policy network
new ideas for progressive politics

Progressive Governance Network

Since its launch in 1999, the Progressive Governance Network of international policymakers and academics has been at the heart of Policy Network’s activity, with major conferences and summits held in Washington, Berlin, Stockholm, London, Budapest, Johannesburg and Chile over the past decade.

Progressive Governance, for which Policy Network acts as a secretariat, was initiated, by the then heads of government, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Gerhard Schröder, Wim Kok and Massimo D'Alema, in order to enhance cooperation and links between key progressive policymakers and academics as well as to provide a meeting place for exchanging concrete policies and practices.

In 2008, the London-based conference convened over 15 world leaders, and the heads of major international institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, UNDP, and the WTO, to debate the theme of “an inclusive globalisation: promoting prosperity for all”.

The latest Progressive Governance Conference took place in Chile in March 2009. Preceding a government summit of heads of state and government from around the world it brought together over 200 senior policymakers, government advisers, and experts, including Gordon Brown, Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva, Joseph Biden, Michelle Bachelet, and José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, to debate the future of progressive politics in the light of the global financial crisis.