Nigel Ball appointed Director of Social Purpose Lab

Nigel Ball has been appointed director of UAL’s new Social Purpose Lab - part of a wider transformation agenda at UAL. The Lab will form a key part of UAL’s new Social Purpose Group, reporting to Polly Mackenzie, Chief Social Purpose Officer.

The Lab will spearhead the university’s journey towards maximising the positive impact it has in the world. It will take responsibility for defining a clear, measurable social purpose framework to guide the university’s decision-making, and implementing change in partnership with our operational and academic leadership.

The Lab will also champion change in the wider world, harnessing the expertise of our academics and the values of our community in the service of policy change, business innovation, and social impact. Housing our emerging policy and advocacy team, the Lab will develop research-led proposals to help the educational and creative sectors to thrive and adapt to a changing world.

The wider Social Purpose Group also houses the University’s fundraising team, communications and brand directorate, and our new Storytelling Institute, a hub for campaigners and artists to collaborate in the service of social purpose goals.

Nigel is an entrepreneurial leader with a track record in social change spanning government, social enterprise, and academia. His career has seen him take successive new ideas and work to make them real, establishing the reputation of newly formed organisations or projects which have zero or minimal prior track record.

As Executive Director of the Government Outcomes Lab at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government, Nigel developed a team which uncovered cutting-edge research insights and has worked painstakingly alongside practitioners to change the way cross-sector partnerships work. Prior to that, he was part of the founding team of West London Zone for Children and Young People, the Head of Innovation at Teach First, the leading education charity, and supported social entrepreneurship in East Africa.