Alanna Gluck

Hi, I’m Alanna Gluck, and I graduated with an MSc in Public Policy and Management in 2017.

I’m passionate about improving social, economic and environmental outcomes for everyday people. I believe the best way to do this is to work with government to develop and implement public policy.

My decision to study PPM was motivated by my experience of a “policy failure” while working in Spain. I worked on a government funded education programme which failed at delivery, and I was determined to understand why. I was particularly interested in finding out how governments work with the private and third sectors to deliver public services.

By understanding the management of public services I’ve learned how institutions deliver policy objectives that improve lives. As an undergraduate I studied Philosophy and Religious Studies. This taught me how belief systems and ethics influence individuals, their decision-making and their values. By studying PPM I’ve learnt how these factors influence entire institutions and systems, and what is valued as “public good”.

Although I was fortunate enough to be accepted to several high-profile London universities it became clear that King’s was the best option for me. As an American expat with a global outlook I valued that King’s has one of the most international student bodies in the world. This was reflected in the teaching. Whereas other courses focus primarily on Whitehall, PPM at King’s Business School takes a comparative approach to policy and management studies, and emphasises comparisons between international systems of government.

Crucially for me, I not only learned political theory and economic analysis, I also studied organisational and people management in the public services. The breadth and depth of this course was unique, and further added to the value of studying in the UK. As a result my understanding of strategic and operational frameworks, evaluation methodologies and the policy process has had a huge impact on my day-to-day work.

I appreciated that the structured teaching was so dynamic. Lectures were intellectually stimulating, as lecturers shared their expert practical experience of working with governments to improve services and systems. Tutorials were delivered collaboratively, and it was great that lecturers encouraged my classmates and I to share the wealth of policy experience we had, as many students were on sabbatical from civil service positions across the world.

There were 35 students in my cohort. This created an intimate learning experience which was hugely beneficial. The environment was never competitive – we were one big learning family, always ready to help each other. An important learning experience for me was participating in a competitive research internship with a London-based NGO. The opportunity to research and analyse the policy-driven work of the NGO further solidified my ambition to work directly with Government.

I’m delighted to now be working as the Policy and Public Affairs Manager at the Centre for Digital Built Britain, a partnership between the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the University of Cambridge. Our mission is to deliver a smart digital economy for infrastructure and construction, and to transform the UK’s approach to the way we plan, build, maintain and use social and economic infrastructure for the future.

I oversee the daily management of CDBB’s national and international policy networks and work alongside Whitehall departments to deliver the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy. I analyse policy and produce high level reports and briefs on policy development and implementation. I also support senior leadership to develop strategy, identify tactics and deliver programmes which create tangible outcomes for people and the environment in the UK and abroad.

I hope to continue to work with the UK Government to deliver its long-term ambitions for infrastructure – specifically in enabling better information management through data interoperability across systems; supporting the future development of a National Digital Twin; and building a global digital infrastructure market - by influencing policy and strategy development, and by designing interventions which accelerate the use of data for the public good.

I use what I learned from studying PPM every single day in my work. King’s gave me the theoretical and practical understanding of public policy, and how through public policy we can provide greater social, economic and environmental benefit for people and for society. I consistently draw upon the frameworks, models and methodologies, and it has given me a knowledge base which has proven invaluable to my career development.

Most importantly, I’ve learned that policy is a process which happens incrementally over many years, and often decades. This understanding keeps me motivated to build consensus on important issues, even in the face of adversity. Thanks to King’s Business School I feel equipped and inspired to face any challenge in my career.