Reports and research

Engaging Citizens in Social Innovation: A short guide to the research for policy makers and practitioners

1 September 2013 | Authors: Anna Davies,

Public and civic engagement activities are now widely seen as critical in building trust in public institutions, developing social capital and social cohesion in local communities, and lending great legitimacy to public decision making processes. In the context of social

Mapping Citizen Engagement in the Process of Social Innovation

1 September 2013 | Authors: Anna Davies, Will Norman,

Over the last decade there has been a proliferation of methods and approaches to citizen engagement. From idea banks and competitions to co-creation workshops and online petitions, governments, public services and businesses are increasingly keen to garner insights and information

Realising Ambition – Lessons on replication and evidenced based interventions

18 July 2013 | Authors:

Every year thousands of children and young people enter the criminal justice system for the first time. This has a major impact on their families and the communities to which they belong, but an even bigger impact on their own life chances. The Young

Scoping a Quality Framework for Youth Social Action

27 June 2013 | Authors:

Young people who take part in social action, or practical action in the service of others, deserve to have the knowledge, skills and experience they develop recognised and valued. As such, in the summer of 2012 the Prime Minister announced

Social Investment in Education

26 June 2013 | Authors: Gemma Rocyn Jones, John Loder, Will Norman,

A public educational system, free at the point of use, should be our greatest tool for delivering equality of opportunity. But this is not happening. When pupils from poorer backgrounds enter the education system they are already behind their peers. Instead of catching

Nice House, Good Job: Improving educational attainment in West Norfolk

26 June 2013 | Authors: Mhairi Aylott, Nina Mguni,

The Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk undertook an ambitious programme of action to change the landscape of youth transitions in West Norfolk. The council wanted to equip their young people to leave school with the skills to

Citizen Engagement in Social Innovation – A case study report

1 June 2013 | Authors: Anna Davies,

Public and civic engagement activities are widely seen as critical in building trust in public institutions, social capital and social cohesion in local communities, greater legitimacy in public decision making processes and more effective use of resources, as well as

The Value and Role of Citizen Engagement in Social Innovation

1 June 2013 | Authors: Anna Davies,

Engagement practices have particular value for the development of effective social innovations. In particular, this report argues that some forms of engagement will enable a better understanding of needs so that appropriate solutions can be developed. Participation practices can also

Beyond GDP: Measuring social progress at the local level

30 May 2013 | Authors: Lucia Caistor-Arendar, Nina Mguni,

The aim of the Beyond GDP project was to expand our understanding of how we measure societal progress at a local level – in other words, to going beyond monetary measurements to look at the many other aspects which affect

Growing Community Organising

16 May 2013 | Authors: Mandeep Hothi,

We define community organising as the process of supporting individuals to come together to improve their communities by putting pressure on institutions, businesses and governments to act. Community organisers work to identify local leaders, bring together local groups and develop campaigns and actions

Amplify: Local campaigning in a digital world

14 May 2013 | Authors: Sophie Hostick-Boakye,

This toolkit is designed to help community organisations use the free and low cost web tools already widely available. Between April 2011 and March 2013 The Young Foundation, as part of the Building Local Activism programme supported by the Big

Growing Social Innovation in Northern Ireland

12 April 2013 | Authors: Catherine Russell, Declan Mackin, Karen Clarke, Will Norman,

There is a growing recognition that new and innovative approaches are required to meet the social, economic and environmental difficulties we are facing. The field of social innovation is developing rapidly. Across the world, millions of people are creating new