Jobs:[Full-time] Operations Manager at Centre for Carbon Measurement See more on our Job Board.
Scientific advice in Whitehall
Friday, April 26th, 2013
We featured a preview article from this collection in an earlier briefing (you can read it elsewhere in the archive, here) but the full document is worth a read. It offers some great advice for those engaged with policymakers. In particular the shift to an ‘ecosystem of expertise’ highlights the importance of acting as a broker of information – aggregating and translating advice for decision makers. READ MORE (pdf)
Not just answers
Monday, April 15th, 2013
What is the role of knowledge in government? How do people in government actually make decisions? Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive of Nesta and a previous director of the Government’s Strategy Unit, has been on both sides of the fence. In this article, he discusses what motivates policymakers to action. Context matters. Success depends on who’s giving the advice, how it’s framed, and when it’s given. Just being clever – or ‘logically cogent’ – isn’t enough. READ MORE
Breakthrough Capitalism
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
This new report on ‘Breakthrough Capitalism’ asserts that “current models of capitalism are failing economically, socially and environmentally. As global governance structures weaken, can business be an effective force for change?” It defines a breakthrough solution as one that is future-ready, ambitious, fair and disruptive. It also recognises (on page 35) that “society needs activists”. READ MORE (pdf)
Purpose.com
Monday, February 18th, 2013
There’s no shortage of online campaigning groups but Purpose.com is quite different. It’s registered as a ‘for-profit company with a social mission’. In addition to supporting protests and accepting donations it also sells consulting services to charities and companies (including Google, Audi and the Gates Foundation). It will be interesting to see what impact sites like this have on other campaigning platforms. READ MORE
One Billion Rising
Monday, February 18th, 2013
Yesterday saw the start of ‘One Billion Rising’, a global movement demanding an end to violence against women and girls. Domestic and sexual violence is a hard topic to campaign on. ‘One Billion Rising’ offers some good lessons for engaging the public and driving mass participation. The campaign has a strong and simple message that has been adapted by different countries for different audiences and topics. It has leveraged participation in countries including Afghanistan, Somalia, the US and India by working in coalition with local groups. READ MORE
IF and the challenges of coalition
Monday, February 4th, 2013
The big hunger campaign, IF, has now launched. War on Want declined to join (though War on Want Northern Ireland have) because they felt they couldn’t support the coalition’s agenda. It’s one of the eternal tensions of coalitions – how do you create a manifesto that is meaningful enough to campaign on, but broad enough to accomodate a range of views? IF have released a statement that attempts to tackle these questions. READ MORE
How to Build a Mass Movement, Now
Friday, January 18th, 2013
Jeremy Heimans, founder of Purpose.com (and co-founder of Avaaz) recently gave a talk at the RSA on building a mass movement. He argues that autonomy and independence are crucial – so use institutions, but don’t get institutionalised – and make it about the members, not charismatic leaders. ‘Movements aren’t memes’ he says; success requires infrastructure and long-term planning. READ MORE
Challenges for Global Governance
Friday, January 4th, 2013
What are the challenges facing global governance in 2013? According to this Council on Foreign Relations article, responsibility is a key issue. In a “post-unipolar world” countries must be “responsible stakeholders” that tackle key issues together. Trade, cyber regulation, climate change and the Middle East also feature. Jiemian Yang, of theShanghai Institutes for International Studies, also calls for strengthening the existing international institutions to produce ‘more concrete results’ – an interesting suggestion as the UK assumes the G8 Presidency. READ MORE
Connecting to the World
Friday, November 9th, 2012
Online campaigning keeps changing. This new LSE report looks at how networked NGOs can do it better. It should be ‘more informal, more interesting and less mediated’. Content should have ‘an ambition’ to be shared. It also gives six clear recommendations that form the basis of any good communication online. READ MORE (pdf)
Obama’s Microtargeting
Friday, November 9th, 2012
Once, voters scrutinised candidates and picked the one they liked. These days, it’s the other way around. The Obama campaign employed over 100 data scientists and developers focussed on data mining, integrating databases and testing user behaviour. They could profile a voter, gauge their likely interests, direct a volunteer to contact them with personalised talking points and then track the results. Whilst some feel having this level of information is ‘creepy’ it’s still a long way behind what the best of the commercial sector know. READ MORE