Maria Patouna is a Quantitative Researcher at the Government Outcomes Lab of the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. Her work is situated at the interface of public administration and policy/programme evaluation.
She currently contributes to the evaluation of the Public Service Reform: Test, Learn and Grow Programme, bringing methodological and analytical expertise to examine the impact of place-based, iterative (“test-and-learn”) approaches to policymaking and social service delivery.
Maria previously supported the impact evaluation and cost effectiveness analysis for the Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership (KBOP), the UK’s largest outcomes-based partnership to date, commissioned under the Life Chances Fund. In this work, she collaborated closely with the Employment Data Lab to link and analyse administrative records from the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs, generating robust evidence on the impact of outcomes-based, person-centred service reforms on individuals’ employment and housing trajectories.
For her contributions to the project, she received an Award for Excellence under the University of Oxford’s Recognition Scheme.
She holds an MSc in Data Science and Public Policy (Department of Economics) and a BSc in Politics and International Relations (Department of Political Science), both from University College London.
Before joining the GO Lab, Maria worked on research and policy projects with the UCL Policy Lab, the Migration Cluster, the Law & Courts Cluster, and the Department of Education, Practice and Society.
She has experience applying advanced quantitative methods, big-data analytics and predictive modelling to generate actionable, evidence-based insights.
Patouna, M., De Gruyter, E., and Carter, E. (2025). Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership: Understanding the effects of person-centred service reforms in housing support. Government Outcomes Lab, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.
Rosenbach, F., Carter, E., van Lier, F-A., Patouna, M. (2025) The Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership: The final report of a longitudinal evaluation of a Life Chances Fund outcomes partnership. Government Outcomes Lab, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.