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On Mission: a framework for mission-driven government

17 Jul 2025
Online

This event took place on Thursday 17 July. You can watch the recording below.

Event recording

The opinions expressed in this event recording are those of the speaker. For more information, view our full statement on external contributors.

Across the world, interest in mission-driven government is growing, and an increasing number of organisations are looking to adopt a mission-driven approach. Missions can transform the way organisations work and lead to substantial social impact, from preventing obesity to giving every child the best start in life.

But the transition to mission-driven working must be handled with care. Organisations can find themselves ‘mission washing’ – pursuing missions only in name, without the capabilities needed to deliver.

Working in collaboration with Nesta, Georgetown University's Better Government Lab developed a maturity framework to help public sector leaders, workers and others follow through on mission-driven approaches. With this guidance, those adopting mission methods will be able to distinguish meaningful change from empty rhetoric, making the tricky work of missions clearer and easier.

On Thursday 17 July, 12:00-13:00 BST, we were joined by the authors of the ‘On Mission’ framework to discuss how to implement mission-driven approaches and the risks that can arise when organisations change too fast.

This event was for public sector leaders, policy professionals and anyone working in or with organisations looking to adopt mission-led strategies.

Speakers

James Plunkett

James Plunkett

He/Him

James has worked for nearly 20 years in UK policy-making, including roles across the private, public, and third sectors, from Downing Street and the Cabinet Office to leadership roles in a think tank, NGO, and innovation agency. He is now a writer and consultant, specialising in contemporary governance and regulation. James has also held non-Executive roles on the board of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation and the Consumer Panel of the Financial Conduct Authority. He sits on the Board of the think tank, Demos. He lives in London and is currently working on his next book, which focuses on more human approaches to governance.

Dan Honig

Dan Honig

He/Him

Dan Honig is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at University College London's School of Public Policy / Department of Political Science, and an Associate Professor at Georgetown' University's McCourt School of Public Policy. His most recent book, Mission Driven Bureaucrats explores how the humans who work for the state often are or can be driven by a desire to help deliver on the things their agency does. He is also the Principal Investigator on the European Research Council-awarded five year exploration Relational State Capacity; a member of Georgetown's Better Government Lab; a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development; an associate of Harvard's Building State Capability Program; an SNF Agora Faculty Affiliate; a member of the Scholars Strategy Network; a senior fellow at Artha Global; and on the editorial board of the Journal of Public Policy, amongst other appointments.

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Isadora Spillman-Schappell

She/Her

Isadora is a Consultant at Inner Circle that works across place and public service transformation to unlock a better future for their clients and communities. Previously she was an Honorary Policy Fellow and managed the Cities, Climate and Innovation Programme at UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Service. Prior to that she was a Programme Associate at New York City Mayor's Office for Criminal Justice and a Fellow at the New Leader's Council.

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Vinuri Dissanayake

She/Her

Vinuri Dissanayake received her Master of Public Policy from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. She is passionate about advancing the use of equitable and safe emerging technologies in how governments deliver high-risk services, particularly in the area of criminal justice. Vinuri has worked in various roles, including as a lawyer, a management consultant at McKinsey & Company advising the public sector and on multiple research projects for organizations such as the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and The Smith Family. She holds a LLB and BCom from The University of New South Wales, Australia.

Event information

17 Jul 2025
Online