Priya Thethi
Policy Adviser @ Local Government Association
I have a decade of experience working in policy and strategy roles within UK local government, central government, and the third sector. My background is in Behavioural Economics (MSc, 2015) and I'm very keen on all things service design. I love understanding why institutions are behaving in a certain way, and identifying what needs to change in the policy environment or choice architecture to achieve better outcomes.
In my current role at the Local Government Association, I've focused on helping councils to solve complex problems with their roots in policy, and to build their long-term capabilities. Most recently, I designed a new intermediate housing product with the aim of addressing regulatory and financial barriers to providing permanent housing for homeless households; this was subsequently championed by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and taken forward by HM Treasury's Office for Value for Money for testing.
My goal is to work more deeply in policy and intervention design - using design methodologies to unpack complex systems, diagnose institutional friction, and co-design the policy interventions needed to change behaviour. I'm particularly interested in farmed animal welfare.
Hi everyone! I’m Priya, based in London, UK.
I’ve spent the last 10 years working in policy and strategy roles within and alongside UK central and local government. My career to date has been focused on helping public sector organisations navigate complex, politically challenges rooted in policy issues, and building institutional capability.
My formal background is in policy but my favourite work involves systems and service design. I like asking “why are institutions behaving this way, and what would incentivise them to change?” For example, I recently designed a novel intermediate housing product; the aim was to help address the regulatory and financial barriers to using high-quality homes as permanent (rather than temporary) homes for homeless households.
I’m looking to pivot my career toward high-impact organisations, especially in the farmed animal welfare sector (demand-side meat reduction) or institutional decision-making. I want to move away from traditional campaigning or lobbying and instead leverage my Master’s in Behavioural Economics and Service Design certification to work more in the design space, e.g. as a policy designer or choice architect.
I'd like to explore where the demand is for intervention design v.s traditional advocacy within EA cause areas. I’m also keen to connect with other mid-career professionals who have successfully transferred non-technical public sector capital into high-impact roles.
Likewise, always happy to chat and share what I know about the machinery of the British government (including and especially local government).
If any of this interests you then please reach out!