The Institute’s Ministers Reflect project includes several interviews with former ministers in the devolved governments in the UK, and the model of long-form interviews with former ministers has been exported to a number of countries around the world. Of course, the political and cultural contexts differ, and the ease of access to former ministers varies between these countries. But there are many similarities between the experiences of ministers and the challenges they face in leading officials, passing legislation and getting things done in government.

To discuss how ministers’ roles vary around the UK and around the world, and how Ministers Reflect-style interviews can inform our understanding of government, we were joined by:

Professor Caspar van den Berg, Chair in Global and Local Governance at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and member of the Dutch Senate

Dr Hans Gutbrod, Associate Professor of Public Policy at Ilia State University in Georgia

Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government

Dr Catherine Haddon, Programme Director at the Institute for Government

This event was chaired by Tim Durrant, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

This event was part of the IfG's Ministers Reflect one-day conference.