Experts

Seth Weisz is a masters student at Cambridge University. He is currently studying for an MPhil in International Development, and has an BA in History. His undergraduate dissertation is on the assassination of Patrice Lumumba and the origins of the Congo Crisis. His MPhil dissertation will explore how governments in low-income countries have responded to social media radicalisation.

Andy Westwood is Professor of Government Practice at the University of Manchester. An expert in further and higher education, science policy and local/regional economic development and has worked regularly as an adviser for the OECD, IMF and the EU and the House of Lords select committee on Economic Affairs and Digital Skills. He has also worked in the UK government as a political and special adviser and civil servant in a variety of departments. He is a Co-Investigator at The Productivity Institute.

Christine Whitehead is Emeritus Professor in Housing Economics at the London School of Economics. She is an internationally respected applied economist concentrating in the fields of housing economics, finance and policy.  She has worked with a wide range of international agencies as well as regularly for the UK government and Parliament. She is currently specialist adviser to the Levelling Up Select Committee. Her latest book with Geoff Meen is Understanding Affordability published in 2020.

Damian Whittard is an Associate Professor in Economics at UWE’s Bristol Business School, where he also leads the Wage and Employment Dynamics (WED) Programme and UWE’s contribution to the Brunel Centre. Working with partners from the University of Bath and Futures West, the Brunel Centre is delivering a multi-million-pound Research England investment to create a regional economic observatory for the West of England. Damian is a member of the Data Research, Access and Governance Network

Kemar Whyte is a senior economist in the macroeconomic modelling and forecasting division at NIESR. His main research topics are financial stability and macroprudential policy, with a particular interest in the linkages between the financial and real sector. Most recently, he has also focused on applied macroeconomics and economic policy.

Gemma Williams is a Research Fellow at Birmingham City University (BCU), and co-leads their Family, Gender & Health Research Cluster. Gemma’s research interests include period poverty, menstruation and chronic illness/disabilities. Gemma is currently Project Lead for an ESRC funded research project looking at how UK period poverty initiatives are mitigating Covid-19 related challenges.