Simon Soar appointed Director of the Policy Centre

Simon Soar has been appointed Director of  the Policy Centre Jersey.

Since the successful launch of Policy Centre Jersey back in March, the Centre has enjoyed considerable progress. It is closing in on 1,700 LinkedIn followers and, more recently, has seen some real interest from a number of key politicians. The Centre has held four, well attended, breakfast sessions on social mobility and housing, voter turnout and healthcare. Simon was introduced to the members of our Advisory Council and the wider audience at our 4 ^th event held on Friday 8 December on the subject of Higher Education in Jersey. Our website www.policy.je is proving to be a great source of information on the Island and is being used to support the curriculum in some schools.

Commenting on the appointment, Alan Merry, Chair of the Centre said “We are very pleased to welcome Simon to the team. With a career focused on developing businesses in Jersey, and as Vice Chair of IoD Jersey, Simon is well placed to help us build on our momentum and provide leadership and support through, what will be, a critical phase of our development”. Simon has agreed to take on the role of Director on an interim basis.

“I am delighted to take up this new role” said Simon. “There is already a great deal of interest in the work of the Centre, and I am looking forward to working with a wide range of stakeholders and to having the opportunity of making a difference to the important issues that we all face in Jersey”.

Policy Centre Jersey aims to deliver research on policy areas important to Island life and invites evidence-based research commissions relevant to Jersey. The Centre has the objective of increasing knowledge about, and civic engagement in, Jersey and thereby contributing to a more effective policy making with better outcomes for the people of Jersey. Policy Centre is non-political and a registered as a charity in Jersey.

In addition to inviting research commissions, the Policy Centre Jersey is funded by subscriptions and charitable donations. Anyone interested in supporting the Centre is invited to contact Simon at [director@policy.je]