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Niall Mackenzie is a career civil servant who has worked in seven government Departments over the past 25 years covering a wide range of policy areas – sport, tourism, broadcasting, gambling, health, and the environment – with a common thread of drawing on academic research wherever possible to support the development of public policy. His focus in the past six years has been on carbon trading and market incentives for improving industrial and business energy efficiency.
In August 2014, Niall became the Director of Energy, Materials and Agri-tech in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). Niall is responsible for delivery of the Government’s industrial strategy for four sectors – Nuclear, Offshore Wind, Oil & Gas and Agri-tech working closely with Department of Energy and DEFRA colleagues. His team sponsors the chemicals and metals industries and is focused on maintaining UK industrial competiveness within the framework of legislation to deliver the Government’s climate and energy goals.
Niall is keen to find out how agri-tech innovation in the research base can be brought to market quickly and how can academia best help the agri-tech industries grow UK expertise still further.
Niall undertook the bulk of his fellowship in his previous role as Head of Industrial Energy Efficiency in DECC. He was responsible for policy development and delivery of a range of policy mechanisms –Climate Change Agreements, CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, and EU Emissions Trading System covering over 50% of UK CO2 emissions and all large energy users.
Previous posts included Head of the EU Emissions Trading System Unit (2006-8), Director, Transition Project, Gambling Commission (2005-6); Programme Manager, Physical Activity and Injury Prevention, Department of Health (2003-5); Head, National Stadium Unit, Department for Culture Media and Sport (2001-3); and posts in Cabinet Office, Office of Arts and Libraries and Central Statistical Office. He acted as Principal Private Secretary to Ministers for Sport and Tourism from 1993 to 1995. He holds a BA in Modern History from the University of Durham.
Niall’s original objectives for the Policy Fellowship were to gain insight into what current (and possible future) Cambridge research can tell him about how to encourage improvements in industrial energy efficiency (and also wider business). The limits of what can be achieved by regulation, particularly of heavy industry, may be near; if this is the case, innovative thinking is needed on how to make the next leap forward – in technology, operational practices, and (perhaps most importantly) changing business behaviour.