Why ApoliticalApolitical is a global network for government, helping public servants find the ideas, people and partners they need to solve the hardest challenges facing our societies.We at Apolitical are optimists about government. We do not think government is perfect. But we think it works better than the media generally suggests. And we are also fans of the committed men and women who work in government, most of whom chose their careers because of a deep wish to serve society. We’re proud to be helping them.ApoliticalAPLTCL_5d64ab46-f05d-11e8-a690-88ef2bfabdf0Apolitical was founded by mission-driven entrepreneurs and backed by impact investors in Europe, North America and Asia and supported by an EU Horizon 2020 grant. It is a for-profit company and a Certified B Corporation. We believe that business can be a force for good, and are proud to be held to a high standard of accountability and transparency.GovernmentsGovernment is critical to solving global challenges --Whether we like or dislike government, love it or despair of it, most of us can can agree that government plays a pivotal role in solving wicked problems - from the refugee crisis and the strain of urbanisation to climate change, cyber security and adapting to a world where an algorithm somewhere is chasing your job.And innovative solutions often already exist -- Around the world, the hundreds and thousands of men and women working in government are tackling similar problems. Often the solutions they find can be shared. But with public servants working under tight time pressure and often in silos, good ideas often remain confined to a country or a sector. This leads to duplication of effort, wasted taxpayer money and poorer services for citizens.Public ServantsApolitical helps public servants find what’s working -- Who nowadays would book a trip or buy a product without first seeing what’s available and what other’s experiences have been? Apolitical brings to government the sharing we take for granted in other sectors, making it fun and easy to look around the world for smart ideas and people.Apolitical TeamWe come from entrepreneurship, journalism, government and business. We are united by our belief that government is a powerful force for good – and can be even more so...We are a team of ambitious, passionate and determined people with a shared desire to create a massive, positive impact in the world, to build an inspiring and pioneering company and to have fun along the way. We want to work with smart, committed people who care deeply about making the world better and share our belief that government plays an essential role in tackling our greatest challenges, from inequality and climate change to deradicalisation and refugees.Lisa WitterCo-Founder and Executive Chairman -- Lisa co-founded Assemblyfor, applying behavioural science to policy and social change, and WithoutViolence, an organization supporting people and policies to prevent violence against children. Previously, she was COO of Fenton, the largest public interest communications firm in the US. She is an author, regular commentator and moderator for outlets including NPR, MSNBC, CBS and the Clinton Global Initiative. She has worked in government for the City of Seattle. She is a WEF Young Global Leader, she sat for 3 terms on the Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Behaviour and now co-chairs the Forum’s Agile Governance Global Future Council and serves on a board for the U.S. Government's National Academy of Science and Engineering.Robyn ScottCo-Founder and CEO -- Robyn previously co-founded OneLeap, a London based executive education company, and Level Up, which teaches coding to vulnerable young people in South Africa. She has written an acclaimed memoir about growing up in Botswana. She is an ambassador for the Access to Medicine Index, an advisor to the Responsible Mining Index, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a Gates Scholar. She has a BSc in Bioinformatics from Auckland and a Masters in Bioscience Enterprise from Cambridge.Nitika AgarwalCOO -- Nitika was formerly a senior policy advisor at ​the UK Government’s Treasury​. She has advised ministers on financial and budgetary policy, led negotiations in Brussels on the UK​’s behalf, served as Chief of Staff to the UK Ambassador to the EU, and driven commercial reforms in the public sector. She has also worked in India and France with human rights NGOs and holds a degree in PPE from Oxford University.Ella Mae LewisDirector of Product -- Ella Mae was previously with the Global Fund to End Slavery, where she ran the data analytics and fieldwork portfolio for Africa. Prior to joining the Fund, Ella Mae worked on supply chain systems at the Walk Free Foundation, including lobbying with members of the House of Lords around the UK Modern Slavery Bill. She studied Modern History at Oxford University, was a Sutton Trust Alumna, a full Opportunities Bursar and taught herself to code.Dr James SmithHead of Engineering -- James Smith has 20 years of experience in tech, most recently as Head of Labs at the Open Data Institute. He codes in more than 10 languages and his experience includes, in particular, API development, web development, biometrics, computer vision and flight simulation. He has also worked on carbon emissions modelling and co-founded his own grassroots political party, building the tech to crowd-source a policy manifesto. He has a PhD in computer graphics algorithms.Apolitical AdvisorsPaul KirbyAdvisor -- Paul Kirby is a non-executive director of the UK Cabinet Office and a visiting professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Previously Paul served as Partner and Global Head of the Government and Public Sector Practice at KPMG and Head of the Number 10 Policy Unit. He studied at Oxford University.Professor Steven PinkerAdvisor -- Steven Pinker is an experimental psychologist and Johnstone Professor at Harvard University. He has also taught at Stanford and MIT. He has won numerous prizes for his research, his teaching, and his nine books, including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, and The Better Angels of Our Nature. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Humanist of the Year, a recipient of nine honorary doctorates, and one of Foreign Policy’s “World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals” and Time’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today.” His tenth book, published in February 2018, is called Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.Sheila Lirio MarceloAdvisor -- Sheila Lirio Marcelo is the Founder, Chairwoman and CEO of care.com; a public company that is the world’s largest online care destination with 20.7 million members in 18 countries. Sheila frequently speaks about women, technology and leadership, and has presented alongside former US President Barrack Obama. Sheila has been named a ‘Top 10 Women Entrepreneur’ by Fortune, is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and was recently appointed to the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership. She graduated from Mount Holyoke, where she also holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, and received her JD/MBA from Harvard University.Lindiwe MazibukoAdvisor -- Lindiwe Mazibuko is the first black woman in South African history to be elected Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. At 31 she was elected to be her party’s youngest ever parliamentary leader. She successfully prosecuted a Constitutional Court case against the Speaker of the National Assembly that vindicated the right of Members of Parliament to move a motion of no confidence in the President. She studied at Cape Town and Harvard University and was a Fellow of Harvard’s Institute of Politics.Dr Adam ParrAdvisor -- Dr Adam Parr is an entrepreneur and investor based in Oxford. He chairs the Oxford University machine-learning spin-out, Mind Foundry, and is a director of Cosworth Group and an advisor to OneLeap. Adam raised the finance for Ingenie.com and QuantumBlack, start-ups respectively acquired by Watchstone Group and McKinsey & Co. A barrister by training, he served as chief executive and chairman of the Williams F1 team between 2006 and 2012. He is a graduate of Cambridge University and holds a PhD from University College London.H.R.H. Jaime de Bourbon de ParmeAdvisor -- H.R.H. Jaime de Bourbon de Parme is the Netherlands’ Ambassador to the Holy See. Previously, Jaime was the Special Envoy on Natural Resources at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His main focus was long-term and sustainable security of supply of energy, metals and minerals. In this capacity he initiated the Responsible Mining Index. He set up the Conflict Free Tin Initiative, which brings traceable minerals from conflict prone areas in Congo to the international market. He also brokered a deal with Bolivia, which has the greatest deposits of lithium in the world, to help industrialise their lithium sector.Alex Lovell-TroyAdvisor -- Alex Lovell-Troy is an experienced entrepreneur and technology advisor with organizations including NewsDeeply, OneLeap and the William James Foundation. He is currently the Vice President of Transformation with Pythian where he leads strategy and analytics consulting practices. As advisor to Apolitical, he guides strategic use of data and technical leadership.Alex StarrittAdvisor -- Alex is a journalist, columnist and novelist who has worked in print, radio and television. He has written for The Guardian, The Spectator, The Huffington Post, The Times Literary Supplement and Fast Company, among others. His debut novel, The Beast, was published in September 2017. He also translates German fiction and has taught at Oxford University.Apolitical PartnersEuropean UnionWorld Economic ForumCabinet OfficeCrown Prince CourtWorld BankNCOSSBernard van LeerGovLabThe Intersector ProjectNestaChatham HouseOpen Data InstitituteAccountability LabCivil Service WorldSolutions Journalism NetworkThe Women in Public ServicePracticas Ejemplares EcuadorFast Company Co.ExistCitiScopeHuffington PostVice MediaIPAA AustraliaGlobal Partnership to End Violence Against ChildrenBusiness is a force for good_5d64ace0-f05d-11e8-a690-88ef2bfabdf0To make government great for citizens everywhere_5d64adbc-f05d-11e8-a690-88ef2bfabdf0OptimismPublic ServiceAccountabilityTransparencyFoundationSupport principled and skilled elected officials._5d64ae84-f05d-11e8-a690-88ef2bfabdf01Apolitical FoundationCandidates for Elective OfficeElected OfficialsGood political leadership is essential if governments are to be more effective today and better prepared for the future. The millions of civil servants around the world responsible for finding and implementing new policies cannot do their jobs without the support of principled and skilled elected officials. Yet around the world, we are facing a political leadership crisis. Fewer young people see politics as a way to make the world better. And politics is attracting highly partisan leaders who are less willing to listen to opposing views and collaborate across the aisle. The Apolitical Foundation is a non-profit organisation created by Apolitical to help solve this problem, endowed with Apolitical stock options._5d64af9c-f05d-11e8-a690-88ef2bfabdf0AcademyRun public leadership programmes for people interested in running for political office._5d64b06e-f05d-11e8-a690-88ef2bfabdf02Apolitical AcademyDaniel Sachs FoundationYoung PeopleWomenThe Foundation’s first initiative, Apolitical Academy, a joint venture with the Daniel Sachs Foundation, addresses this leadership crisis. The Academy runs public leadership programmes for talented people interested in running for political office. The programmes are focused on potential candidates from traditionally excluded backgrounds, such as young people and women._5d64b136-f05d-11e8-a690-88ef2bfabdf02018-11-24https://apolitical.co/why-apolitical/OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net