Kiran Krishna

Kiran Krishna is a Principal Economist at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) where she carries out economic research and analysis to support the ICO’s work in protecting personal data and information rights. Kiran also leads on the ICO analytical quality assurance (QA) function, which assures the quantitative (and sometimes qualitative) analysis carried out by ICO staff.

How did you get to where you are now?

I chose to study A Level economics because my mum said she thought I would enjoy it, and she was right! Although I enjoyed my economics degree, it was when I was studying for my Master’s that I really got to grips with how the application of the subject can be a source of real impact and I fell in love with economics all over again – it gives us the tools to find answers that can improve people’s lives.

I knew I wanted to work in the public sector after finishing my studies, but I kind of fell into regulation rather than pursuing that as my career path. When I thought of an economist in the public sector, like most people I was probably thinking of economists working in central government. However, I saw an advert for an economist role at Ofgem, applied because it seemed interesting (and it really was interesting once I started the job) and I’ve been in regulation ever since!

What do you do in your current role?

There’s a lot of variety in my day-to-day work. Sometimes I’m looking at different sources to find data on the usage of particular digital platforms and analysing that data to draw conclusions that feed into ICO decisions on those platforms. Alternatively, I might be applying behavioural economics to assess the user interface designs of online services. At other times, I’m talking to colleagues across the organisation to create and implement a consistent approach to measuring the impact of ICO work. And this is just a selection of the sorts of things that I’ve done at the ICO!

What skills do you need for this role?

I use quantitative skills an awful lot as part of my role – I often carry out analysis in Excel, but also use other tools such as Python and Power BI. I also need qualitative analytical skills at times – for example, I study qualitative consumer surveys and apply the results when assessing how proposals by businesses will help to meet consumer preferences on privacy.

Strong communication skills are also very important as I often present economic ideas both verbally and in writing to other economists and non-economists. This means that I need to be able to vary how complicated my language and explanations are depending on my audience. My work also involves negotiating timelines, outputs and resources, which requires the ability to influence others, but also the ability to collaborate, as we have to work together in the public sector rather than trying to compete.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

My job involves a lot of problem solving, and doing research is a bit like being a detective, which was one of the jobs I wanted as a child! I love that my work can have a positive impact – for example, I’ve worked on numerous projects that were about protecting children’s personal data.

Maybe surprisingly, I actually really enjoy the writing aspect of my role – a big part of my job is conveying complicated concepts or results in simple and concise wording. Over the years I’ve learnt that there’s an art to it, and it’s like being a sculptor shaving off and rebuilding parts till you get to exactly what you want to represent.

What impact does your role have?

I support the full range of the ICO’s regulatory work, as required, meaning that all of my work contributes to protecting the personal data and information rights of the UK public. For example, I carry out research, and put forward recommendations based on that research, which helps the ICO understand different markets better, including consumer behaviour in those markets. This helps colleagues to make policy decisions based on strong evidence.

On the quality assurance side, my role is to double-check analysis (or delegate this to one of the Economic Analysts in the team) by colleagues to ensure accuracy and reliability, and that it is strong enough to withstand scrutiny from anyone outside the ICO. The quality assurance function therefore helps improve the quality of ICO analytical work.

Why did you choose to study social science?

As soon as I started studying A-level Economics, it gave me so much insight into the world and the people around me (and myself!), and the systems and processes that impact so much of our lives. Understanding all of these can help us to figure out how to make improvements, and this ability to shape the world for, hopefully, the better made social science very attractive to me.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

I’m currently doing an apprenticeship/diploma in management and leadership, and I would like to apply everything I’m learning to my work, so I definitely want to progress towards managing more people and resources, and getting more involved in strategic decision-making. However, I hope I’ll always be doing at least some analysis. Even five years from now, I hope my work wouldn’t involve just management – as frustrating as grappling with data can be at times, I would miss it too much!

What would you say to someone considering studying or pursuing a career in the social sciences?

Firstly, I have no regrets about choosing a career in social science, so I can only recommend it!

Secondly, consider what impact you hope to have on people and society through social science – this can help you figure out what it is you want to study and what you want your career to look like. This is a question that can help you refocus throughout your life, whenever you are unsure of your next steps, whatever your career stage. Finally, while you might specialise in a particular social science, reading into other social sciences and engaging with other social scientists can really help you – people and society are complicated, so we need to work together as the social science community to understand them as much as possible.