UofG Centre for Public Policy

9 October 2025: Tune in to a Challenge Poverty Week special episode of the UofG Spotlight podcast episode - The State of Poverty: Systems, Silos and Solutions - that asks, can we really tackle poverty without changing how government works? 

In this Challenge Poverty Week special, hosts Professor Nicola McEwen and Professor Kezia Dugdale explore the governance of poverty with Dr Claire MacRae and Dr Thomas Rochow from the Centre for Public Policy.

This week the First Minister reiterated again that eradicating child poverty is the driving mission for his government. In the first part of this episode, the State of Poverty research team discuss how institutional silos and fragmented decision-making can hinder progress towards tackling poverty.

They also explain their innovative approach to including lived experience in their work through ‘composite stories’.

In the second part of the episode, we hear from Lorraine Sanda, Clackmannanshire Council, and Lynn Henry, Hunter Foundation who share insights from their work driving systems change at a local level to tackle poverty. Together they explore what it really takes to govern differently.

Listen to the episode

Listen and subscribe to the UofG Spotlight podcast on Spotify

More about the State of Poverty research

Find out more about the State of Poverty research

Sign up to our State of Poverty workshop on 6 November in Glasgow

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First published: 9 October 2025