Janadas Devan

Director (2011 – present)

Returning from Cornell University with his wife in 1991 or 1992, Janadas Devan asked Arun Mahizhnan if he could work at the Institute of Policy Studies. When that was not possible, Mr Devan ended up working at The Straits Times and rose to become Associate Editor by 2011.

In 2011, he was approached by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to take charge as Director, initially concurrently with his newspaper job and later as Chief of Government Communications. He explained the controversy over a perceived conflict of interest between his IPS and government positions, as well as projects he initiated as Director, such as the IPS Social Lab, the Prism Project, and the S R Nathan Fellowship. Keeping IPS well resourced and relevant continued to be Mr Devan’s biggest challenges, but he credited the excellent work ethic and loyalty of IPS staff as well as the influence of Professor Tommy Koh as factors strengthening IPS’ position.

Looking to the future, Mr Devan hoped that IPS would become “more of a policy unit that not only provides opportunities for people to reflect on research and talk about public policy, but a policy unit that helps government and the public sector in general do public policy and thereby improve public policy.”