Hi, I’m Poss, and I’ve spent the better part of my career driven by a belief that technology should make our lives better. Whether in the UK Civil Service, agency-side, or in climate tech, I’ve been lucky to make a decent living doing just that.
Joining Oxford Insights (OI) as its new Managing Director is the natural next step in that mission for me. I’ve known and worked alongside Richard and this team for nearly eight years, and I’ve seen them do the hard work of translating complex data into policy that has an impact on real lives.
From a personal perspective, I’m particularly excited about 3 key areas of opportunity,
Global Perspective on AI Readiness
OI has a reputation as a global thought leader, largely thanks to our Government AI Readiness Index. Most of my working life has been in the UK public sector, so I was immediately drawn to the chance to learn from international governments.
We recently worked with the UNDP to develop an AI Readiness Assessment tool that has already been piloted in countries like Colombia, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka. What’s fascinating is that while the regional contexts change, the core challenges (like ‘responsible adoption’) are universal. I’m keen to bring these global insights to our UK partners, and vice versa.
A Partnership for Public Benefit
At its core, OI is a people-first organisation. We don’t just ‘deliver technology’; we partner with governments to make sure digital tools actually improve the lives of the people using them.
Whether it’s working with the Government of Kenya to build AI capacity, or helping the Department for Work and Pensions make better use of its data the outcome is always human centric.
Internally, my priority is exactly the same. As we grow, I want OI to be a place where our team can do good work and develop new skills along the way. That means building clear career paths and progression frameworks so that they feel as supported as the clients we advise.
‘Intelligent Human’ Skills in the Age of Automation
As we move further into the age of automation, I believe the skills OI is known for, data analysis, economic modelling, and deep user research, become even more critical.
AI is a (very) powerful enabler, but it lacks nuance. It can’t replace the multi-disciplinary collaboration where our researchers and analysts work directly with real people, to ensure their experienced-hardened voices shape policy.
Oxford Insights has always had the ability to take messy, complex data and turn it into actionable, thoughtful policy. As our first Managing Director, my job is to scale that impact. Building our capacity and capability, and ensuring that we remain the trusted partner for governments trying to get the 21st century right.
Poss
