Policy Centre Annual report published

The Policy Centre has published its Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2024. The Report details the research that has been undertaken, meetings held and papers published in its first full year of operation.

In his introduction to the Report, the Centre’s Chair, Alan Merry, said –

We have made great progress. In little more than a year, the Centre is well on the way to becoming firmly established as the source of authoritative analysis on key policy areas relevant to Jersey.

Arguably, one of our most important achievements is overcoming the perception that we are a ‘political’ organisation - which we are clearly not. This is evidenced by the level of attendance, along with the quality of support, input and debate at our discussion sessions. It is particularly pleasing to see a number of key politicians and government officials not only attending these sessions, but also presenting and contributing to the debate. Whilst we are very happy to see the progress to date, we are very aware that there is still a long way to go.

Looking forward, one of our greatest challenges is funding. This report details everything we have delivered since March 2023, and it is remarkable that we have been able to do so with the support of a talented team of volunteers and at a cost of only £31,000. We are very grateful for the sponsorship we have received but this level of funding is not sufficient to enable the Centre to continue operating and to build on our momentum.

It is hoped that the range and depth of activities set out in this report will encourage businesses, foundations and individuals to make modest contributions to enable the Centre to expand its activities. In the coming months, the Centre will be approaching these groups for funding to support the valuable work it is doing for the Island.

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