John joined Demos in 2002 and left in 2006 on secondment in the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office. In 2007 he joined the CO on a permanent basis, before becoming the first Director of the Innovation Exchange - an organisation which seeks to support innovation from the third sector. He is experienced in policy related to both communities and public services. He is the author of Schools Out, which examines emerging practice within extended schools and Start with People, which looks at the role of community organisations in enabling civic participation and Production Values: Futures for professionalism
John has an MA in Education Policy from the Institute of Education, University of London. He has previously worked as a researcher for both the Strategic Policy Team in the Home Office and the Policy and Innovation Unit in DfEE. John is a former trustee of Toynbee Hall in East London and a former vice-president of Oxford University Student Union.
The UK government has embarked on a unique experiment that will use digital television to enhance the continuing professional development of school teachers.
As the number of connections grows by 50,000 every week, broadband internet is increasingly a social phenomenon and a political issue.
This report traces the rise of broadband and explores the issues it raises today for rural areas. It then goes on to explore three possible scenarios for rural broadband in 2020, with the twin aims of dramatising a variety of future directions and helping rural stakeholders to think creatively about the more immediate responses these futures may require.
This report argues that people will not be satisfied by what the public realm has to offer until they themselves become more active in shaping it. To this end, while services are increasingly focused on the problems they must solve, community organizations start with people. They are able to create ‘communities of participation’ which bring the public realm to life, helping people to play a greater role within it.
This report argues that to succeed extended schools must not only forge new structures but also new cultures. They must root their work in the needs of their pupils and their community, and learn to exist within open systems of children's services.
Lack of access to insurance is a major disadvantage for socially excluded groups, yet the issue has not been given the profile it deserves. This report makes a call to action to local intermediaries, insurers and the Government, urging all to invest in extending the coverage of insurance.
The essays in this collection draw on examples from across the public sector and beyond to explore the challenges professionals and citizens face and where their conversations might lead. They provide practical examples of how their encounters might help citizen autonomy and professional autonomy to grow together.
Today, we expect teachers to ensure child safety, regenerate whole communities and to search young adults for weapons. The public’s and policy makers’ sense that teachers can save society, the pupils’ trust in them and teachers’ own shared norms and ethics all shape and define teacher professionalism.
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Today the Hay Group published Schools Out, our report about extended schools and the challenges...
There's an upbeat Guardian article today about the future of the National College for...
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Here are 16 essays from the Washington Monthly on 'What if Bush wins?'. Interesting...
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I had the pleasure of appearing on BBC1's breakfast programme today, and sitting on...
I have long been confident that Paul's enthusiasm for del.icio.us was misplaced. However...
There's a good review on Slashdot of a book called The Naked Corporation, which discusses...
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It's either genius or insanity - to my shock, I agreed with David Aaronovitch this...
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According to de Juvenal "the language of politics is the language of priorities"...
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As I sat down with a a government minister, a Guardian journalist and assorted policy super...
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Some coverage in the Times Ed today for our work with NCSL looking at the new leadership...
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Antipolitics keeps me awake at night and so I am much cheered by this article from David...
What a year. For little reason at all, here's a quote from my favourite book of the...
I have a comment piece in the Guardian today making the claim that a new breed of academics...
The violence following the Danish cartoons is getting worse, and that makes it all the more...
There have been some great exhibitions in recent years on the relationship between democracy...
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Well today it's because I was in one of those private discussions with a front line...
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I'm shamed by my blogging back-log. Last Thursday, we launched Production Values, a...
There is a good comment piece in the FT today (subscription required) about Production Values...