Ophelia Cowell directs the Centre for Evidence and Evaluation at NSW Treasury which provides economic analysis and advice to the NSW Government to put evidence based policy into practice. By working with agencies to improve the evidence base, the Centre helps inform Government decisions so that public funds can be directed to the initiatives and social policies that deliver the greatest outcomes and public value.
Previously, Ophelia directed the Strategic Reform branch in NSW Treasury where she led reform initiatives across a range of policy portfolios including in health, justice, energy, climate change and water and ran the first pilot of the Washington State Institute model for policy impact assessment in Australia. Before joining the public sector, Ophelia led an international program for evidence-based energy policy development in 12 developing and in-transition economies in Europe, Asia and Latin America.