Demos Greenhouse
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Launch of the Everyday Democracy Index
Yesterday evening Demos was jam-packed for the launch of the Everyday Democracy Index. Paul Skidmore unveiled the first exciting set of results, with an engaging response from Professor Timothy Garton Ash.
Rather than relying solely on traditional democratic indicators like electoral turnout, the EDI also measures how good countries are at empowering their citizens in everyday spheres of life like neighbourhoods and communities, workplaces, public services and even the family.
continue reading on 1st February 2008 in The Everyday Democracy Index - Higher and wider Yesterday, the previously small world of public engagement with science made some important new friends. RCUK and Hefce launched six "Beacons for public engagement," based at British universities, aiming to connect them to their local communities and other public groups in new ways. Ian Pearson, the science minister, seemed excited. And he seems to understand better than his predecessors that public engagement is not, as he put it, "just speaking slower and louder." The... continue reading on 31st January 2008 Comments (2)
- DON'T PANIC!!! So the chancellor wants to be able to save banks in private. He is keen that, when future Northern Rocks rock, the Treasury should be able to help them out without telling the public everything that is going on, in case they 'panic.' Back in September, Duncan wrote about how the prevailing view among economists saw runs on banks as irrational. Given the huge uncertainty about the stability of Northern Rock, getting my money out would seem to me to be the most sensible possible course of... continue reading on 30th January 2008 Comments (1)
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I've seen the future
I am at a conference on National Safety & Security in The Hague. It's only just kicking off but last night participants were invited to a dinner and I managed to sit next to Peter Schwartz, the co-founder and chairman of Global Business Network and former head of scenario planning for Shell.
We were just about to dig into the main course when Peter answers a question from across the table on climate change... He pauses and says, ‘of course climate change is a major risk but there is something bigger around the corner...’. I have to wait for his presentation this afternoon to find out what. continue reading on 29th January 2008 Comments (1) - Comment is free, but some are less abusive than others Good to see that the Guardian is getting a little more web 2.0 with its comment moderation over on Comment is free. The site has lots to offer, but the comment streams tend to be 50% comment, 50% abuse. Which is a shame, because it tends to damage the quality of debate on there. continue reading on 28th January 2008
- Horse's mouth Demos trustee MT Rainey has set up an amazing new site: horse's mouth it brings together people willing to give their time on line to share their experineces and advice with others. it sounds simple enough but it's a revolutionary restribution of the soft advantages that the well-connected enjoy naturally. It builds social capital out of the internet. Also, and a bit pious this bit, it's a chance to be a good citizen online, rather than just a spectator or a consumer. I'd really... continue reading 24th January 2008
- The New Public Diplomacy Together with David Steven and Alex Evans we are kicking off a new project exploring the changed landscape for diplomacy in which governments now find themselves, and what they need to do to equip themselves to operate effectively in this new context. For a brief snapshot of what we're thinking continue reading on 23rd January 2008 in The New Public Diplomacy
- Podcast: Making It Personal A new year return for the Demos podcast. This time we're talking about the new pamphlet Making It Personal. Just before the launch, at a day-long conference held last Friday, Peter Bradwell spoke to two of the authors, Niamh Gallagher and Jamie Bartlett. With a focus on social care, the pamphlet explores the next stage of a personalising approach to public services: people given an individual budget so they can shape, with the advice of peers, family and professionals, the support they need.... continue reading on 21st January 2008 in Demos Podcasts Participative Public Services Comments (1)
- Reactions to Cultural Interventions in Russia In the wake of recent events involving the British Council's offices at Yekaterinburg and St Petersburg, it's interesting to see commentators once again pointing to the importance of culture in international relations, the theme of our Cultural Diplomacy pamphlet last year. I thought it was worth posting a selection. In last week's Guardian, Simon Jenkins argued that 'culture and lifestyle are the diplomacy of the 21st Century' - very much an echo of his earlier article in response to our... continue reading on 21st January 2008 in Cultural Diplomacy Comments (1)
- Groundblog day I don’t know why I keeping blogging about school choice, but I can’t help it. Today Matthew D’Ancona writes over on the Spectator blog that the announcement yesterday on school admissions is ‘an old fashioned public sector rationing system doing its bleak work’. continue reading on 17th January 2008 Comments (2)