With a new government in place, a policy refresh is on the horizon. But poor institutional memory and failure to learn from other countries’ experiences can lead to policy failures and substandard outcomes.

In our new event series, we look at successful policies from around the world that have made good things happen. From the rollout of heat pumps in Sweden to public service leadership and governance in Singapore, we’re gathering global experts to learn about successful policy interventions that have moved the dial on big social issues and explore how they might be applicable in the UK. 

Coming up:

• Reimagining early years support: lessons from First Five South Carolina: on Tuesday 20 January we'll explore how South Carolina's state government successfully engineered a powerful digital solution to the problem of fragmented family support services. Register today to learn the steps required to move beyond fragmented services and how lessons from South Carolina can be immediately applied to UK policy.
• Supporting prison leavers into long-term employment: on Thursday 12 February we'll discuss the significant role prison employment and education initiatives have played in the growth of prison leavers sustaining work. Register for the event to gain insights into how we can overcome systemic barriers that ensures prison leavers receive a genuine second chance.

Here’s what we’ve learnt so far from previous events on how to make good things happen around the world:

• England’s teenage pregnancy strategy: this session explored how strategic interventions can dramatically improve public health outcomes. Moira Wallace, who led the Social Exclusion Unit’s original strategy, joined us to reflect on its success in reducing teenage pregnancy rates and the broader lessons for public health campaigns.
• England’s Sure Start: we were joined by the first director of Sure Start to examine this early intervention programme and uncover insights into designing and delivering impactful services for children and families.
• Sweden’s heat pumps: with a high adoption rate of heat pumps, Sweden has demonstrated how targeted policies and incentives can drive decarbonisation in heating systems. A panel of experts from industry, policy and research joined us to deep dive into Sweden’s approach and how it might be adopted elsewhere.
• Singapore’s approach to governance and public service leadership: we heard from report authors at BIT to find out how Singapore’s effective public service model, policy design and long-term scenario planning could be applied to the UK government.
• The UK's furlough scheme: we heard from the scheme's inventor, Tim Leunig, on how the scheme successfully protected 3.25 million jobs and enabled the economy to restart after COVID-19 restrictions through robust data and astute design. We explored how crucial well-designed interventions are and how it can be adapted to different contexts.
• Amsterdam's approach to solving the childhood obesity crisis: with Amsterdam’s city government leading one of the longest-running, well-funded childhood obesity reduction programmes globally, we explored their systemic approach to improving child health outcomes. A panel of experts unpacked key takeaways for the UK, including balancing prevention and treatment, targeting environments with impactful interventions, and embedding solutions into municipal policy.
• Little Scandinavia's approach to reducing reoffending: we explored how a Scandinavian-inspired prison wing reduced violence, improved staff morale and halved the use of restricted housing for rule violations. We discussed how the adoption of this approach can help solve the UK's prison crisis.
• Japan's approach to healthy ageing: we explored and critically assessed Japan’s approach to supporting its ageing population. This included investigating the design and effectiveness of Japan's Integrated Care Systems in coordinating health and social support, and looking at initiatives around extended employment and how they contribute to well-being for older citizens through social connection, financial stability and physical health.
• A review of 2025's best policy ideas to tackle the UK’s biggest challenges: we determined what the most compelling and innovative policy ideas of the year were through lively debate and discussion. This event had a lineup of policy experts pitch their own 'policy ideas of the year' that could have real, positive impact on our lives.

Find out more in our insights reports below.

If you are interested in our upcoming events and want more information, contact us: at [email protected].