Institute for Government

The Institute for Government is the UK’s leading independent think tank working to make government more effective.

Through in-depth analysis, expert commentary and influential public events, we explore how government works – and how it can work better.

Our team conducts rigorous evidence-based research and data analysis, brings together key decision makers to share insight and expertise, and sets out fresh ideas and constructive recommendations to help senior politicians and public servants improve the way government works.

Our IfG Academy programme provides opportunities for ministers, shadow ministers and senior civil servants to understand their roles, and develop skills to better equip them for life in government.

We also work with academic researchers, charities, businesses and international audiences to help them understand how government and policy making works.

The Institute was awarded the Political Studies Association’s Political Communicator of the Year for 2021-22. In 2019, it was Think Tank of the Year at Prospect’s 2019 Think Tank Awards; and in 2018, it was the winner of the best UK economic think tank award at Prospect’s 2018 Think Tank Awards.

The Institute was founded in 2008 and is led by Dr Hannah White OBE.


Latest reports

How the centre of government can design better growth policy

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government Labour sets out how the government can be better equipped to take tough choices on growth. The government needs to sharpen up its strategy for raising the rate of growth, led by a stronger more economically capable No.10. This report, in partnership with Imperial College...

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Learning from the DevoLab : How devolution can improve transport connectivity

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how devolved powers and mayoral influence have been used to improve transport connectivity. Improving transport connectivity is one of the central policy objectives of mayors across England. Mayoral strategic authorities hold a range of responsibilities for transport including producing local transport plans, regulating...

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Trial and error?: The impact of restricting jury trials on court demand

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government examines the impact of restricting jury trials on court demand. The government’s reforms – particularly judge-only trials – will unlock only relatively modest reductions in demand given the scale of institutional upheaval. It should focus instead on reversing productivity declines. The Ministry of Justice estimates...

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Whitehall Monitor 2026

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government assesses the government's progress and judges whether it is heading in the right direction. Labour came into power in 2024 with big ambitions for state reform. Mission-driven government would break open Whitehall, transforming the civil service into a collaborative, innovative, dynamic workforce, operating in partnership...

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How can the government ensure inquiries are set up to succeed?

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government explores how inquiries are established and managed and how these processes can be improved. Public inquiries have become a central feature of the UK’s response to crises, with a record 27 public inquiries currently underway. In 2025 alone the UK government announced seven new inquiries...

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Rapid policy making: How civil servants can make effective policies under pressure

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government explores how civil servants can deliver rapid yet robust policies in compressed timeframes. The Institute has previously warned of the risks of rapid policy making – success stories are the exception, not the norm. That warning remains true today. But in an age of the...

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Learning from the DevoLab #1: How devolution can address health inequalities

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how devolved powers have been used to address health inequalities. Although health is not a devolved function within England, many regional mayors have identified addressing health inequalities as an important objective and have taken action to improve population health, using a range of...

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Abolished to perfection? Building a better centre for the NHS

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government examines how the abolition of NHS England creates both risks and opportunities. The abolition of NHS England comes with significant opportunities to make the health service’s centre work better within government and in leading the service. It also carries significant risks. The consistent lesson from...

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Ministers reflect on the Treasury

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government explores the Treasury’s role and the tensions it creates across Whitehall. With the 2025 budget just days away, this Ministers Reflect report on the Treasury offers candid insights from former Treasury ministers – including four chancellors in Jeremy Hunt, Philip Hammond, Alistair Darling and Ken...

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Performance Tracker 2025: Schools

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at the challenges facing the government in meeting its education priorities within budget. Research conducted since, including by the Institute for Government, shows that educational inequalities across English schools opened up at an alarming rate over this period, with some gaps growing to their...

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Educational outcomes across England: Performance Tracker Local

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government examines the performance gaps in schools. The 2010s saw educational attainment increase, and disparities narrow, across England’s schools – but this progress was brought to a shuddering halt when Covid hit. Since 2019, educational inequalities have again grown wider and more pronounced, both across the...

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How to successfully deliver refugee resettlement

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government summarises a government roundtable discussion on resettlement schemes. Over the last decade, resettlement programmes have safely and successfully brought to the UK hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict and persecution. These schemes have rapidly mobilised different parts of central and local government, public services,...

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Hybrid bills

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government explores how to improve the hybrid bill legislative process. The government has set ambitious goals for infrastructure for its first term. The Plan for Change sets a goal of 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure by the end of this parliament.1 Hybrid bills can be...

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Adult social care across England: Performance Tracker Local

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government examines the care gap in England. There exists a damaging geographical and demographic ‘care gap’ in England that means access to care for older adults is increasingly based not on need but on other factors – some perhaps less surprising, like local levels of deprivation...

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How strategic authorities can develop effective local economic plans: Making devolution work

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government explores how local economic strategies can be powerful drivers of prosperity and growth. As the government continues progress on the ‘devolution revolution’, it is more important than ever for strategic authorities to use their devolved powers in a coherent and strategic way. This report sets...

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Upcoming events

7 April 2026

Location: Online

Think tank: Institute for Government

A state rewired? Civil service size, shape, and turnover

This event hosted by UK think tank the Institute for Government is the first of a three-part series exploring their annual report on the civil service. The first Whitehall Monitor webinar – kicking off a three-part series exploring the IfG’s annual flagship report on the civil service – will look at the context in which much needed strategic workforce...

14 April 2026

Location: Online

Think tank: Institute for Government

A state rewired? Civil service digital transformation, data, and artificial intelligence

This event hosted by UK think tank the Institute for Government is the second of a three-part series exploring their annual report on the civil service. The second Whitehall Monitor webinar – in our three-part series exploring the IfG’s annual flagship report on civil service – takes a closer look at what hopes the government is pinning on digital...

21 April 2026

Location: Online

Think tank: Institute for Government

A state rewired? Civil service leadership, diversity and morale

This event hosted by UK think tank the Institute for Government is the third of a three-part series exploring their annual report on the civil service. The third Whitehall Monitor webinar – the final in a three-part series exploring the IfG’s annual flagship report on the civil service –  takes a deeper look at the people who make up...