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

Whitehall Monitor 2025

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government is their annual, data-based assessment of the UK civil service over the past year.  High staff turnover, confused workforce planning, slipping morale and uncompetitive pay are hindering the civil service’s ability to deliver Labour’s missions. Whitehall Monitor 2025, the IfG’s annual data-driven stocktake of the...

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How the government can design better asylum policy

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government puts forward recommendations to help the government set a clear direction and a coherent asylum strategy. The government must exert its authority over the whole asylum system and avoid short-sighted measures aimed at conjuring an illusion of control. This report puts forward recommendations to help...

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Devolution and urban regeneration: How can metro mayors transform England’s towns and cities?

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government outlines what powers are available to metro mayors to drive regeneration. The regeneration of disused, deprived and deindustrialised urban areas across England will be crucial to the government’s ability to achieve its economic growth targets. It will also bring other benefits, like reducing regional inequality...

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How to set up a public body

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government sets out how government can set up public bodies better. As government priorities change, particularly after a general election, there is often a need to set up new institutions to deliver on those priorities. Public bodies can be well placed to do this. If set...

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Austerity postponed? The impact of Labour’s first budget on public services

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government examines the impact of Labour's first budget on public services. The outgoing Conservative government left public services in a precarious state. Waiting lists in the NHS are stubbornly high, councils are on the verge of bankruptcy, backlogs in the criminal courts are at record levels...

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Youth work and prevention

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government recommends a range of steps that government can take to make youth work more accessible and sustainable. Youth work is proven to have positive outcomes for young people in the short term – including improved mental health, educational attainment, and reduced crime and antisocial behaviour....

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The next cabinet secretary

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government focuses on the five key priorities for the incoming cabinet secretary. Cabinet secretary is a unique job. The postholder must be at once totally loyal to the government of the day while representing the continuity of the state beyond any single administration. They must warn...

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How can the OBR improve the way it judges the supply-side effects of policy?

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government sets out how the OBR has done this in the past, how its approach has evolved in recent years, and how it could be strengthened further. The government has made economic growth one of its five missions. But this will not be realised quickly: easing...

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Local growth plans

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government lays out the steps the government should take to make local growth plans as effective as possible. The government has recognised the role metro mayors across England will have in realising its mission to increase growth across the country. It has asked local leaders to...

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How does the OBR estimate the demand impact of government policies?

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government explores the role of fiscal multipliers in economic forecasting. It is important for the government to get as clear an idea as possible of how any measures it announces at fiscal events – budgets and spending reviews – might impact the economy, and to what...

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Five steps the government must take to deliver its five missions

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government Labour has come to power promising to lead a ‘mission-driven government’ and on the basis of a manifesto that focused on its five national ‘missions’. The party has defined this as working: “towards long-term national goals” with “departments working together rather than in silos. Business...

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Completing the map

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how the government can extend devolution to the whole of England. After a decade of devolution, a dozen English regions are now led by mayors who, in partnership with local government, control key economic powers and budgets. But devolution has unfolded unevenly and...

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Improving accountability in government procurement

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at improving accountability in government procurement. The Procurement Act, brought in under the previous government and effective from February 2025, will bring in a new public sector procurement regime. Simplified regulations, greater transparency and enhanced exclusion criteria could all help improve accountability. But there...

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Ministerial maternity leave

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government draws on the experience of seven former politicians of having a baby while in office. This report, co-authored by former minister Chloe Smith, looks at the experience of seven ministers and MPs who had a baby while in office. It examines the impact of the...

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How the government can build more homes

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government examines the history of why successive governments have found it difficult to deliver on housebuilding pledges. Fixing the housing crisis has featured in every recent UK government’s list of top priorities: this report examines why so many have found it difficult to deliver on such...

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Upcoming events

24 February 2025

Location: Online / Institute for Government, 2 Carlton Gardens, London SW1Y 5AA

Think tank: Institute for Government

How to legislate for the duty of candour?

This event hosted by UK think tank the Institute for Government will explore what a legal duty of candour means for public authorities. Keir Starmer has promised to introduce legislation to parliament – before this April’s anniversary of the Hillsborough football stadium disaster – that would extend a statutory duty of candour to public authorities...

3 March 2025

Location: Online / Institute for Government, 2 Carlton Gardens, London SW1Y 5AA

Think tank: Institute for Government

How can the government help boost growth in the science-based industries?

This event hosted by UK think tank the Institute for Government will explore how science and innovation can drive economic growth and productivity. As part of its mission to make the UK the fastest-growing economy in the G7, the government has embarked upon a new industrial strategy. Science and innovation feature prominently, with life sciences...

17 March 2025

Location: Online / Institute for Government, 2 Carlton Gardens, London SW1Y 5AA

Think tank: Institute for Government

What lessons can government learn from the insourcing of probation services?

This event hosted by UK think tank the Institute for Government will explore the creation – and impact – of the Probation Service. The new public sector Probation Service was created in 2021 to unify the outsourced management of low- and medium-risk offenders with the public sector management of high-of risk offenders. The initial transition went well,...