Ed Bayes

All Disciplines Award, Harvard University - Design Engineering

As a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard I hope to build on my experience in policy, law, anthropology and the arts to explore solutions to some of the healthcare and environmental challenges I observed while monitoring hospitals and prisons for the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone. I grew up in Durham and Swansea before studying Anthropology and Law at the LSE where I won awards for my ethnographic fieldwork. After working in homelessness law I joined HM Treasury, advising on the regulation of driverless cars insurance and expanding multi-billion pound insurance schemes to protect the UK economy from catastrophic terrorism and flood risks. Recently I have developed new policies for the Mayor of London to safeguard cultural venues at risk of closure. This has led to a stabilisation in the number of grassroots music venues and LGBT+ venues in the capital after a decade of decline. I was drawn to the Fulbright Program’s internationalist values and intend to learn from America’s entrepreneurial spirit to benefit the UK’s social enterprise sector. Outside of work I am a musician and keen champion of the underdog, having co-founded and volunteered with organisations that mentor young people to overcome adversity, and am looking forward to getting involved in music and community outreach in Boston.