About Us

Our History

Institution of Regulation established as a membership organisation in 2021.

Today we’re a thriving professional and expert community:

  • over 350 regulatory experts in our membership network

  • over 30 corporate members, regulators based in the UK, Channel Islands, and Ireland

  • over 100 individual members

  • a rapidly growing network of affiliate members from business and third sector organisations

Institute of Regulation grew from an informal network of 35 non-financial regulators, who began meeting in 2019.

We are a charitable not-for-profit company, registered with Companies House (13628098) and are currently applying to the Charity Commission for charitable status.

Our Objectives

  • To promote and provide education and training in the theory and practice of regulation.

  • To research, develop and promote good practice in regulation.

Our Mission

We believe that good regulation holds the key to public organisational effectiveness and social and economic prosperity. We aim to bring sector-specific knowledge sharing for best practices and improved value, and provide a framework for policy innovation, collaboration and improved public services.

Regulation is the management of complex systems (such as financial services, utility markets, trading standards, education and health), according to clear rules and the law.

Regulators apply rules fairly and consistently to balance two goals: to protect consumers and users of services, and to support business innovation and public service improvement 

Our Values

Openness & collaboration

We actively and generously engage with all those that have an interest in regulation, whatever their background or their organisation.

Independence

We give a voice to the value of regulation and the community of regulators, with authority, candour, and free from political influence.

Integrity

We uphold the highest standards of conduct, recognising the impact of regulation across all dimensions of society, government and the economy.

Professionalism

We promote and advance excellence, learning and creativity in the field of regulation.

Meet the Team

The Institute is overseen by a Trustee Board of senior executives and regulatory practitioners, supported by a Director and WS Society in a secretariat function.


  • Matthew Coffey is Ofsted’s Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Inspector. Matthew joined Ofsted in 2007, following ten months as Lead Officer in the ‘Creating New Ofsted’ programme for workforce and organisational structure. Other appointments have included Regional Divisional Manager, Regional Director and National Director of Learning & Skills. Prior to Ofsted, Matthew’s experience included teaching and managing quality assurance of vocational education and employment skills training for young people and adults.

  • Victoria is Deputy Director of Strategy at the Care Quality Commission and has worked in regulation and oversight for over 20 years. She led the development of CQC’s latest corporate strategy, setting the future direction for health and social care regulation in England. Her portfolio includes strategic assurance, horizon scanning, regulatory reform and strategic engagement. Victoria is part of the faculty that developed and teaches the international course on “Strategic thinking and development for health and care regulators” at Erasmus University. She is passionate about value driven regulation which goes beyond compliance and uses all the levers available to drive improvement.

  • Naomi Nicholson is an experienced education and healthcare regulator, currently working in regulatory consultancy. She is also a primary school governor, girls' mentor and mother of three. Naomi's regulatory roles include directorships at Ofqual and the Health and Care Professions Council. Naomi is delighted to be supporting equality professionals in regulation, as chair of the Institute of Regulation's Special Interest Group on Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. Her early career was in the third sector, with a focus on gender equality and human rights and she was later gender equality duty lead at Government Equalities Office. Naomi is interested in compassionate, evidence-based regulation that creates insights to inspire and drive real improvement for the public and service users.


  • Mark is the Assistant Director for the Standards and Ethics team at the GMC. This team is responsible for our core guidance for the doctors: Good Medical Practice (GMP), and other guidance which builds on the principles in GMP. We produce learning materials and give advice on standards and ethics through our enquiry service.

    Prior to joining the GMC in 2018, Mark worked in the civil service, latterly as Head of Strategic Reform and Priorities at the Department for International Development. Prior to that he held a number of policy, operational and private office roles at the Department for Work and Pensions.


  • Over a period of 10 years, Marcial was Chief Executive of three regulators: the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the MPs’ regulator IPSA, and the UK Public Health Register, regulating health workers. He was a director at both the NAO and Audit Commission, and former senior civil servant at the Home Office and Department of Education. He advises the UCL’s Constitution Unit on the regulation of democracy and has published a book, "The Public Sector Fox", on public sector management. and a book on regulating politics - "The Rules of Democracy". With others, he founded the Institute of Regulation.


  • Michael Hanton is Deputy Chief Regulator at Ofqual, where he’s worked for the past eight years. Michael leads Ofqual’s work on regulatory strategy, innovation, its approach to market regulation and risk management, as well as the Chief Regulators Office. Prior to working in regulation, Michael worked in local government leading transformation to improve local service delivery in areas including adult social care and neighbourhood management.

  • Dr Matthew Gill is a programme director at the Institute of Government, leading their work on public bodies and regulation.

    He was policy director at the British Business Bank for over five year, including during the EU exit and the pandemic. He previously helped establish the bank while leading on enterprise policy at HM Treasury. Before that, he worked in prudential policy at the Financial services Authority and the Bank of England following the financial crisis.

    Matthew began his career at PwC, where he became a chartered accountant. He then completed a PhD in sociology and spent two years in the USA as an interdisciplinary Andrew W. Mellon postdoctoral fellow. He is the author of Accountants' Truth: Knowledge and Ethics in the Financial World (Oxford, 2009).


  • Alan Clamp is the Chief Executive of the Professional Standards Authority. The role of the Authority is one of public protection and it oversees the work of the ten regulators in health and social care. Formerly, posts include the Chief Executive of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and Chief Executive at the Human Tissue Authority (HTA). Alan has worked for almost 20 years in regulation and served as a regulatory adviser to the Bar Standards Board and Ofqual. He is also a Non-Executive Director of the Parole Board of England and Wales.


  • Dr Russell Richardson is an experienced competition and regulatory lawyer, with specific expertise in Oil & Gas, Internet and Media/Communications sectors. He has managed various dispute resolutions and multi-discipline litigation before the UK, EU and Grand Cayman courts. Russell is currently the General Counsel and Company Secretary for the UK Oil & Gas Authority. Previously, he was General Counsel and Deputy Director Industry Affairs for the Information and Communications Technology Authority in the Cayman Islands. Prior to that, he was a Principal Lawyer at the UK Office of Communications.

Director

  • Louisa was recently appointed as first director to the Institute of Regulation (IoR).

    Previously Secretary to both Association of Chief Executives (ACE) and Public Chairs’ Forum (PCF). Louisa was responsible for shaping a fresh membership experience for chairs, chief executives, executives and experts from a diverse range of UK public bodies.

    As an engagement strategist, Louisa worked for nearly two decades in variety of national and international roles supporting leadership and expert exchange to inform policy and investment in digital, data and technology for education and research.

    Committed to diversity, equality and inclusion and harnessing participative approaches to drive progress, Louisa is particularly proud to have led research initiatives such as ‘Diversity in Public Appointments’ and ‘Learning and Teaching Reimagined’ .