Barry Vaughan is a Principal Officer in the Department of the Taoiseach where he has responsibility for matters relating to civil and public service reform. He is currently leading on an initiative to strengthen policy development across the civil service. As part of this campaign, a handbook to guide civil servants in the process of formulating policy was published earlier this year. Barry has previously worked for the National Economic and Social Council and as a lecturer in criminology. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Warwick.