Dr Aaron Maniam

About

Dr Aaron Maniam is a Fellow of Practice at the Blavatnik School of Government. His work focuses on issues connecting technology, public policy and public administration. He teaches on the School’s Master of Public Policy and executive education programmes, and convenes its digital 'thematic cluster', bringing together scholarship and practice on digital issues. He co-chairs the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on GovTech and Digital Public Infrastructure and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD’s) global expert panel on strategic foresight. He is also Senior Fellow for Advanced AI at the Centre for Future Generations in Brussels, and a member of the OECD’s Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Futures. 

Previously a policymaker in the Singapore government, Dr Maniam was most recently Deputy Secretary (Industry and International) at the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information, overseeing the ministry’s work in the digital economy, digital literacy and inclusion, and digital diplomacy. He held a concurrent cross-government role coordinating Singapore’s strategy in global branding, soft power and public diplomacy. Before that, he served in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry, the Public Service Division and Civil Service College. In particular, he was the founding Head of the Centre for Strategic Futures, currently under the Prime Minister’s Office Strategy Group, and Institute Director for the Institute of Public Sector Leadership. In both roles, Dr Maniam was involved in conceptualising, facilitating, delivering and sustaining cross-government strategy, visioning, leadership development and organisational development efforts, as well as sharing Singapore’s work with other countries in capability-building programmes. 

He was recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2013, by the Asia Society as an Asia 21 Young Leader in 2007 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufacture and Commerce (FRSA).

Dr Maniam did his PhD at the Blavatnik School of Government on a Clarendon Scholarship, focused on comparing the work of leading digital states like Estonia, New Zealand and Singapore. He holds an MPP from the School (with Distinction), a Master of Arts in International and Development Economics from Yale University, and a BA (double first-class honours) from Oxford in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.