Rich is a leading expert in democratic renewal, with 18 years of hands-on experience in founding and managing organisations, designing participation processes, and shaping policy development.
He has been a driving force in the democracy movement, founding Involve, which he led to become a pioneering international centre for research, innovation, and policy-making in public participation, co-initiating the world’s first global citizens' assembly for COP26, founding Good Help, and helping to establish the Funders Initiative for Civil Society.
Rich is a Clore Social Fellow and serves as a trustee for the Local Trust, which supports the most deprived neighbourhoods across the UK to foster local autonomy and empowerment.
He was a senior adviser to the UK government under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and a consultant for the UNDP, WHO, OECD, EU, and various national governments. Rich has designed and facilitated over 100 democratic processes—from small community workshops to national and international assemblies involving thousands.
A prolific writer, Rich has contributed to The Guardian, DeSmog, Carnegie Europe, New Internationalist, Open Democracy. He is also the author of Anti Hero.