Marc Stears

Marc Stears

Director, UCL Policy Lab
University College London

Marc is Director of the UCL Policy Lab. Previously, Marc was Director of the Sydney Policy Lab at the University of Sydney and before that he was professor of political theory at the University of Oxford and chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, one of the United Kingdom's largest think tanks. His work focused on deepening partnerships with community groups who are often overlooked in the policy process. Between 2012 and 2015 he was chief speech writer to the UK Labour Party, a co-author of the party’s 2015 election manifesto and a member of the party's general election steering committee.

He has also advised a number of commercial and non-commercial organisations on strategic communication, democratic inclusion and community engagement. In his academic work, Marc is an expert in democratic theory and the history of ideologies and social movements. He is the author of Demanding Democracy (2010), Progressives, Pluralists and the Problems of the State (2002) and an editor of many volumes, including The Oxford Handbook of Political Ideologies (2014).

From this author

Inclusive and workplace acceptance of refugees
Partnering for refugee employment

When considering their talent pipelines, few companies think outside-of-the-box. Most refugees flourish in the workplace, and so do the businesses that hire them.

SDG 16
Institutional investors demand a more sustainable capitalism

Honey gathering is a solitary job in Indigenous communities. The collector then shares the honey with their community but refrains from joining in the honey feast themself. The idea is that the gathering is not about their gratification, it’s about their contribution to the collective.  

SDG15 Bushfires
Optimisation model as a guide to burning forests to save forests

Setting fire to parts of a forest to save it might seem counterintuitive to urban communities. There is no equivalent of torching a few streets to protect a suburb. However, amongst First Nations people in Australia, hazard reduction burning is a well-established practice.

SDG13 - coal mining
Net zero now – it’s the economy AND the planet

In Australia, as elsewhere, the climate wars have focused on the climate versus jobs dichotomy. Yet while Australia remains highly dependent on fossil fuel extraction for its national economic prosperity it has also become increasingly unequal in its distribution of that wealth.