Felix is a Postdoctoral Research and Policy Fellow at the Government Outcomes Lab, where he investigates new approaches to better organise the provision of public services. He works with academics, investors, and local and central government to build evidence around how innovations in social policy and outcomes-based commissioning can improve citizen’s lives and their long-term prospects.
Felix was previously a Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute and a visiting fellow at Alan Turing Institute, where he investigated and co-developed digital tools to advance public decision making. Alongside data scientists, he produced evidence-based research on how digital democracy tools can be harnessed to support law and policy making and leveraged the use of machine-learning tools into different policy areas, including constitution-making and peace mediation.
He has worked as a consultant and advisor for organizations such as the International IDEA, Berghof Foundation, Democracy Reporting International, and the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law. Felix studied law in Germany and Italy, before completing a MSc in Law and Anthropology at LSE and a DPhil in Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Gibson, M., van Lier, F-A., Carter, E. (2023) 'Tracing 25 years of “initiativitis” in central government attempts to join up local public services in England', Policy & Politics, 1-23
Arana-Catania, M., van Lier, F-A., Procter, R. (2022) 'Supporting peace negotiations in the Yemen war through machine learning', Data & Policy, 4, E28
Davies, J., Procter, R., Arana-Catania, M., van Lier, F-A., He, Y. (2021) ‘A mixed-methods ethnographic approach to participatory budgeting in Scotland’, GoodIT ’21: Proceedings of the Conference on Information Technology for Social Good, 317–320
Arana-Catania, M., van Lier, F-A., Procter, R., He, Y., Zubiaga, A., Tkachenko, N., Liataka, M. (2021) ‘Citizen participation and machine learning for a better democracy’ Digital Government: Research and Practice, 2 (3), 1–22
Book Chapters
van Lier, F-A. and Seidel, K. (2021) ‘Constitution-Making’ in Foblets, MC., Goodale, M., Sapignoli, M., Zenker, O. (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Law and Anthropology, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
van Lier, F-A. (2020) ‘The Libyan Constitution-Making Process - A Constitution to Unite a Divided Socio-Normative Space?’ in Seidel, K. and Elliesie, H. (eds.), Normative Spaces in Africa: Constructing, contesting, re-negotiating and adapting dynamics, Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge.
van Lier, F-A. (2016) ‘Tribale Ordnungen im politischen System Libyens’ in Gerlach D. et al., Atlas des Arabischen Frühlings. Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung.
Working Papers
van Lier, F-A. (2019) ‘Constitution-Making as a Tool for State-Building? Insights from an Ethnographic Analysis of the Libyan Constitution-Making Process’, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology Working Papers 192. Halle/Saale: Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology.
Reports
Rosenbach, F., van Lier, F-A., Domingos, F.D. and Carter, E., (2023) The Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership: The second report of a longitudinal evaluation of a Life Chances Fund Impact Bond. Government Outcomes Lab, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.
van Lier, F-A. (2017) ‘National Dialogue in Libya: The National Dialogue Preparatory Commission’, in National Dialogue Handbook. A Guide for Practitioners, Berlin: Berghof Foundation.
Thesis
van Lier, F-A. (2019) Legal Politics in the Libyan Constitution Making Process, DPhil thesis, University of Oxford.
Articles
van Lier, F-A. (2020) ‘Towards virtual parliaments?’ openDemocracy.
van Lier, F-A. (2019) ‘Chile’s constitutional moment: history in the making’. openDemocracy.