Whatever the merits or demerits of the issues at stake in the debate on tuition fees, one of the things that can be said is how rapidly online social media…
Read More
The Public Health White Paper is a significant document. It shows the wide level of political consensus for tackling health inequalities. The days of 260 copies of the Black Report…
The heavy snowfall does tend to bring out the best in people as they work together to overcome challenges. Whether one calls this the Big Society or more generally Civil…
With the Public Health White Paper due to be published on Tuesday, it seems appropriate to comment on the use of incentives to encourage positive Heath outcomes. Reporting over the…
“there is much that it does not comprehend. It does not allow for the health of our families, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It…
“Shared decision making will become the norm: no decision about me without me” The inclusion of the above line on the first page of the recent NHS White Paper was…
“High quality health and care services depend on good information. The right person having the right information at the right time can make all the difference to the experience of…
How does public policy satisfy human needs? This may at first seem like a straightforward question, but are we sure we know the answer? On a day to day to…
I have previously made brief reference to the recently published World Wildlife Fund supported report Common Cause. This report is very important as it seeks to make the case for…
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has this afternoon started its inquiry into the effectiveness of behaviour change campaigns. Peers will investigate the ways in which the government…
People are naturally asking what the Big Society means to their real lives? Too often the answer is soundbites and political argument. At best it is expressed as theory, or…
Over the coming days lots of things will be written about the Government’s Spending Review, so this comment will be quite brief. Whatever one thinks of it, many public and…
Robin Clarke of the Office for Public Management (OPM) wrote recently about the role of Behaviour Change in building Civil Society under the Big Society banner. It very much reflects…
Prime Minister David Cameron in his Party Conference speech this week made a powerful point that: “….citizenship isn’t a transaction – in which you put your taxes in and get…
David Cameron yesterday in his Conference speech returned to the theme of the Big Society. However the term remains contested with Ed Milliband in his speech the previous week talking…
Andreas Whittam Smith writes today in the Independent about the nature of future government interventions in local communities and how they contribute to the Big Society agenda. His article is…
The BBC is reporting that NICE, the advisory body for the health service, is holding a public consultation over whether the NHS in England and Wales should offer financial incentives…
I’ve just read an interesting article by Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker regarding the depth of connection within social networks. Apart from some interesting comments on the differences between…