Informed Solutions is delighted to announce the appointment of its Group CEO Elizabeth Vega OBE to the Open University’s (OU) newly formed Research Strategic Advisory Board.

The Board assembles a diverse membership from across industry, charities, social enterprises, and academia to inform the direction of the OU’s Research Plan which will be launched on 22nd September 2022 alongside the University’s new strategy.

Chaired by the Chancellor of The Open University, Baroness Martha Lane Fox CBE, she offered her thoughts on the announcement of the Board in April 2022:

“The Board brings a diversity of voices and experiences to inform the OU’s ability to rise to societal challenges in a way that is unique to the scale and reach of The Open University. They bring energy, perspective and challenge to us so that we can shape our solutions and play our part through our research on a global stage. Our first two meetings have focussed on projects responding to challenges in sustainability and equality, themes that are core to the OU’s mission and our new strategy.”

Welcoming the invitation to join the OU’s Board, Elizabeth Vega OBE, Group CEO, Informed Solutions said:

“It is an honour to be invited to sit on the Open University’s Research Strategic Advisory Board alongside respected academics, leaders and experts representing many different sectors and disciplines. The Board’s purpose reflects Informed Solutions’ own mission to help make the world a safer, cleaner, healthier, and more inclusive place for people.  For me, both personally and professionally, the Board provides an outstanding opportunity to collaborate on furthering our shared ambitions of playing our part in responding to societal and sustainability challenges.

“As the Founder of a tech company that has worked on many projects that have tackled major societal challenges across health, justice, and sustainability for 30 years, I have seen first-hand how extraordinarily effective technology, data and collaboration can be in understanding and solving big and complex problems. I have also seen that, almost without exception, successful projects are those underpinned by collaboration; strong working relationships that harness the power of diverse thinking and skills, innovative problem solving, shared ambitions and clear goals.

“For these reasons, I look forward to bringing digital, technology and data innovation leadership expertise to this diverse Board. It excites me to have new, strategic opportunities to work alongside other experts and academic teams to better understand and solve some of the greatest challenges that affect us now and find solutions that can improve the lives of people for generations to come.”