Shakespeare Given Role in COI Review

In the UK, the government has formed a roundtable of experts - including YouGov's CEO Stephan Shakespeare - to advise on its review of the future of the COI (Central Office of Information).

The Cabinet Office announced the review last November, to focus on the COI's 'role, funding, organisational status, governance, and the most effective organisation of cross-departmental co-ordination and leadership on strategic marketing and communication issues'.

Shakespeare (pictured), who is the co-founder of YouGov, also owns the web site Conservative Home and in the 1997 election stood as the Conservative candidate for Colchester. (No doubt to the chagrin of headline writers everywhere it is not Shakespeare but his YouGov co-founder Nadhim Zahawi who was recently elected as Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon).

YouGov is a member of the COI's market research framework, which enables the online research specialist to bid on a wide range of research into key policy areas commissioned by central government and other public sector bodies.

Some of the roundtable's other members include WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell; Channel 4 CEO David Abraham; Engine Group Chairman Robin Wight; Aviva's Global Marketing and Insight Director Amanda Mackenzie; and Martha Lane-Fox, she of lastminute.com and currently the Government's digital inclusion champion.

The group will meet in mid-January to provide their initial views, and again in late February to provide views on the findings of the review.

'We need to incorporate the latest ideas from initiatives such as the Ad Council in the US and the latest thinking from experts such as our Behavioural Insight 'nudge' Team,' states Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office. 'If we get this right we can save the taxpayer money and increase the effectiveness of our campaigns, which is why I'm so pleased we have this team of experts on-hand to help advise us.'

The Cabinet Office has also published the terms of reference, a process methodology and a governance arrangement for the COI review. Government departments and external stakeholders are asked to provide their views on Government's direct communication in writing by 21 January 2011.

Web sites: www.yougov.com , www.coi.gov.uk.