The Social Insights Panel

The Social Insights Panel brings together some of the UK’s most experienced civil society leaders to help shape government policy on complex social challenges. The Social Insights Panel provides independent insight and practical recommendations drawn from decades of frontline experience.

In its first phase, the Social Insights Panel will be seeking to influence the Cabinet Office’s Test, Learn and Grow programme, feeding in expertise from across civil society to inform public service reform. It will focus on three key areas, all underpinned by a commitment to prevention:

Violence Against Women and Girls: Strengthening early, needs-led support and reducing repeat victimisation.
Transitions to Adulthood: Tackling the systemic barriers that prevent young people from building secure and optimistic futures.
Integrated Family Support: Learning from Sure Start and family hub models to prevent breakdown and help families thrive.

Through a series of workshops, roundtables and reports, the Social Insights Panel will demonstrate how civil society expertise can shape more effective, joined-up policymaking and strengthen the relationship between communities and the state.

The Social Insights Panel is supported by

Partners

Meet the Panel

Meet the members of the Social Insights Panel and discover the experience shaping its work.

Polly Neate

Convener of the Social Insights Panel and FGF Policy Associate

Polly Neate

Convener of the Social Insights Panel and FGF Policy Associate

Polly is a high-profile expert commentator on social issues, as well as a strategic adviser, coach and mentor. Her most recent role was as CEO of the household-name housing and homelessness charity Shelter, and before that she was CEO of Women’s Aid and Executive Director of External Relations at Action for Children. She has substantial first-hand experience of leading teams through rapid and transformational change and strategic challenges, both external and internal. Polly is also a former award-winning journalist and communicator who has spoken on platforms as diverse as the Oxford Union and the 250,000-strong first Women’s March on London. She was made CBE and Honorary Doctor of Laws (Bristol University) in 2022. And will soon take a seat in the House of Lords as a crossbench peer.

Mike Adamson CBE

Former Chief Executive of the British Red Cross, Chair St Mungos

Mike Adamson CBE

Former Chief Executive of the British Red Cross, Chair St Mungos

Mike Adamson is an experienced CEO, Board member and coach with extensive leadership experience across the not-for-profit, public and private sectors. He is Chair of St Mungo’s, a leading homelessness charity, a leadership coach and strategy partner for CEOs and Directors tackling complex social challenges and an Honorary Visiting Professor at Bayes Business School, Centre for Charity Effectiveness. Mike was Chief Executive of the British Red Cross for nine years until November 2023, overseeing responses to major crises including the Grenfell Tower fire, Covid and Ukraine. Mike pioneered cross-sector collaborations on emergencies, refugees and health, co-chaired the Voluntary & Community Sector Emergency Partnership, and served as a trustee of the Disasters Emergency Committee. He also led a global review of the Ukraine response and was Interim Director of the Global Commission on Modern Slavery & Trafficking. Mike was awarded a CBE in 2021 for services to the humanitarian sector.

Anand Shukla

Chief Executive of the Henry Smith Foundation

Anand Shukla

Chief Executive of the Henry Smith Foundation

Anand Shukla is Chief Executive of the Henry Smith Foundation. He is also a trustee of the Association of Charitable Foundations. He has worked for over three decades as a volunteer, business development manager, leader, funder, trustee and non executive director in social purpose organisations that enable children, young people, and families to thrive. At the Henry Smith Foundation, he has led the organisation through a strategic transformation: rebranding to reflect its identity as a modern, independent foundation, launching the “Elevate Your Impact” strategy for 2025–2030. As CEO at Brightside (2015-20), he led the charity to support over 10,000 young people annually through its pioneering digital mentoring programmes and introduced an evidence-led impact framework helping the organisation to become a leader in mentoring for social mobility. As CEO of the Family and Childcare Trust (2010-15), he guided the merger of Daycare Trust and Family and Parenting Institute, creating a unified voice for childcare policy and family support. Under his leadership, the charity highlighted childcare disparities across the UK, influenced government commitments to expand free nursery hours in Holyrood and Westminster, and ensured childcare became a national policy priority during a period of austerity. He also steered a rebrand and modernisation of the charity’s identity and messaging. Earlier in his career, he worked in the publishing industry with Reed Elsevier and LexisNexis, gaining experience in commercial strategy, new product development and customer-focused service design. He has served as a trustee and board member across the sector, including roles with Social Investment Business, Health Poverty Action, Child in Need India, John Schofield Trust and Richard Thornton Foundation. In addition, Anand was co-chair of the governing body of his children’s primary school. Anand has a Masters degree in International Relations and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Executive Education Programme. He became a Clore Social Leadership Fellow in 2012.

Ruth Ibegbuna

Founder of RECLAIM, The Roots programme and Rekindle School

Ruth Ibegbuna

Founder of RECLAIM, The Roots programme and Rekindle School

Ruth Ibegbuna, a former teacher turned leading UK social entrepreneur, has spent over a decade empowering communities and young people to drive positive change. She founded The Roots Programme after the 2016 Brexit Referendum, uniting diverse communities and fostering compassion. Ruth is also the Founder and CEO of Rekindle Schools in Manchester and London and soon to be Scotland, empowering young critical thinkers from working-class backgrounds. She launched the national SPARK programme in 2025 to support changemakers outside London and previously founded and led RECLAIM for 11 years, guiding working-class young people in challenging leadership inequalities. A powerful and inspiring speaker, Ruth shares her journey of overcoming challenges with honesty and resilience. In 2019, she established Northern Soul for social justice training. Recognised as a Clore and Ashoka UK Fellow, she was named one of the UK's 500 most influential people by The Sunday Times and a top female changemaker by Virgin. Ruth authored 'On Youth' and received a doctorate in Education from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2017.

Becky Rogerson MBE

Former CEO of My Sister’s Place and Wearside Women in Need and she now serves as Director of RIVA and Non-Executive Director for a housing association

Becky Rogerson MBE

Former CEO of My Sister’s Place and Wearside Women in Need and she now serves as Director of RIVA and Non-Executive Director for a housing association

Becky Rogerson MBE is a nationally recognised feminist leader and expert in Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), with over 25 years’ experience leading specialist services in the North East of England. She is known for driving systemic change through innovation, research, and multi-agency collaboration. Becky was awarded an MBE in 2011, and an Honorary Doctorate from Durham University in 2025. A Churchill Fellow and former magistrate, she now serves as Director of RIVA and as a Non-Executive Director for a major housing association

Caroline Slocock

Co-founder of the Better Way Network and former Downing Street Private Secretary

Caroline Slocock

Co-founder of the Better Way Network and former Downing Street Private Secretary

Caroline Slocock is the founding Director of Civil Exchange , a think tank which aims to help government and civil society work better together and, as a member of the Civil Society Covenant Advisory Group, helped draw up the Government’s new Covenant. She is a Co-Founder of A Better Way , a cross- sectoral network of leaders who are improving services, strengthening communities and creating a fairer society, and now chairs its core group. In the past, she was the CEO of the charity Refugee and Migrant Justice and held many senior roles in Government, including in No.10, the Treasury and the Department of Education, and was Chief Executive of the Equal Opportunities Commission. She is an author and regular commentator in the media.

Chris Wright

Former Chief Executive of Catch22

Chris Wright

Former Chief Executive of Catch22

Chris Wright trained as a social worker and spent 20 years working in both the criminal justice system and children's social care before moving across to the voluntary sector where he spent the next 17 years. He stepped down as CEO of Catch22 in 2022 having led the organisation for 11 years. He's now pursuing a portfolio of interests as a Non-Executive Director, adviser and mentor. Chris has a strong belief in the need for public services to be more relational, local and responsive to the needs of those they serve and has a particular interest in the role that social businesses can play in the provision of these services

Kirsten Westlake

CEO of Two Magpies Fund and co-founder of the Violence Against Women and Girls charity, Let Me Know

Kirsten Westlake

CEO of Two Magpies Fund and co-founder of the Violence Against Women and Girls charity, Let Me Know

Kirsten Westlake is CEO of Two Magpies Fund and co-founder of the VAWG charity Let Me Know, where she served as Chair for 5 years. Prior to this she ran the North London operations of Little Village, the UK's leading baby bank. Kirsten is a magistrate in London and a trustee of the Criminal Justice Alliance.