Working with you for the public

Tom works at the interface of government, business and academia and is passionate about the need for better decision making to solve our most pressing social problems. Prior to becoming and independent adviser and founding Leapwise, Tom was Director of Research at the Institute for Government, where he was part of the organisation’s set up team and board and led a range of ground-breaking research to improve government effectiveness. Before this, he was senior adviser (Home Affairs) in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit in the mid-2000s, a role that followed a period supporting FTSE 100 executives as a strategy consultant with Boston Consulting Group.

Tom’s sector specialism is crime, security and justice and he operates across Leapwise service areas. He is the author of Times ‘Thought’ Book of the Year “Criminal: The Truth About Why People Do Bad Things” (Penguin, 2016), an in-demand international speaker on both criminal and organisational decision-making, and a regular media commentator (BBC, Sky, ABC, Fox) and government Select Committee expert witness. He has directed over 100 consulting and research projects and authored over 30 academic and practitioner focused articles, as well as articles for The Financial Times, The Times, The Guardian, WIRED, and Prospect Magazine. He is an Honorary faculty member of University College London and a Senior Fellow of the Institute for Government.

Prior to Leapwise, Amber worked in consulting at Deloitte across New Zealand and Canada, where she focused on public sector transformations. Notable projects include establishing a new Ministry in New Zealand that had a citizen-centred operating model, developing a shared service design centre for the Canadian federal government, and enabling a public tele-healthcare provider to provide additional support to people through COVID-19 .

She has a passion for solving complex social issues and is particularly interested in the application of human-centered design principles to effect social change.

In her spare time, she can be found travelling, cooking, reading, and learning a new hobby or skill.

At Leapwise, Tanvi has worked on a range of projects across UK policing and local government, including work on delivery planning, workforce modelling and survey design. Prior to Leapwise, Tanvi worked at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and as an independent research consultant, managing and supporting over 20 social research and development projects.

With an academic background in economics, development and social geography, she holds a PhD from University of Cambridge, where she also taught applied statistics to undergraduates, and an MSc from University of Oxford.

Annie has worked on Leapwise projects in policing, justice and local government, including a behaviour change project to reduce fly-tipping and work to promote preventative approaches in public services. She previously worked in the tech industry, developing behaviour change solutions that reduce carbon emissions.

Annie holds a master’s degree in Behavioural Science and an undergraduate degree in Psychology, both from Durham University. At Durham, she founded and led the Durham University Behavioural Insights Society and led a randomised controlled trial project focused on evaluating the impact of a leadership development tool. She has helped shape some of Leapwise’s core project methodologies relating to workforce and public behaviour change, and is passionate about creating positive social impact through behavioural science.

Joe holds a first- class degree from the University of York in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), where he ran a consultancy group that worked on pro- bono projects for the local community and undertook projects to support entrepreneurs in Uganda.

​Earlier in his career, James worked for the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) and the leading Westminster think tanks Demos and Reform, where work included co-authoring a policy paper with former Home Office Chief Scientific Adviser Sir John Aston. James holds an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Oxford University and was a previous winner of the Orwell Youth Prize. His work on policing has been published by The Times and featured on BBC Radio.

With a passion for enhancing public safety and evidence-based practice, James continues to contribute to the dialogue on effective policing strategies through Leapwise Perspectives and wider thought leadership publications, and through his consulting work.

Prior to working as a Personal Assistant, Jules worked as a Travel Agent for over a decade, which allowed her to indulge in her love of travelling and seeing new places.

Outside of working, she is also a keen sporting volunteer. She recently supported the UEFA’s VIP & Protocol Team, both as a volunteer and volunteer recruiter, during the men’s and women’s tournaments at Wembley Stadium. Her career highlight was being given the opportunity to be a Games Maker at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, based at Greenwich Park for the Equestrian.