Government economic advisor Tom Stratton becomes new Chief of Staff at the RSA

The Royal Society for the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) has appointed Tom Stratton, to be its new Chief of Staff.

The RSA is an independent charity, founded in 1754, which unites people and ideas to develop practical solutions to solve the challenges of our time. The RSA’s President is HRH Anne, the Princess Royal.

Mr Stratton joins the RSA from the Cabinet Office where he was the Senior Economic Advisor to the Levelling Up Taskforce leading the negotiations across Whitehall regarding the UK Government’s levelling up agenda. He was previously the Deputy Head of Research at the Industrial Strategy Council. He worked as an economic analyst for the Bank of England from 2011 to 2020 and has been a policy advisor at the Department for Education.

Mr Stratton’s arrival follows the appointment last month of Dr Andrea Siodmok OBE – formerly Chief Design Officer at the Design Council and a Deputy Director at the Cabinet Office - as the RSA’s Chief Impact Officer.

Andy Haldane, the RSA’s Chief Executive Officer said: “The RSA is home to some of the most impressive and effective thinkers on social policy in the UK. Adding Tom and Andrea to senior positions here shows how serious the RSA is about making a positive impact on the world around us. Tom was central to the levelling-up work going on in government and his track record as a policymaker and advisor in Westminster and the Square Mile in the past decade is second to none. He’ll be a huge asset to the RSA’s ongoing mission.”

Mr Stratton said: “All of my working life I have focused on how big policy decisions play out in real time for real people in their daily lives. The cost-of-living crisis and the need to regenerate industry and business in harmony with the natural environment are amongst the biggest challenges facing the UK and its global partners right now. Solutions will only be found by bringing together leaders in politics, business, the non-profit sector, and civic society. No other organisation is as well placed to achieve this. Now is a great time to be joining the RSA.”

The RSA has been at the forefront of significant social impact for over 260 years. Our proven change process, rigorous research, innovative ideas platform and diverse global community of over 30,000 problem solvers, deliver solutions for lasting change.
Mr Stratton will lead the Society’s data analysis work as well as playing a key role in its external facing activity and formulating and driving the RSA’s new global strategy, which will be announced at the RSA Fellows Festival on 14th May. Mr Stratton takes up the RSA Chief of Staff role at the beginning of July.

Notes to editors

• Most recently, at the Cabinet Office, Tom was responsible for cross-government negotiations and the timely agreement of twelve levelling up missions with central government departments. He advised the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Levelling Up and Permanent Secretary of the Levelling Up Taskforce and connected the Prime Minister’s Policy and Delivery Units the HM Treasury and over ten departments across Whitehall. He was the lead author of the Technical Annex to the Levelling Up White Paper.
• At the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, amongst other responsibilities Tom led a special project team examining the lessons for industrial policy from the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine procurement programme, managing relationships with the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor and Head of the Vaccines Taskforce.
• Whilst at the Bank of England, Tom ran the Macroprudential Toolkit Team in the Prudential Policy Directorate and was an economic advisor in the Financial Stability, Strategy and Risk Directorate producing analysis of risks to UK financial stability from households for the Monetary Policy Committee, Financial Policy Committee and Prudential Regulation Committee.
• At the Department for Education, Tom was the Private Secretary to Eileen Munro, author of Munro Review of Child Protection (published in May 2011). His work included development of early intervention policy using a systems theory approach, to improve cost-effectiveness of interventions into vulnerable children’s lives.
• Tom is available for interview.

About us

• The RSA (royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce) is an independent charity, committed to a future that works for everyone. A future where we can all participate in its creation.
• The RSA has been at the forefront of significant social impact for over 260 years. Our proven change process, rigorous research, innovative ideas platform and diverse global community of over 30,000 problem solvers, deliver solutions for lasting change.
• Legally, the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (‘RSA’) is a Royal Charter Company and registered charity in England and Wales (charity number 212424) and in Scotland (charity number SC037784).