Interview: Social movement

Chief executive of the Academy of Social Sciences, Rita Gardner, on the course she is charting

Rita Gardner could not have picked a more tumultuous time to become chief executive of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Six months down the road from her start date, the former director of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) finds herself grappling with the cliff edge of a looming no-deal Brexit, the aftermath of a post-18 review of education and funding, and having to navigate the uncharted waters of an accelerating open-access revolution. On top of all that, there’s a government spending review just over the horizon.