This guest essay sets out a vision for a progressive alternative to DOGE. It is part of Demos’ work to reform public services and build a more collaborative democracy, one that harnesses collective intelligence to improve efficiency and effectiveness of government and earn higher levels of citizen trust.
The author, Geoff Mulgan, is a Professor at University College London (UCL). Previously, he was Chief Executive of Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation (2011-2019), and from 1997-2004 he had roles in the UK government including director of the Government’s Strategy Unit, director of the Performance and Innovation Unit and head of policy in the Prime Minister’s office. From 2004-2011 he was first CEO of the Young Foundation. He was a founder and the first director of Demos.
As part of Demos’s ongoing efforts to facilitate greater diversity, inclusion, equity and justice in all areas of our work, we assess and publish our approach to meeting our goals in each of our publications. In this guest essay we explore a policy area that would give citizens a greater say in how the state is shaped, achieving a more diverse and inclusive influence on central government; we design an approach that is radically inclusive, including voices that would otherwise be left behind. Fairer use of taxes and ensuring spending goes to the frontline where the public can most benefit from them would also amount to a more just fiscal policy.