Steve Martin is the Director of the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) and Professor of Public Policy & Management at Cardiff University.
He has a long and successful track record of establishing and leading highly effective research teams and providing strategic advice to governments and public bodies.
Steve has led more than 50 major research projects and held a range of advisory and non-executive roles. He chaired the UK Government’s Expert Panel on Local Governance, was appointed as a non-executive director of the Improvement and Development Agency, and has served as a trustee of the New Local Government Network, the Academic Adviser to the Independent Review of Public Services in Wales and a member of independent panel on National Assembly members’ salaries and allowances.
Steve was appointed as a member of the What Works Council in 2015 and is currently also a member of the Advisory Boards of the International Public Policy Observatory and PolicyWise. He has advised the European Union, UK Treasury, Cabinet Office, Department for Communities and Local Government, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Scottish and Welsh Governments, Audit Commission, National Audit Office and Sport Wales.
Prior to his current role, Steve founded and directed the Centre for Local & Regional Government Research which played a pivotal role in establishing Cardiff University’s international reputation for world-leading public policy research. Before joining Cardiff he led the Local Authority Research Consortium at Warwick Business School where he taught public policy and business strategy.
Steve has published 95 papers in peer reviewed journals and more than 200 policy reports for governments and public bodies. He was co-editor of Policy & Politics from 2015-2020, overseeing a threefold increase in its impact factor, and is currently a member of the editorial boards of Public Money & Management and Policy & Politics.
Steve has taught on the Local Government Leadership Academy and developed and led graduate and post-graduate programmes at Birmingham, Cardiff, Warwick and Aston Universities as well as serving as external examiner for PhD and Masters programmes in the UK and internationally.