Residential and business properties in Oxfordshire

The Local Policy Lab was founded in 2024 to bring together Oxford’s universities and councils to tackle Oxfordshire’s biggest challenges

Published

27 Nov 2025

Tackling Oxfordshire’s biggest challenges: Local Policy Lab appoints first Chief Scientific Advisors

Oxfordshire’s Local Policy Lab has appointed its first Chief Scientific Advisors (CSAs) to provide research leadership as part of its work in reducing health inequalities in the county.

An alliance between the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University and Oxfordshire County Council, the Local Policy Lab promotes partnerships between academia, community, and government in order to inform policy and improve quality of life for Oxfordshire residents.

Professor James Robson, Dr Joanna Crocker and Associate Professor Jonathan Reid will each be responsible for leading and delivering an ambitious three-year research plan in one of three focus areas: delivering a skilled workforce and fair employment, ensuring a healthy standard of living for all, and enabling children and young people to thrive.

The Chief Scientific Advisors will work in close collaboration with policy-makers, practitioners and communities over the next three years to effect direct impact on the ground.

Dr Martin Reeves, Chief Executive, Oxfordshire County Council, said:

"We are hugely excited to welcome Joanna, James and Jonathan as our first Chief Scientific Advisors. Oxfordshire County Council is building a culture where research is everyone’s business and today’s CSA appointments reflect our ongoing commitment to using robust evidence and innovative thinking to make Oxfordshire a greener, fairer, and healthier county. The CSAs will further strengthen our Local Policy Lab partnership with University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, ensuring that our work is informed by the best available evidence to meet the needs and maximise the opportunities for people and communities across Oxfordshire."

Professor Alexander Betts, Pro-Vice Chancellor, External Engagement, Sport and Community, University of Oxford said:

“The University of Oxford recognises our responsibility to support healthy place-shaping to enable our Oxfordshire community to thrive. The new Local Policy Lab Chief Scientific Advisors will help better bridge research, policy and communities and we look forward to their collaborative approaches to addressing some of the most pressing challenges across Oxfordshire.”

The Local Policy Lab was founded in 2024 to bring together Oxford’s universities and councils to tackle Oxfordshire’s biggest challenges.

Left to right: Associate Professor Jonathan Reid, Dr Joanna Crocker, Professor James Robson

About the Chief Scientific Advisors

Professor James Robson

James Robson is Associate Professor of Tertiary Education Systems at the University of Oxford’s Department of Education, where he also serves as Director of Research and as Director of the Centre on Skills, Knowledge and Organisational Performance (SKOPE). His research explores the political economy of tertiary education: how education systems can better connect with employment, respond to skills demand, support innovation ecosystems, and advance social justice.

“Ensuring people have the skills they need to flourish in their careers and supporting employers to develop meaningful, skilled employment opportunities are essential to both healthy communities and a strong economy. I’m delighted to join the Local Policy Lab as CSA to lead work in this area and to be part of such an innovative approach to place-based policy making.”

Dr Joanna Crocker

Joanna Crocker is a Senior Researcher in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford. She specialises in patient, public and community involvement in health research, with a particular interest in how such involvement can reduce health inequalities.

“I am honoured and excited to help develop a collaborative local research agenda under the theme, ‘Ensuring a Healthy Standard of Living for All.’ Health inequalities are among the most pressing challenges facing Oxfordshire. We have a unique opportunity to address these by aligning around shared goals and committing to collective action rooted in community priorities.”

Associate Professor Jonathan Reid

Dr Jonathan Reid is an Associate Professor of Education in the School of Education, Humanities and Languages at Oxford Brookes University. His research focuses on inclusion and exclusion in education, with particular interest in children and young people with diverse needs, adversity, trauma, and wellbeing.

“I am delighted to join the Local Policy Lab as Chief Scientific Advisor for the ‘Enabling Children and Young People to Thrive’ Policy Lab theme. Addressing persistent childhood disparities in Oxfordshire requires imaginative, community-focused research. I look forward to helping shape a collaborative agenda that illuminates lived experience, informs effective policy, and promotes more equitable opportunities for all children and young people.”

About the Local Policy Lab

The Local Policy Lab, an alliance between the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University and Oxfordshire County Council, aims to promote meaningful partnerships between academia, community, and local government, create opportunities for applied research and support evidence-based policymaking in Oxfordshire. The Local Policy Lab is focused on addressing the socio-economic underpinnings of health across Oxfordshire.

The Lab envisions a future where local policymaking and research develop hand in hand, mutually informing and reinforcing one another, enabling a successful whole-system approach to eliminating inequalities and improving the quality of life for Oxfordshire’s residents.

The Local Policy Lab is supported by the University of Oxford’s Economic and Social Research Council Impact Acceleration Account (ESRC IAA).