in 1988."

Tessa Blackstone was IPPR’s first chair and the late James Cornford its first director. One of IPPR’s first reports recommended congestion charging for London, and the organisation has had real and continuing impact on policy at a national and local level ever since.

In the early 1990s, IPPR published the highly influential report of the Commission on Social Justice, chaired by Sir Gordon Borrie and its then deputy director, Patricia Hewitt. The report laid out an ambitious agenda of social policy reform that had a lasting impact on public policy debates.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, IPPR led thinking on devolution, elected mayors, family-friendly working, asset-based welfare, and public service reform. IPPR North was established in 2004, with an office opening in Newcastle; a second office was opened in Manchester in 2012.

IPPR won the prestigious Prospect Think Tank of the Year award in 2001 and in 2007 became the first repeat winner. In the late 2000s, IPPR published the findings of the influential Commission on National Security for the 21st Century, chaired by Paddy Ashdown and George Robertson.

In 2009, IPPR won the Green Think Tank of the year award for our groundbreaking work on climate change; in 2014, it won the Social Policy Think Tank of the Year award in recognition of the wide influence achieved by its landmark report, The Condition of Britain; and in 2015, IPPR won the Energy and Climate Change Think Tank of the Year award.

Later that year, in the wake of Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum and the transfer of new powers to the Scottish parliament, came the launch of IPPR Scotland, a new dedicated think tank for Scotland, based in Edinburgh.

In autumn 2016, IPPR established the landmark Commission on Economic Justice to examine the challenges facing the economy. The two-year inquiry brought together leading figures from business, trade unions and civil society, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the City of London Corporation and the general secretary of the TUC. The commissioners’ first meeting was held in 10 Downing Street.

The Commission reported in autumn 2018 and achieved broad support and media coverage for its bold proposals to fundamentally reform the UK economy. The work of the Commission is being continued and broadened by the Centre for Economic Justice – launched in early 2019.

In 2019, the year of mass climate protests around the world, IPPR was named Environment and Science think tank of the year for its work exposing the extent of global environmental breakdown. In the spring IPPR launched the cross-party Environmental Justice Commission to respond the climate crisis and put forward a Green New Deal plan for the UK.

Personnel

IPPR Trustees

• Jess Search - Chair of Trustees
• Kenneth Barclay - Trustee
• Ulele Burnham - Trustee
• John Eatwell - Trustee
• Beth Farhat - Regional Secretary of the Northern TUC and IPPR Trustee
• Clive Hollick - Trustee
• Mariana Mazzucato - Trustee
• Boaz Moselle - Trustee
• Donald Peck - Trustee
• Naresh Ramchandani - Trustee
• Alison Suttie - Trustee

Leadership team

• Carys Roberts - Executive Director
• Phoebe Griffith - Deputy Director
• Russell Gunson - Director, IPPR Scotland
• Sarah Longlands - Director, IPPR North
• Kinga Simony - Director of Finance and Operations
• David Wastell - Head of News and Communications

Affiliations

In 2006, Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited MSD agreed to partner with the IPPR on a project examining what the NHS might look like after 2008.

The MSD website reports the 'background to the project is that, whereas in 2002 the government began the process of providing significant extra resources to the NHS, come 2008 the rate of growth of this spending is certain to fall. This project will therefore put forward proposals on how a sustainable health system which commands high levels of public support may be developed after 2008'.

MSD go on to add that 'MSD has previously worked closely with the IPPR on a number of projects. This has included supporting the development of a number of independent research projects, and joining several other corporate sponsors in supporting conferences and fringe events'. However they do not give more detailed information of their involvement or of what form it took.

External Links

• Institute for Public Policy Research Website Home Page

 

Employee on Wikispooks

Employee	Job	Appointed	End
Lewis Goodall	Researcher	July 2011	September 2012

 

Sponsor

Event	Description
Hewlett Foundation	Huge foundation setting the agenda by funding lots of deep state projects.

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