BROWSE OUR CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Family and Society

Focusing on how public policy can be better designed to give people and families more power over their lives, this programme brings together research into parenting, ageing and the impact of social change on young people. Led by Louise Bazalgette and Matt Grist, our projects are based on expert analysis of trends, innovative research methods and a progressive vision of social change.

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The Character Inquiry: Call for evidence

Jen Lexmond

Demos is issuing a call to evidence for it's work on The Character Inquiry.

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The Character Inquiry

Jen Lexmond, Matt Grist

A growing body of evidence shows that character is the most important factor in determining life chances.  The Character Inquiry brings together research leaders and experts to explore how developing character skills can be encouraged in public and private life.

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The Way We Live Now

Beatrice Karol Burks

Demos is exploring how lifestyles in Britain have changed in the past few decades and what it is that make our modern lives unique.

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Anatomy of Youth

Celia Hannon, Charlie Tims

Anatomy of Youth is a new research project which will look at society and policy making from the perspective of young people in Britain aged 16-25.

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Youth Civic Service

Sonia Sodha, Dan Leighton

In recent months there have been many proposals to create a youth civic service. But what should such a scheme try to achieve? What should it look like? And what are the views of young people themselves?

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In Loco Parentis

Celia Hannon, Louise Bazalgette, Claudia Wood

Taking a child away from its parents is one of the most significant, life-altering powers available to the state. This wide ranging project will start with the views of young people, to ask how the state can ensure that they are financially, academically and emotionally resilient once they leave the care system.

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Citizens

Decades of policymaking framed around consumer choice and economic growth have left those formulating policy unsure on how best to balance public and private interests. Led by Jonathan Birdwell, our work in this area seeks to understand the public interest and determine what implications it has for relationships between the state, citizens, business and civil society.

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Ending Forced Marriage

Max Wind-Cowie, Phillida Cheetham

This project aims to identify an effective cross-border approach to tackling forced marriage in Britain.

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Open Society Dialogues

Dan Leighton

This project explores the tensions, hidden assumptions and challenges to the ideals and institutions that make open societies.

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Civic Service International

Jonathan Birdwell, Susanna Pettigrew

This research will look at the potential benefits of a British international citizen service, investigating how it can be integrated into Big Society initiatives and increase civic engagement.

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The Future of Work

William Davies, John Knell

The project will explore the possibilities for a new politics of work.

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The Power Gap

Dan Leighton, Simon Hampson

A landmark project on everyday power shows how far we have to travel to become a nation of powerful people.

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A People's Inquiry into Personal Information

Peter Bradwell, Dan Leighton

This project will feature a 'People's Inquiry' to explore people's attitudes to the use of their personal information. It will use the outcomes from the deliberative groups to develop practical ideas for matching public expectations and personal information policy.

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Violence and Extremism

The last decade has seen a rapid growth in extremist and violent behaviours. There are growing incidences of gang membership, gun and knife crime, religious and political radicalism, and violence motivated by intolerance of others. Led by Jamie Bartlett, our work on violence and extremism seeks to understand what drives such behaviour.

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Connecting the Dots

Charlie Edwards, Simon Hampson

Tackling the causes of risks and the drivers of insecurity is complex, time consuming and rarely has an immediate or obvious impact.

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Resilient Nation

Charlie Edwards

This pamphlet calls for a radical rethink of resilience. Instead of structures and centralised services, it argues that citizens and communities are the true source of resilience for our society. People must learn adapt and work together to make Britain a resilient nation.

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Wicked Jihad

Jamie Bartlett

Counter terrorism policy is increasingly about preventing violent extremism before it arises but we are still a long way from understanding what that appeal is. This think-piece explores some explanations which are often overlooked.

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The New Public Diplomacy

Charlie Edwards, Alex Evans, David Steven

Public diplomacy – diplomacy directed at people rather than other diplomats – is vital for tackling global risks like climate change, terrorism or HIV obliterate geographic, disciplinary and organisational borders. This project explores how governments can equip themselves to operate effectively in this new context.

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Political Ideas

Alongside and connected with our research programes, Demos has political projects focused on the burning issues in current political thinking.

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A Common Language

Duncan O'Leary, Andrew Rhodes, Yvette Jacob

This project, running in parallel to wider Demos work on adult learning, will begin with first principles – why ESOL matters – and work through to a logical conclusion of how best it can be delivered in practice, within a coherent policy framework.

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The Place Race

Kirsten Bound

Demos are working with Scottish Enterprise to investigate what role place plays in the attraction of talent to Scottish cities.

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Building Communities for the Future

Shelagh Wright

The government's Building Schools for the Future scheme is a momentous opportunity to catalyse change on a local community level. The key question that this project seeks answers to is how can community participation in BSF be utilised to move beyond the design of new buildings, to shaping and creating learning communities fit for the demands of modern society?

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The Politics of Public Behaviour

Duncan O'Leary

This project is a chance to explore the tensions in the current debate between fostering a 'nanny state' and finding a response to some of the most pressing social issues of our time.

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Business of Care

Hannah Green

From partnering to parenting and social services to wellbeing, care and who provides it are growing issues of national and international concern. While it is widely agreed that we do not want to go back to a model of female-dominated care giving, it is also clear that as a society we are unsure about what is going to replace it...

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Bristol Urban Beach

Melissa Mean

Demos and Zero Zero are helping Bristol to open its own urban beach in summer 2007.

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Public Services

The Coalition Government is facing the most significant fiscal challenges of postwar Britain. Led by Claudia Wood, our work on public finance will interrogate how the radical action needed to rebalance the budget can be undertaken without abandoning progressive goals.

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The Home Cure

Claudia Wood, Jo Salter

This project looks at the role social housing providers can play in helping people back to independent living following a period in hospital.

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Under One Roof

Claudia Wood, Phillida Cheetham

Demos is currently looking at how social housing providers can act as co-ordinators and hubs for support and earlier intervention for their clients.

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Advising Ambition

Eugene Grant, Jonathan Birdwell

This project will focus on school-to-work transition: how our education and training systems are preparing young people for employment.

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Centre for London

A new think tank exploring the great economic, social and environmental challenges facing London. The capital is the most productive economic region in the UK, but it also faces great challenges such as a severe housing shortage, child poverty, unemployment and demographic change. Centre for London, led by Ben Rogers, acts as a critical friend to London government, to develop rigorous and radical solutions to London's problems.

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Olympics Scorecard

Jess Tyrrell, Rob Whitehead

The London Olympics are on track to regenerate a vast swathe of East London, turning a poisonsed industrial site into the biggest new park since Hyde Park, but how will Londoners really benefit and have the goals been met?

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Smart London

Ben Rogers, Jess Tyrrell

Smart city technologies promise to make cities more efficient, liveable and productive. There are real implementation challenges on introducing new technologies at scale in an established city. What are the costs and benefits for London?

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Getting London Working

Rob Whitehead

Despite being one of the most prosperous cities in the world, London has among the UK’s highest rates of worklessness: one in three working age Londoners is out-of-work. What will be the impact of welfare reforms on London and how London can get the best from this new system? How can models of localism and devolution boost employment in the capital?

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London's Calling

Rob Whitehead, Stephen Evans

This project focusses on access to higher education in London's schools and boroughs and looks at high skills as a key economic driver. 

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The Thames: Making More of the Heart of London

Ben Rogers

The Thames is one of London's greatest assets but also presents one of its more pressing challenges. How can improvements to the quality of the architecture and public spaces, and more use of the banks and the river itself be financed, managed and delivered?

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East London Tech City

Rob Whitehead, Max Nathan, Emma Vandore, Jess Tyrrell

The plans for East London Tech City have generated a good deal of excitement. But the way ahead is far from clear. This project looks at how these plans can be best achieved, by comparing East London to other international tech based regenerations and by talking directly to entreprenuers.

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