Watch a short video of the Dean, Professor Ngaire Woods.

The Blavatnik School of Government is a global school pursuing a vision of better government, stronger societies and richer human opportunities across the world. Through education, training and research of the highest academic standards, we aim to inspire excellence in government and public service throughout the world. In brief, the Blavatnik School exists to support those who wish to learn, to lead and to serve.

In June 2010 the Council of the University of Oxford passed a regulation establishing the following aims:

• The School shall exist to serve the public good, by enhancing governance, in both the public and private sectors, through the provision of advanced education and training of the highest quality to future leaders from all quarters of the globe, and through the promotion of the study of public policy and its administration.
• The principal emphasis of the School shall be placed on providing such education and training to the highest academic standards, complemented by research activities of equal distinction. In working with its students, it shall give priority to practical and current tasks facing governments throughout the world.
• The School will include within its field of research and teaching questions concerning the principles of the free market, and of democratic and accountable government; the just liberties of the citizen; the right of citizens to work and to enjoy the fruits of their labour; and the rights of sovereign states, lawfully constituted, to live at peace within their borders, and to participate freely in the global economy.
• The School shall strive (to the extent that this activity fulfils an educational purpose) to promote international co-operation in the understanding and solving of shared problems, including in areas such as conflict-resolution and the building of bridges between different cultures and faiths.