MasterCraft Series - Celebrating APS data specialists: engaging expertise for better policy and evaluation

Dr David Gruen AO
David was appointed Australian Statistician on 11 December 2019. As Agency Head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, he is accountable for the functions and operations of the Bureau. 

David was previously the Deputy Secretary, Economic and Australia’s G20 Sherpa at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Before joining the Department in September 2014, he was Executive Director of the Macroeconomic Group at the Australian Treasury.

David joined the Treasury in January 2003, before which he was the Head of the Economic Research Department at the Reserve Bank of Australia from 1998 to 2002. 

Before joining the Reserve Bank, David worked as a research scientist in the Research School of Physical Sciences at the Australian National University. He holds PhD degrees in physiology from Cambridge University, England and in economics from the Australian National University. 

David was appointed as the inaugural Head of the Australian Public Service Data Profession in 2020. David was also appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (General Division) in 2022 for distinguished service to public administration, economic research, business, and education.

Prof Brett Sutton
Brett is a Director at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, leading the Health & Biosecurity Research Unit, comprising over 350 researchers and support staff in areas of digital health, human health and plant, animal and environmental biosecurity. 

A qualified public health physician, he brings extensive experience and clinical expertise in public health and communicable diseases, developed through roles in government, emergency medicine, and international fieldwork.

Before joining CSIRO, Brett served as Victoria’s Chief Health Officer and Chief Human Biosecurity Officer, heading the Health Protection Branch within the Victorian Department of Health.

With specialist knowledge in tropical medicine and infectious diseases, Brett has worked extensively in lower-middle-income countries and complex humanitarian settings, including in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Timor-Leste, and Fiji.

Brett’s career reflects his passion and commitment to advancing health outcomes in Australia and globally.

Professor Sutton is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health, a Fellow of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine, and a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (AFPHM). He is also a member of the Faculty of Travel Medicine.

Eleanor Williams
Eleanor is the Managing Director of the Australian Centre for Evaluation in the Commonwealth Department of Treasury. With over 20 years’ experience working with the Australian and Victorian public service, Eleanor has held senior executive roles in evaluation, research and strategic policy. She holds Masters level qualifications in Evaluation, Public Policy and management. Eleanor is the current Chair of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Evaluation Experts Group and founded the Australian Public Sector Evaluation Network in 2019.

Eleanor is also currently undertaking PhD research on evidence use in fast-paced policy contexts with supervisors at the University of Queensland and University College London. She has recently published articles on public sector capacity building and rapid evaluation methods.