UofG Centre for Public Policy

17 August 2026: The University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy has appointed eight policy professionals from across UK, Scottish, and local government, public bodies, and the voluntary sector to its Practice Fellows programme. They will spend time at the Centre over the next eight months to gain insights into policy questions they face in their roles.

After a successful first year, the Centre for Public Policy Practice Fellows programme is running for a second year, and is funded by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

The Fellowship 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 Centre has appointed eight Practice Fellows for 2026-27, who work at all levels of government, in public bodies, and in the voluntary sector, representing a wide range of policy areas and challenges. They will spend up to 30 hours over the next eight months working with the University.

At the end of their fellowship, each Practice Fellow will produce one output for the Centre to share their insights, usually in the form of a blog.

Professor Nicola McEwen, Centre for Public Policy Director, said: “We’re delighted to welcome new Practice Fellows to the Centre for Public Policy again this year, building on the success of the programme launched last year. This programme is a unique opportunity to connect policy professionals in the UK with the incredible breadth of expertise here at the University of Glasgow. Crucially, it helps strengthen relationships between universities and practitioners, so we can work collaboratively to find solutions to the challenges they face.”

Read insights from the first cohort of Practice Fellows from 2025-26.

2026-27 Centre for Public Policy Practice Fellows

Cameron Bailey – Senior Associate Online Safety Group, Ofcom

Cameron has spent over eight years designing and executing strategic and policy frameworks across some of the UK’s most critical and high-profile sectors. Working in the Online Safety Strategy team at Ofcom, their work spans future policy strategy and the complex structural questions required to ensure a resilient regulatory regime in online safety. Their broader career at Ofcom also encompasses telecommunications, consumer protection, and competition policy. Cameron also spent several years at the energy regulator, Ofgem, where they focused on retail market policy and enforcement, consumer protection, and prudential regulation. They specialise in translating complex legislative intent into practical, data-driven regulatory architecture that protects citizens and consumers. Their fellowship will examine the pacing gap between regulation and the development of advanced technologies.

Alessandro Fusco – Head of Delivery, Pride in Place Programme, Communities Delivery Unit, Ministry of Housing and Local Government

Alessandro leads delivery of the Pride in Place programme across Scotland, North East England, Yorkshire & The Humber, and East Midlands for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), a long-term investment in neighbourhoods aimed at strengthening community capacity and locally led change. He has extensive experience working at the intersection of policy, delivery and stakeholder engagement, and previously led the Scotland Team in MHCLG, overseeing a portfolio of place-based programmes delivering national policy in a devolved context. He has also held senior roles in the Cabinet Office, leading work on education, welfare and skills reform, and worked on international trade policy, including negotiations for the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Their fellowship will examine what enables public institutions to align around shared outcomes for people in places within Scotland's multi-level governance environment.

Jules Goodlet-Rowley – Co-Head of Healthy Living Unit, Scottish Government

Jules has worked in the Scottish Government since 2008, leading policy development on health harming behaviours since 2021, including on the Scottish component of the Tobacco and Vaping Act 2026, implementation of the Gambling Levy in Scotland, introducing the 15m smoking perimeter around NHS hospitals and Minimum Unit Price of alcohol. She has an interest in the commercial determinants of health, which can be seen in her work on the 2023 Tobacco and Vapes Framework, and her work is supported by skills in improvement methodologies, project management and benefits realisation. She has an academic background in Astrophysics (MPhys Edinburgh and PhD Southampton), Classical Studies (BSc Hons OU) and creative writing and linguistics (Open degree BSc Hons OU). Their fellowship will explore options for addressing the harms caused from gambling in Scotland when the legislative levers are reserved.

Lily Humphreys – Policy Manager, Children First

Lily Humphreys is Policy Manager at Children First. She leads the charity’s policy and public affairs work around children’s right to care, protection, justice and recovery from trauma and abuse. Previously, she worked for Children’s Hearings Scotland as a Practice and Policy Advisor and before this, she worked as a Policy Manager and Senior Researcher in the Scottish Parliament. Lily studied Law at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 2018. Her fellowship will explore the gap between what Scotland says and what Scotland does – otherwise known as the implementation gap. This will explore examples where policy commitments and legislation have not led to real improvements and meaningful change for children and families. It will look at how law, policy and practice connect and examine why gaps can emerge between what is promised and what is delivered, to hopefully identify how governments, public services and the third sector can work together more effectively to deliver lasting change.

Robin Lee – Principal Strategic Adviser, Strategy and Delivery Directorate, Scottish Government

Robin currently works in the Strategy Division of the Scottish Government, focusing on strengthening how the government delivers strategy through systems thinking, mission-led approaches, and sharper prioritisation. Since joining the Scottish Government, they have contributed to a number of strategic foresight programmes, developing insights and recommendations on complex long-term challenges, including demographic change. Robin is an experienced government strategist with a strong track record in foresight, systems thinking, innovation policy and cross-sector collaboration, and a passion for shaping long-term strategy, improving the design of government, and ensuring that ambition translates into meaningful delivery. Their fellowship will explore how the Scottish Government can more effectively embed long-term strategy at the heart of decision-making, and what shifts in systems, structures, governance and collaboration could enable greater progress on Scotland's most complex and enduring challenges.

Marie McLelland – Economic Development Officer, Glasgow City Council

Marie is an economic development professional with over 20 years’ experience working across economic and social policy in Glasgow and is currently working within the Strategic Projects Team. With a background in Economics and European Policy, she has led and supported programmes throughout Economic Development, including EU-funded initiatives, with a particular focus on monitoring, evaluation and programme design. She has worked in projects focused on employability, poverty reduction and community-based policy, and supporting collaborative and design-led approaches through her work in partnership with Glasgow’s Centre for Civic Innovation. Recently, she has been involved in work connected to Glasgow’s Child Poverty Programme and the city’s Economic Strategy for 2030. She has a strong interest in alternative economic models and in how service design can improve public policy and delivery. Marie’s fellowship will examine how we might develop a clear, evidence-based framework for the next Economic Strategy that articulates its theory of change and aligns with the wider Community Planning impact framework and other impact frameworks across Glasgow City Council. It will also examine how to adopt a systems approach, that supports shared strategic outcomes and enables robust assessment of its impact and contribution to economic and social change.

Fergus McMillan – Head of Equality and Diversity, Skills Development Scotland

Fergus leads the Equality & Diversity function at Skills Development Scotland (SDS), ensuring inclusive principles are embedded across service delivery and organisational strategy. He is responsible for advancing equality and diversity within SDS, supporting inclusive economic growth, and overseeing equality within key programmes and services including Modern Apprenticeships, Career Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG), and employer engagement. Fergus also drives the implementation of SDS’s public sector equality duty and the development of best practice in children’s rights and broader inclusion. As SDS’s representative on the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board Equality Employer Group, Fergus has played a pivotal role in the SAAB Gender Commission and the SDS Commission on Race in Apprenticeships, contributing to sector-wide progress on equality issues. Their fellowship will examine the equality and diversity implications of AI in public sector service delivery, exploring the opportunities and risks associated with AI and data-driven innovation. The fellowship will help ensure that emerging technologies support equitable, inclusive, and responsible public services while improving outcomes for underrepresented groups.

Kenny Stewart - Head of Public Affairs and Communications at SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health)

Kenny is Head of Public Affairs and Communications at SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health), Scotland’s national mental health charity. He is responsible for SAMH’s communications, campaigning and influencing work, and ensuring lived experience and participation informs the organisation’s decision-making, policy and practice. Kenny has previously led Scottish policy and public affairs activity for the Equality and Human Rights Commission and The Open University, and government relations and public affairs for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee in the shadow of the referendum on independence.  His fellowship will examine the mortality gap between people with mental illness and those without, with a particular focus on prevention-based interventions.

Find out more about the Centre for Public Policy Practice Fellows programme on the Centre website. 

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First published: 17 August 2026