Profile: IPPR's two-headed boss

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If there's one thing the Institute for Public Policy Research's (IPPR) directors are good at, it's driving change. So no surprises that the wonkish world inhabited by thinktanks is in for a shock.Lisa Harker and Carey Oppenheim took over at IPPR last autumn. They faced a tough task following through the impressive legacies of Matthew Taylor and Nick Pearce, whose success stories include child trust funds and citizens' juries. Both their successors have experience of working in government: Ms Oppenheim was a senior policy adviser to Tony Blair. He in turn employed Ms Harker as child poverty tsar. Now they are back on the outside the pair are pouring their energies into changing the way IPPR works. It's an unusual job-sharing arrangement. Ms Harker works the first three days of the week, Ms Oppenheim the last. "We get to have a life," they explain. No bags under their eyes; just lots of energy and a breath of fresh air as they breeze into the room to meet me. It's a "no-brainer", Ms Harker tells me. And, as Ms Oppenheim points out, they don't have to deal with the loneliness leadership roles can sometimes bring. This is all very convenient; the pair have worked together before and are well-suited. But it also reflects their own attitude to the job. "If you look at the way organisations are developing at the cutting-edge it's much more small, team-based collaborative ways of working. It's very exciting to be doing that running an organisation."

The pair have done a good job of defying expectations when it comes to their leadership role; but that's nothing to what's happening in the organisation as a whole. This may come as a surprise to you – but Westminster is no longer cool. "A lot of organisations out there recognise that policymaking has changed – the localism agenda means people have to think in different ways about who the players are and where the power lies," Ms Harker explains. "So if you're a company, thinktank or charity you have to work in quite different ways." IPPR is no exception. It is the only major thinktank to have its own regional arm, IPPR North, which gives it a strong base in the north and north-east. It has courted local authorities with a recent conference on the future of local government. It has an ambitious international programme linking up with other organisations around the world. And whether it's helping individual London boroughs meet their child poverty targets or holding a commission on public services for the entire north-east, IPPR is getting out of London in style. Politics is changing: the diverse nature of the "players" involved means no organisation can afford to be stuck in one set of networks. It also helps to get away from the big picture at times. If you understand what's happening lower down the chain, Ms Oppenheim says, "that changes the way you think about policies in the first place". Thinktanks are distancing themselves from their traditional ways of working as a result. The press releases, pamphlets, reports, all pushed out with tedious regularity since time immemorial, remain. But they are now being supplemented by alternative, more engaging means of distribution. IPPR expects this "output culture" will move closer in line to general trends in the communications sector. "How do you influence change beyond the usual levers?" is the question Ms Harker asks. She and Ms Oppenheim are showing other thinktanks some of the potential answers to this question. IPPR has a film-maker in residence working on documentary making. A fair pay network with Premier League teams (players not included) is viewed as innovative. And it is also engaged in projects like its green streets collaboration with British Gas, which is looking at how the public can be persuaded to change their behaviour in sustainability. Ms Oppenheim says these methods are different ways of "achieving impact". "You have to build on your strengths – we're not going to become a film-making institute – but become more imaginative about how you get your message across." What does this all mean for the political parties? IPPR, like most of today's thinktanks, began its life closely affiliated with a particular party. But history has moved on and its initial raison d'etre – preparing New Labour for government – has been replaced by a newly independent outlook. It has grown up. "We have a sense of our niche as an organisation and a confidence in our ability to do good-quality work which will help all parties," Ms Harker says. "So we've gone from a role which is very closely related to one political party and really looking to be one step ahead of where policymakers are whichever political party they're in. And one of the roles of a thinktank is trying to find the space for the thinking it's not possible to do, whether you're in government or in opposition." It helps, of course, that British politics has converged on the centre-left's progressive aims. Raising this, I can't help but detect a slight sense of triumph in the pair sitting opposite me. This doesn't translate into smugness, thankfully: instead it's all remarks about the "really important" role it gives IPPR in the future. "We are committed to changing the world but often that means working with no political parties actually – particularly the way power has shifted away from Westminster," Ms Harker finishes. I couldn't possibly do a thinktank profile interview without asking about the recent hot water Policy Exchange found itself in over a report on regeneration. London is the future, the thinktank told those living in the north, and it's time for them to get on their respective bikes and head down south pronto. IPPR North responded vigorously at the time and David Cameron made very clear his opposition to its proposals. Strangely enough, Ms Oppenheim and Ms Harker described the reaction to the report as a "sign of success". While shuddering inwardly about its content, IPPR is all for thinktanks throwing their weight about. "I don't think there's a problem or anything wrong with putting forward a very controversial view," Ms Oppenheim finishes. Ms Harker adds: "I think it's important to look further ahead, be brave and be prepared to say what you think." That sums up the attitude of IPPR's two directors perfectly: the world of Westminster, and more importantly that outside Westminster, is changing. IPPR appears to be keeping up; the pressure is on other thinktanks to do the same. Alex Stevenson

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