We are a Cambridge-based research platform established to help societies to become more humane and productive by developing and sharing knowledge about how to overcome governance risk.
Early in his legal career, the founder of Cambridge Governance Labs, Dr John Barker, was recruited to teach law overseas. At the time, the country was under dictatorship. While human rights abuses drew international attention, the real issue was a concentration of wealth in the hands of the dictator that by suppressed the economy and perpetuated poverty.
Dr. John Barker – Founder & Director of Cambridge Governance Labs. Legal scholar and Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at Cambridge.
Under the dictatorship, power was absolute. Political opponents were silenced, exiled, murdered. Courts were reinvented to comply with the dictator’s demands. Students were detained without trial, businesses were seized and the media was under strict control. Informants were deployed in workplaces, bars preventing citizens from speaking openly. Fear was part of everyday life.
What Dr Barker witnessed made one truth painfully clear: many of today’s greatest global threats begin as governance failures – when those entrusted to serve the public instead serve themselves. These lessons form the foundation of Cambridge Governance Labs, driving our mission to strengthen decision-making, uphold the rule of law and ensure leaders meet their obligations to citizens.
Cambridge Governance Labs exists to understand and share knowledge about governance risk.
The Global Challenges We Address
The World's Biggest Problems Are Governance Problems
The world’s biggest problems aren’t beyond reach – they’re governance problems. We’re probing the governance failure that drive global threats.
At Cambridge Governance Labs, we don’t just treat the symptoms of broken systems – we look at the root causes. Our work is grounded in a few key ideas that guide how we understand governance challenges and design better solutions.
Management Board
Cambridge Governance Labs is led by a management board that brings together expertise in international law, governance, corporate finance and institutional reform.
Legal scholar and Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at Cambridge, with 35+ years advising governments, international agencies and NGOs on governance and justice reform.
US and UK qualified lawyer providing international advisory services to law firms, law schools and non-profits at board and operational levels, with expertise in governance, compliance and pro bono practice.
Founder and Chairman of Cambridge Cleantech, with 18+ years in low-carbon technology and business development, advising organisations from start-up to scale on growth, funding and sustainable innovation.
Corporate lawyer advising on IPOs, private equity and M&A transactions. Honorary Master of the Bench of Gray’s Inn and Governing Body Fellow of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge.
