Louise Shaxson is Director of the Digital Societies programme (formerly RAPID) at ODI. Her research focuses on young people’s engagement with the digital transition and the political economy of evidence for decision making in our digital age.
Louise has 30 years’ experience as a researcher, research manager and management consultant in the public sector in the UK, Africa and Latin America.
She has worked as a natural resource economist in Africa and Latin America, as a research manager in DFID’s London headquarters, and as a policy adviser and management consultant in the UK and internationally.
This breadth of experience has shaped her insights into the flow of evidence between research, policy and civil society in different countries. She is particularly interested in how to embed an evidence informed approach inside a government department and to help evidence-informed decision making become part of business as usual. She has published widely on evidence-related issues. Louise was an impact assessor for the 2014 UK Research Excellence Framework, and is an Associate Editor of the journal Evidence & Policy.
