The UK spends billions renting back access to its own data from private vendors, leaving crucial public information locked away in disconnected systems. That fragmentation holds back public service reform, stifles innovation and hampers economic growth.

If new Prime Minister Andy Burnham wants to transform the UK from a passive tech tenant into a sovereign digital architect, reforming our digital infrastructure is non-negotiable. So where should he begin?

In this special deep-dive from the Policy Fix, Nesta's policy podcast, Nesta CEO Ravi Gurumurthy sits down with some of the country’s leading experts on policy and government. Rather than just rehearsing the problems facing Burnham, they'll stress-test the big ideas that should shape his agenda, discuss the policy solutions he should actually pursue, and map out the steps he should take to get started in his first 100 days.

In this episode, Ravi is joined by Nesta's director of applied research methods, Mallory Durran, to explore how government can take back control of our digital public infrastructure.

They unpack why adopting common digital standards across government could reduce costs, improve services and end dependence on a handful of technology suppliers; how applying the principles behind Open Banking to healthcare could accelerate medical research, improve patient care and help grow the UK's health tech sector; and why attracting and retaining world-class technical talent should be treated as a national priority for effective government.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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Mallory Durran, applied research and methods director, Nesta

Mallory has led public sector and start-up teams harnessing data and technology for the public good for over a decade.

She brings extensive experience from the heart of UK government, including in No 10 and the Cabinet Office, and most recently as Interim Director of the Incubator for AI at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, leading an engineering team building AI applications for public sector improvement.

With an academic background in computational neuroscience, Mallory is a badged statistician and former SCS member of the Government Statistical Service. She has contributed to significant government standard setting and reviews on data and digital infrastructure, ethics, and AI safety and opportunity and led No 10's open API framework development (project rAPId).

At Nesta, Mallory oversees the applied research, methods, AI, and technology offer for the group, bringing innovative approaches to improving access to and efficacy of interventions across Nesta’s missions and the wider public sector. She remains relentlessly enthusiastic about the power of data and technology to fuel positive change.

Ravi Gurumurthy, group chief executive officer, Nesta

Ravi Gurumurthy is group chief executive officer, joining Nesta as chief executive in December 2019. Nesta’s mission is to design, test and scale solutions to society's biggest challenges, from sustainability and health to educational inequality.

Ravi also leads the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), often known as the ‘Nudge Unit’. BIT has grown from a small team in No 10 Downing Street to a 250-person global social purpose consultancy and a subsidiary of Nesta.

Prior to joining Nesta, Ravi co-founded and led the Airbel Innovation Lab at the International Rescue Committee. He was responsible for designing new products and services for people affected by crises in over 40 countries.

Ravi worked in the UK government from 1999 to 2013. He was an adviser and speechwriter to Foreign Secretary David Miliband, leading the creation of Every Child Matters and the Children Act 2004, and the world’s first legally binding climate legislation.

Ravi has held a number of non-executive roles, including lead non-executive director for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.