After several years leading analysis for the tech department, Alison Kilburn is appointed to the top job at GES, to which she will bring ‘valuable perspectives and an exciting enthusiasm’
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology analysis director Alison Kilburn has been appointed as joint head of the Government Economic Service.
Kilburn (pictured above), who is also DSIT’s chief economist, will work alongside Prof Brian Bell in leading the GES, which has around 3,500 members across departments and agencies. In her new post, she will be tasked with bringing to bear expertise in new technology gained during her time in the tech department.
The new GES leader has a 30-year civil service career under her belt and has been DSIT analysis director for just over three years. She joined from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, where she was also analysis director.
Before that, she was interim director of analysis at the then-Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and head of the Treasury’s Government Economic Service and Social Research Team.
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Writing on LinkedIn, Kilburn described the opportunity to jointly lead the Government Economic Service with Bell as a “real privilege”.
“The GES has always been about applying economics to real-world decisions – shaping policy, supporting ministers, and improving outcomes for people. That’s what has kept me here for 30 years, after initially joining on a one-year contract,” she said. “At its best, the GES is a community that is thoughtful, rigorous and willing to take on the hardest challenges in applied economics. My focus is on a profession that is confident in its advice, clear about its standards and accessible to talent from across the UK – one that proudly uses its collective strength to have real and tangible impact.”
Bell, who took up post as chief economic adviser at HM Treasury and head of the GES in March, said he is “thrilled” by Kilburn’s appointment.
“As a career civil servant with a wealth of experience across government, and her current work at the forefront of AI, she brings valuable perspectives and an exciting enthusiasm for the profession,” he said. “I look forward to working closely with her to continue strengthening the GES, and ensuring we collectively deliver high-quality, impactful advice to government.”
Bell was previously chair of the Migration Advisory Committee. He succeeded Sam Beckett as the Treasury’s top economist and GES head.