Ben Bain is the Director for State Capacity at the Niskanen Center. Prior to joining Niskanen, Bain worked in national security innovation after serving in the United States Army as an infantry officer. Bain earned a master’s degree in security studies from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Georgia.

Hannah White became CEO of the Institute for Government in October 2022. She leads the Institute in its work to make government more effective. Prior to joining the Institute, Hannah was appointed secretary to the independent ethics body—the Committee on Standards in Public Life in the Cabinet Office. Previously, Hannah held a number of senior roles in the House of Commons, running select and legislative committees and advising on parliamentary procedure. She is a non-executive director of the Law Commission, and serves on the Centre for Science and Policy’s Advisory Council at the University of Cambridge. She received an OBE in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to the constitution, and in 2022 she published her first book Held in Contempt: What’s Wrong with the House of Commons?

Jennifer Robson is an Associate Professor and Director of the Graduate Program in Political Management at Carleton University. Her research publications include studies of Employment Insurance, tax policy, public investments in early learning, and household education savings. Her work has a particular focus on vulnerable groups and on the details of program design and implementation. Prior to becoming an academic, Jennifer worked in government, in both political and public service roles, and in the voluntary sector.