The Fellowship programme, which is funded by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), aims to collaboratively generate and share insights between academic and policy colleagues.

It provides Fellows with the opportunity to investigate pressing issues and to hone their skills by working with experts from across the University of Glasgow.

The first cohort of Practice Fellows work at all levels of government and in the voluntary sector and represent a wide range of policy areas and challenges. They will spend up to 20 hours over the next six months working with the University.

At the end of their fellowship, each Practice Fellow will share their insights and findings in an output on the Centre for Public Policy website.

Professor Nicola McEwen, Centre for Public Policy Director, said:

“We’re delighted to welcome our new Practice Fellows to the Centre for Public Policy. This is a unique opportunity for us to connect policy professionals in the UK with the incredible breadth of expertise here at the University of Glasgow, and crucially, to strengthen relationships between universities and the practitioners, so that we can work collaboratively to find solutions to the challenges they face.”

Christina Kopanou, Principal Economist at Glasgow City Region Intelligence Hub, and new Centre for Public Policy Practice Fellow, said:

“I’m excited to be part of the Practice Fellowship, which is a great opportunity to connect our work in the Intelligence Hub with academic expertise. The Practice Fellowship will strengthen the Hub’s role as a bridge between evidence and action, and I’m looking forward to tapping into academic expertise to amplify the impact of our work - particularly in supporting employability services in Glasgow and advancing the foundational economy.” 

2025 Centre for Public Policy Practice Fellows

Charles Burke - Head of International Trade & Business Policy, Scotland Office, UK Government

Charles leads work on international trade, business and investment strategy at the Scotland Office. He has held policy roles across a number of different UK Government departments including the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions, with a focus on international and cross-government coordination and high-profile issues including Brexit preparedness, net zero infrastructure, and trade policy. His recent work is centred on supporting Scotland’s interests in global trade, diplomacy and the deployment of cultural soft power: delivering strategic engagement with business and international partners. His fellowship will investigate how governments can better coordinate policy between national and devolved levels, especially in areas of trade, energy and infrastructure.

Isabella de Wit - Head of Health Workforce Strategy, Planning & Reform, Scottish Government

Isabella has worked for many years in Scottish Government in roles covering education, children’s services and health. Notable examples are her leadership in standing up the vaccination workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic, the national oversight of the workforce planning and recruitment for the National Treatment Centres and her leadership of the Ministerial Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce. Her focus is now in health and social care, and her fellowship will investigate workforce relations and organisational change in reference to the Health and Social Care Renewal Framework.

Andrew Docherty - Delivery, Engagement & Governance Lead, Ministry and Housing and Local Government, UK Government

Andrew works within the Scotland Team of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, serving as the Scotland lead for delivery, governance and stakeholder engagement.  In this role, Andrew collaborates closely with national, regional and local stakeholders to design and deliver the Government’s economic growth Mission. His fellowship will investigate the role of Government(s) in tackling economic inequalities and the best design of economic growth and innovation policy.

Liam Farrow - Head of Regional Economic Policy, Scottish Government

Liam is a public policy professional with a wide range of experience in the UK and Scottish Governments across international and economic policy. He currently leads the Scottish Government’s work on regional economic policy and partnerships, as well as delivery of Scotland’s two investment zones. His fellowship will investigate the successes and failures of regional economic devolution, the role of decentralisation to deliver economic growth, and effective governance and funding models to achieve this.

Christina Kopanou - Principal Economist, Glasgow City Region Intelligence Hub

Christina Kopanou joined the Intelligence Hub in 2020 and holds the role of principal economist. Christina is trained as an economist and economic historian and is passionate about the use of interdisciplinary approaches to economic development. Her fellowship will investigate the design and evaluation of local employability programmes to address economic inactivity due to ill-health, and evaluation methods and considerations for the Hub’s Foundational Economy pilot.

Lucy Mulvagh - Director of Policy, Research and Impact, The ALLIANCE for Health and Social Care

Lucy oversees the ALLIANCE’s policy and public affairs work, Scottish Sensory Hub, and a portfolio of programmes and work streams. As a member of the ALLIANCE’s senior management team, her goal is to ensure the organisation sustains and strengthens its position of influence and achieves its vision of a Scotland where everyone has a strong voice and enjoys their right to live well. Her fellowship will investigate one of the ALLIANCE’s burning policy questions related to health and social care, such as prevention, reform, participation and rights.

More about the Practice Fellows programme

This is a pilot programme, which we hope will run annually. The next application round will likely open in 2026 and information will be shared on the Centre for Public Policy website and with our mailing list.

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If you would like more information about this story, please contact public-policy@glasgow.ac.uk.

Funding

The CPP Practice Fellows programme is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account. 

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First published: 21 August 2025

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