Professor Nick Pearce

Professor Nick Pearce joined the HEPI Advisory Board in June 2021 and became a Trustee in September 2024. He is currently Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Institute for Policy Research (IPR) at the University of Bath.

 Before joining the University of Bath, Nick was the Director of Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), and between 2008 and 2010, Head of the No10 Downing St. Policy Unit. Nick has also worked as special adviser in the Home Office, Cabinet Office and former Department for Education and Employment. He has been chair of trustees at Tavistock Relationships and the Early Intervention Foundation and has served on a number of advisory and review bodies for the UK government. in 2019/20, he was Chair of the Democracy and Civic Participation Commission for the London Borough of Newham.

Nick is currently a trustee at Foundations, the national ‘what works centre’ for children and families, and Chair of the Living Wage Commission, which oversees the calculation of the ‘real’ Living Wage rates in the UK. In July 2025, Nick was appointed by the UK government to the Pensions Commission. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institution of British Architects.