PhD Candidate in Statistics and Public Policy at the University of Cambridge

Duncan Cook is a PhD Candidate in Statistics and Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, where he has a strong interest in how evidence is used in government decision-making. He served for five years in the UK civil service. Most recently he served as a senior civil servant: Deputy Director of Coronavirus Infection Survey Analysis at the Office for National Statistics. During early 2021 Duncan was the Head of Societal Impacts Analysis for the Covid-19 Task Force in the Cabinet Office. For four years, Duncan worked at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). For two of those four years, he was Head of Local Government Finance System Analysis.

At the beginning of his career, Duncan was a Fellow of the Overseas Development Institute in the Government of South Sudan, working in the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, then working for the World Bank, where he continues to consult.

Duncan is Vice Chair of the International Development Section committee at the Royal Statistical Society, and was previously a Trustee Director of Carers' Hub, Lambeth for three years. He studied Economics at the University of Oxford and the Toulouse School of Economics, and holds a postgraduate certificate in Coaching and Mentoring Practice from Oxford Brookes.