Case Study: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs builds a new environmental watchdog with PA Consulting

Building a new environmental watchdog

PA Consulting worked with the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) as Brexit required new domestic regulatory responsibilities in environmental oversight. Defra needed to create a new independent watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), but first had to define its remit, purpose, stakeholders, and how it would operate.

PA Consulting helped design the OEP from scratch, shaping its strategy, structure, target operating model, and staffing needs, while involving civil servants, NGOs, charities, and specialist lawyers. The result was a clear, cost-effective plan for how the watchdog would run, what it would do, and what skills it needed, with Defra able to set up the organisation and begin recruiting within 9 months.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rachel Bailey

Deputy Director Environmental Governance