Dr Audrey MacDougall
Scottish Government Chief Social Researcher and Deputy Director of Central Analysis Division
Dr Audrey MacDougall FAcSS is the Scottish Government’s Chief Social Researcher. She took up this role in 2013. She also heads up the Central Analysis Division of the Scottish Government where she was responsible for directing the Scottish Government’s analytical response to COVID. Currently a major strand of her work is focused on developing capability and capacity within the Scottish Government for the development and use of evidence and analysis for policy making and operational delivery. Audrey has a particular interest in mixed methods and the power of interdisciplinary research to generate new insights.
Audrey studied maths in University College Dublin and then moved to London where she trained as a Chartered Accountant. In 1995 she moved to Edinburgh where she became a senior manager in the Infrastructure and Government department in KPMG responsible for best value and consultancy assignments across the public sector in Scotland. While at KPMG she completed an MBA.
In 2002, looking for a change in direction Audrey spent 18 months on secondment to the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit in Whitehall. Following this she returned to the University of Edinburgh where she completed a PhD on strategy making in the 4 nations governments post devolution.
Audrey joined the Scottish Government in 2006 as a social researcher and has worked in various policy areas in education, poverty housing, equalities and social security.
I’m delighted to be joining the Advisory Board for the new Centre for Public Policy at the University of Glasgow. Public policy in all its complexity benefits greatly from the collective insights of all those with expertise providing an evidence base to inform decision making. The Centre will provide a creative space for people to come together to share and learn. It’s an exciting prospect.