About us

We are responsible for leading and coordinating planning processes across the School.

The Director of Planning reports directly to the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Planning and Resources).

We aim to provide advice, support and information to enable senior management to take decisions that are in the best interests for the future of the School. We also assist in the resolution of some sensitive high-level planning issues.

We produce papers for School bodies and provide a range of data to meet internal and external reporting requirements.

We can be contracted by email at planning.division@lse.ac.uk or via the individual email addresses below.

For LSE staff with access to Microsoft Teams, Planning Division staff can also be contacted using that application. For contacts external to the School, a Zoom call can be arranged on request.

The Planning Division pursues objectives across five inter-related areas of activity:

i) Academic Planning and Policy

Considering academic policy issues with resources implications for the School, reviewing departmental activity, student targets and student-related issues to ensure they are in line with school plans and facilitating new teaching initiatives.

ii) Management Information and Data Quality

Producing data in support of decision making and planning activities, completing official returns and promoting data quality.

iii) Resource Planning

Informing the allocation of resources and setting appropriate fee levels.

iv) Strategic Planning

Co-ordinating the formation of plans to guide the overall direction of the School and its sub-units.

v) Governance of the Planning Division

Managing the staff and resources available to the Planning Division.

Wayne Tatlow - Director of Planning

I am accountable for all aspects of strategic planning, resource allocation and management information undertaken by the Planning Division.

Email - w.n.tatlow@lse.ac.uk

Sarah Miller - Head of Planning

I am responsible for managing the School’s Annual Monitoring process on behalf of the Pro-Directors, including defining the process, preparing briefing information, as well as resource modelling. I manage the work of the Academic Planning and Resources Committee and oversee the management of its sub-groups, including the Student Numbers and Fees Group and the Executive MSc Sub-group, as well as the Major Academic Initiatives process. I am responsible for developing the School’s policy and procedures relating to resource planning and allocation, student and staff number planning and the monitoring and Review of Academic Departments. I lead on the work relating to the size and shape of the School, including assessing areas for investment and disinvestment as part of the Annual Monitoring and Department Review processes and through the development and monitoring of programme viability indicators and scores. I also manage the fee charging strategy for the School.

Email - s.j.miller@lse.ac.uk

Sarah Hagart - Head of Management Information

I lead on the development of the institutional Management Information strategy negotiating shared high quality data resources across the School and managing the development of management information reporting across the School and within the Division.

Email - s.l.hagart@lse.ac.uk

Gary Barclay - Senior Planning Officer

I am responsible for supporting aspects of resource allocation that the Division carries out - including the establishment element of cash staffing budgets; departmental allocations; APRC Sickness Contingency Fund allocations; and replacement teaching compensation - and information management responsibilities, including co-ordination of data and documentation for international and national league tables; dealing with HESA data requests; and key performance indicator data collection. I am also a lead contact for HESA's Heidi Plus service, co-ordinate the annual HE-BCI survey to HESA and, from 2018-19, act as the reserve facilitator for Major Academic Initiatives that are teaching related.

Email - g.j.barclay@lse.ac.uk

Evert Nivari - Senior Planning Officer (Policy and Review)

I am responsible for supporting the processes of academic planning and resource allocation within the School, primarily through managing the work of the Academic Planning and Resources Committee (APRC) and its subsidiary working groups.

Email - e.a.nivari@lse.ac.uk

Ellen Austin - Senior Data Analyst (Education and Student Experience)

I work with the Head of Management Information to lead on analyses of School data to inform our work around education and the student experience. I scope, produce and facilitate analyses to support the School's progress in relation to statutory requirements and LSE 2030, as well as working with colleagues across the School to identify other areas where additional insight could help us evaluate, understand or improve our offer to our students.

Email - e.austin@lse.ac.uk

Dr Emily Jackson - Planning Officer (Policy and Review)
(On secondment as Research Manager in the Department of Mathematics)

I support several processes of strategic planning and resource allocation at the LSE.
I coordinate changes to the LSE's resource allocation model related to student numbers and fees for all degree programmes and I maintain the public Table of Fees. I am Secretary of the Student Numbers and Fees (SNAF) Group and the Scholarships Group, which are both sub-groups of the Academic Planning and Resources Committee (APRC). I service the annual monitoring of academic departments. Working with senior management, I also set up and ran the LSE's Scenario Planning Group during the early stages of the pandemic.

Email - e.jackson2@lse.ac.uk

Indy Jagdev - Planning Officer (Management Information)

I am responsible for the production of data visualisations using Tableau software and for presenting management information to colleagues across the School. I lead the School's Tableau Developers User Group, providing support and guidance to other Tableau creators and I develop and maintain the LSE Tableau Style Guide to help ensure consistency of dashboard presentation across the School. I have responsibility for preparing information on student numbers and for responding to ad-hoc data requests.

Email - i.jagdev@lse.ac.uk

Will Garrison - Planning Officer

I provide support for the Annual Monitoring of academic departments; develop and maintain management information dashboards; undertake analyses of LSE data; maintain the Planning Division website; and provide guidance and training to colleagues relating in the use of Tableau.

Email - w.garrison@lse.ac.uk

Claire Westwood - Planning Officer (Education Analyst)

I am responsible for producing and maintaining management information dashboards to help the School work towards its goals for education and student experience. I also work with colleagues across the School to help understand and improve our offer to students, by defining and producing datasets, visualisations and analyses relating to education and the student experience.

Email - c.westwood@lse.ac.uk

Nigel Wyeth - Planning Officer (Education Analyst)

Email - n.wyeth@lse.ac.uk

Rachael Stockley - Senior Data Analyst (Careers and Widening Participation)

I lead on analyses of School data to inform our pre-application, admissions and Careers activities. I scope, produce and facilitate analyses to support the School’s progress in relation to statutory requirements such as the Access and Participation Plan as well as internal drivers and priorities.

Email - r.stockley@lse.ac.uk

Simona Manea - Planning Officer (Policy and Review)

I support a range of tasks relating to planning and resources, review processes, student recruitment, Annual Monitoring of Academic Departments and Institutes, policy formation and strategy. In particular, I service the School’s Annual Monitoring meetings, and the sub-groups and working groups of the Academic Planning and Resources Committee (APRC), namely the Admissions Group and the Executive MSc Management Board.

Email: s.f.manea@lse.ac.uk