Gavin Freeguard

Gavin is a freelance consultant working on data policy, research and advocacy.

He is an associate at the Institute for Government, where he runs the Data Bites event series and was previously programme director for data and digital government, also leading the IfG’s Whitehall Monitor project which makes extensive use of government open data; an associate at Connected by Data; and a member of the Public Digital network. As a consultant he has worked for other organisations including mySociety, the Ada Lovelace Institute, the Royal Statistical Society, and Full Fact.

Before joining the IfG, he was political adviser on culture, media and sport to Rt Hon Harriet Harman KC MP, and before that, senior editor at the Media Standards Trust and deputy director of the Orwell Prize. He is a trustee of the Orwell Foundation, a member of the UK Open Government Network steering group and a member of HM Treasury’s User and Preparers Advisory Group for government financial reporting, and has also served Administrative Data Research UK and the Office for Statistics Regulation in advisory roles.

In February 2021, he joined the ODI Policy team as a Special Adviser. From November 2022, he will be stewarding the ODI’s Policy Team until a new Head of Policy is appointed in spring 2023.