At the request of the First Minister of Wales, Steve Martin established the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) in 2013 and served as its Director for more than a decade.
Under Steve’s leadership the Centre grew from an initial team of two to more than 20 staff with an annual budget of £2 million. It completed more than 200 projects in its first ten years, gaining international recognition for its innovative demand-led model of evidence mobilisation. It was cited by the OECD as an exemplar of evidence-based policy, was a finalist in the prestigious Economic and Social Research Council Impact on Public Policy Prize, and has attracted interest from governments and universities around the world.
Prior to creating the WCPP, Steve founded and directed the Centre for Local & Regional Government Research at Cardiff University, where he led a series of studies which gained him international recognition for world-leading research on public service improvement. Before this he led the Local Authority Research Consortium at Warwick Business School where he conducted research on democratic renewal and taught public policy and business strategy.
Steve has a long and successful track record of establishing and leading highly effective research teams and providing strategic advice to governments and public bodies.
He has led more than 50 major research and evaluation projects and held a range of advisory and non-executive roles in the UK and internationally.
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 as 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 has served a member of the Advisory Boards of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence, International Public Policy Observatory, the UK and Ireland Campbell Collaboration, What Works Scotland and PolicyWise.
He has been an adviser to the European Union, Government of Oman, UK Treasury, Cabinet Office, Department for Communities and Local Government, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, Audit Commission, Local Government Association, National Audit Office, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, Sport Wales and a range of individual local authorities.
To date Steve has published 96 papers in peer reviewed journals and more than 200 policy reports for governments and other 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.
He 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.