People

The Centre for Progressive Policy is formed of researchers and experts passionate about making inclusive growth a reality. Find out more about the people at CPP, including their areas of expertise.

For events & speaking opportunities, please contact: info@progressive-policy.net. Please email: ghetherington@progressive-policy.net for media contributions.

The team

Ben Franklin

Interim Chief Executive

Ben is CPP’s Interim Chief Executive. At CPP he has overseen impactful programmes of work on the importance of health, adult education and childcare to inclusive growth. His research has appeared in all major national and regional media – print and broadcast, and he has advised national politicians and local leaders on the linkages between growth, inequality and public services. Before this, Ben was Assistant Director at the International Longevity Centre, where he led major projects on the employment challenges facing the over 50s and the future of the UK’s pensions landscape. Prior to working in thinktanks, Ben undertook economic analysis for the Financial Conduct Authority and HM Treasury. He has also worked for a professional body in the insurance industry.

Rosie Fogden

Director of Research and Analysis

Rosie joined CPP in 2019 as a Senior Research Analyst and now manages our research programme. She has written on the importance of long-term investment in public services and the role of business in making our economy more inclusive, including through good jobs. Before CPP, Rosie worked as a Senior Economist in the Cabinet Office, supporting Brexit preparations. She has also held several other government positions, including in the international group at HM Treasury.

Areas of expertise and interest: good and flexible work, social infrastructure, public service investment, childcare and early years, public health, inclusive economics, fiscal policy.

Daniel Turner

Head of Research and Analysis

Dan joined CPP in April 2024 as Head of Research and Analysis. Before joining CPP, Dan worked as Senior Policy Advisor to the Mayor of South Yorkshire and as a researcher at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Dan’s previous research has focused on regional inequalities and governance in the UK, as well as the practicalties of place-based economic policy. He previously held several government positions, working on devolution and place-based industrial policy as a Civil Servant. Dan holds a BA from Oxford and an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, and was a Frank Knox Memorial Fellow at Harvard.

Areas of expertise and interest: post-industrial communities; regional policy; industrial strategy; labour market standards and regulation; public finance and fiscal policy; governance and adaptive leadership; policy communication and co-design.

Ross Mudie

Senior Research Analyst

Ross is a Senior Research Analyst at CPP, having joined as a Research Analyst in October 2021. His research focusses mostly on industrial policy, regional economic inequality, and devolution and local government. He previously led the Centre’s research on the cost of living, as well as research in other areas such as education and good work. Prior to working at CPP he worked on housing and homelessness policy in local government, and as a Research Assistant at United Nations University-MERIT. He holds a Double MSc in Public Policy and Human Development from United Nations University-MERIT and Maastricht University, as well as a BA from the University of Nottingham.

Areas of expertise and interest: industrial strategy, investment, regional and economic inequality, devolution and local government, public finance, public service reform, green economy.

Tanya Singh

Research analyst

Tanya is a research analyst with interests in poverty, inequality, social policy, and impact evaluation. She has worked as a researcher with several think tanks in India, with her most recent work being at the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi. Tanya holds an MSc in International Development from King’s College London alongside a BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Delhi.

Areas of expertise and interest: economics of poverty and inequality, social policy and redistribution, policy impact evaluation, comparative international development.

Annabel Smith

Director of Place and Practice

Annabel is Director of Place and Practice at CPP and is responsible for leading our Inclusive Growth Network, working with cities and regions across the UK to drive local inclusive growth. Before joining CPP in 2021, Annabel played a leading role in developing Bristol's One City Approach, where she also worked as a Policy Advisor to the Mayor. She holds an MA from the University of St Andrews, and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge researching gender and economics.

Areas of expertise and interest: regional economies and inequalities, devolution, placemaking, culture, gender, social mobility.

Danielle Jackson

Head of Inclusive Growth Network

Danielle is Head of the Inclusive Growth Network, supporting 14 local and combined authorities across the UK to deliver inclusive growth in practice. She previously worked at Metro Dynamics, a strategic partner of CPP and the Inclusive Growth Network, advising places on inclusive growth, health and devolution. Danielle has a BSc in Geography from the University of Bristol and an MSc in Development Studies from SOAS, University of London.

Areas of expertise and interest: good employment, public health, prevention, inequality, devolution, governance.

Grace Hetherington

Director of Media & Communications

Grace joined CPP in May 2022, and is responsible for communicating the organisation's work to external audiences and raising our profile. She has previously worked in media and digital communications roles at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, homelessness charity Centrepoint and campaigning organisation ShareAction.

Areas of expertise and interest: strategic communications, poverty and inequality, social mobility, devolution.

Claire Davies

Events Manager

Claire joined CPP in December 2022 and is responsible for the organisation’s UK-wide events programme, including production and delivery of the annual Inclusive Growth Conference, party conference activities, and research-led events. She has previously worked in communications and events within the arts, culture and higher education sectors, including roles at the British Academy and Association for Art History education charity.