Future Policy Network

The Future Policy Network (FPN) takes innovative approaches to priority cross-cutting issues. It is comprised of 13 teams from across government who bring specialist areas of expertise, long-term thinking and innovation into policy-making. Projects are principally commissioned by No 10, the Cabinet Secretary and the Minister for the Cabinet Office. The Projects Commissioning Board, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, advises on the priorities. The Projects Team secretariats the Board and acts as a hub that brings together the different teams to provide a coordinated offer on priority cross-cutting projects. The FPN also proactively recommends priority ideas, and looks across government for opportunities to collaborate, join up policy thinking and use the latest tools and techniques.

The Projects Team

The Projects Team brings future and innovative thinking to policy-makers, driving progress on cross-cutting, future-facing policy issues. It acts as a hub at the centre of the Future Policy Network, and can bring together any combination of teams to collaborate on projects. The Projects Team led the development of the Loneliness Strategy which included commitments from nine departments, as well as input from the ONS, two What Works centres, Open Innovation Team, Government Office for Science, Policy Lab and the Behavioural Insights Team.

Team specialisms:

Connecting senior leaders and policy-makers.
Research, analysis and policy development on cross-cutting issues.
Coordinating collaborative projects across the Future Policy Network.
Secretariat for the Cabinet Secretary’s Projects Commissioning Board and his Advisory Group on horizon scanning.

Analysis and Insight

Analysis and Insight is the Cabinet Office’s central analytical hub providing research and analysis services across a range of policy areas, with a particular focus on civil service reform and effectiveness. One of its roles is keeping abreast of the latest developments in public administration from around the world, sharing new insights from other countries, and promoting the UK’s innovative approaches in policy-making and public service delivery to other countries. The team represents the UK in the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation’s group of National Contact Points, a network of innovation leads from over 30 countries.

Team specialisms:

Providing data and strategic analysis on civil service reform and capability, including international comparative analysis.
Developing and maintaining a network of contacts across the world on innovation.

The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT)

The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) develops and applies behavioural insights to improve public services and policy, and runs large scale trials to test which interventions work most effectively. For example, they ran trials to determine the best way to increase students’ exam pass rate, and found that the use of study supporters to help students stick to study plans increased pass rates by 27%.

Team specialisms:

Knowledge of the behavioural science literature.
Ability to apply this knowledge in the redesign of public services.
Running large scale randomised evaluations.

The Business Partnerships Team

The Business Partnerships Team convenes business and civil society to drive change on challenges like financial inclusion, mental health and progression in work. It is currently leading the Inclusive Economy Partnership between the Cabinet Office, DCMS and BEIS.

Team specialisms:

Relationship management – the team are experienced relationship managers with networks and influence across business and Whitehall.
The team brings together expertise from the private and social sector to develop innovative solutions to social challenges.

The Commercial Models Team

The Commercial Models Team assists departments and other public sector organisations to deliver better services at lower cost and devise and implement commercial models for collaborating across the public sector and with the private sector. It is working with MHCLG, HMT, and IPA to support the 90 Local Government Pension Schemes in England and Wales to pool their c. £200bn assets to improve efficiency and increase infrastructure investment.

Team specialisms:

The team is comprised of around 20 specialists offering an independent business perspective. Team members have a diverse range of skills and experience, including corporate finance, private equity and strategy consulting backgrounds, working in tandem with colleagues experienced in various parts of the public sector.

The DCMS Data Policy and Governance team

The DCMS Data Policy and Governance team works with teams across government to help improve access and use of data to improve services and policy design. Our work is largely policy based – taking long standing issues like data quality and data sharing and working collaboratively with departments to find new solutions, like the data sharing powers in the Digital Economy Act. We also support a portfolio of data enabled change projects sponsored by the Data Advisory Board to support new policy, savings and better ways of working.

Team specialisms:

Data policy and governance – including open data and data ethics.
Developing policy by blending a range of traditional and innovative methods – we have a small team of user researchers, content designers and delivery managers supporting our policy and governance team members.

The Future Sectors Team

The Future Sectors Team leads cross-government approaches to policy in new tech and innovation-led sectors, and clusters of disruption in established sectors. It is currently helping schools understand and adopt EdTech solutions to improve inclusion, assessment, teacher training, school admin and lifelong learning.

Team specialisms:

Emerging tech and innovation-led sectors.

The Government Inclusive Economy Unit

The Government Inclusive Economy Unit leverages private investment to address social challenges, often catalysed by government investment, harnessing the power of business for social impact, and improving the delivery of public services. It helped establish the Dormant Assets Commission and identified up to £1 - £2bn of additional dormant assets to contribute to social causes.

Team specialisms:

Co-designing policies and financing mechanisms.
Establishing and managing investment funds and outcome funds.
Establishing and ensuring high-quality outcomes from advisory boards, commissions and reviews.
Developing a high-quality evidence base to inform policy.

The Government Office for Science (GOS)

The Government Office for Science (GOS) advises the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet, to ensure that government policies and decisions are informed by the best scientific evidence and strategic long-term thinking.

Team specialisms:

The GOS Futures & Foresight team help government develop policies that are more resilient to future change. Their work includes: offering training, bespoke advice and resources to support others to do their own work, including the Futures Toolkit (a guide book for doing Futures work). They collaborate with the Cabinet Office through the Horizon Scanning Programme Team to coordinate Futures work across government and integrate Futures into decision-making.
Proactive and demand-led science advice on complex issues and emergencies, and a programme of more than 30 published Foresight analysis projects on topics that cut across government policy and have made significant contributions.
Ensuring the Government’s science advice mechanisms are efficient, effective, speak truth to power and are embedded irreversibly in government systems. These include the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, the Chief Scientific Advisers Network, Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, and the Government Science and Engineering profession.
Bringing together expertise from the private, public, and social sector to develop innovative solutions to social challenges.

The ONS

The ONS supports departments to develop and evaluate policy by providing independent statistics and data analysis, working in partnership with the ONS data science campus. For a recent project, it used social and business surveys to provide evidence for the review of adult social care. They analysed population and dependency ratio projections, changes in life expectancy, wealth distribution, and trends in businesses providing adult social care.

Team specialisms:

Statistical analysis using ONS datasets such as: Labour Force Survey, Wealth and Assets Survey, Business Register and Employers Survey & Census and linked administrative Datasets.
Policy areas include labour market, health and well-being, housing, progression and social policy.
Accessing expertise in developing visualisation tools and sourcing external administrative and big data.

The Open Innovation Team

The Open Innovation Team helps departments generate analysis and ideas by deepening collaboration with academics. For example, they are currently helping the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation collaborate with academics to understand the evidence and policy challenges around digital targeting and algorithmic bias.

Team specialisms:

Engagement: helping policy-makers connect and collaborate with leading academics through meetings, placements, policy conferences, workshops, university visits and networking events.
Analysis: helping policy-makers understand to challenges and experiment with new ideas (e.g. by collaborating with academics to deliver research projects).
Ideas: working with academics to help colleagues develop evidence-informed policy ideas.

Policy Lab

Policy Lab supports policy teams to trial new digital, data and design tools, working with departments on projects applying tools including ethnography, data visualisation, speculative design and prototyping. For a recent project, it used ethnography and data science to understand the experience of homeless people, working with them to co-design new ideas for services, including support workers who can link different services for the homeless.

Team specialisms:

Ethnographic research - including using film to understand and show people’s experience.
Combining with insights from data science.
Co-design and facilitation - creating space for multiple stakeholders to generate ideas collaboratively.
Prototyping - creating and testing mock-ups of new services, products and things.

What Works

What Works supports the use of high quality evidence in spending decisions. The team provides evaluation support and training to departments, and leads a network of government-backed research centres (What Works Centres) that generate and synthesise evidence for policy-makers and frontline practitioners.

Team specialisms:

Creating and supporting new research infrastructure that specialises in generating and mobilising evidence.
Advising on the existing evidence base in policy areas covered by the What Works Centres, including education, health, social care, local economic growth, and crime and justice.
Running the Cross-Government Trial Advice Panel – a free advisory service that connects civil servants to a network of trialling and evaluation experts.