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Louise Bazalgette

Senior Researcher, Family and Society Programme

Louiseprofile
Telephone
020 7367 6334
Email
louise.bazalgette@demos.co.uk

Louise is a Senior Researcher on the Family and Society Programme. She specialises in family policy with a particular emphasis on parenting, the early years and ageing.

Louise is a Senior Researcher at Demos. She is currently working on two projects exploring how we can meet the needs of an ageing society. The first project, Ageing Sociably, is exploring specifically the potential for businesses to play a greater role in giving older people opportunities to socialise and build and maintain their social networks as they experience life transitions such as retirement. The second project, Ageing Across the EU, will use quantitative analysis of large longitudinal data sets to compare experiences of ageing in the UK across a range of indicators, with experiences  of people aged 50 plus in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Louise is also developing a project that will explore the specific nutritional needs of infants and children aged 0-3; the impact of nutrition on young children’s later life outcomes (including health, social and emotional development and educational attainment); and the extent to which parents and early years providers are meeting the nutritional needs of this age group.

Louise recently led the research secretariat for the Commission on Assisted Dying between September 2010 and January 2012, managing the Commission’s programme of outreach and research. This public consultation lasted for more than a year and included a call for written evidence that received more than 1,200 responses; international research visits to Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Oregon in the USA; six public evidence hearings and a programme of qualitative research with older people, disabled people and people with terminal illnesses. It culminated in a high profile report by the Commission on Assisted Dying, which was published in January 2012.

Other publications Louise has recently co-authored include The Truth About Suicide (2011), an empirical study of the relationship between suicide and chronic and terminal illness, and Coming of Age (2011), a report that puts older people's experiences and voices at the centre of ageing policy. Louise also co-authored The Home Front (2011), a study of the pressures and challenges of parenting and the policies and services that are effective in supporting parents, and In Loco Parentis (2010), a comprehensive study of the care system focusing on how care can be used most effectively to improve children’s outcomes.

Prior to working for Demos, Louise worked at the Digital Inclusion Team, a central government funded organisation that worked with local authorities to promote digital inclusion. Louise has an MSc in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and a degree from Cambridge.

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In Loco Parentis
Authors
Celia Hannon, Louise Bazalgette, Claudia Wood
Publication Date
2010-06-28
Publication Type
Pamphlet

A poor experience of the care system takes a toll on the public purse as well as children's emotional well being.

 

 

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The Home Front
Authors
Jen Lexmond, Louise Bazalgette, Julia Margo
Publication Date
2011-01-14
Publication Type
Pamphlet

This pamphlet explores the increasingly important role of parenting in policy and argues that economic and environmental circumstances can shape and influence parental approaches for better or worse.

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Coming of Age
Authors
Louise Bazalgette, Philip Tew, John Holden, Nick Hubble, Jago Morrison
Publication Date
2011-04-07
Publication Type
Pamphlet

This pamphlet grounds public policy in people’s real, lived experiences of ageing.

Suicide
The Truth About Suicide
Authors
Louise Bazalgette, William Bradley, Jenny Ousbey
Publication Date
2011-08-23
Publication Type
Pamphlet

This pamphlet investigates the link between physical illness and suicide, using the largest ever data-set of its kind.

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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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The Home Front

Jen Lexmond, Julia Margo, Louise Bazalgette

Following on from our publication Building Character on parenting and early years, Demos is building the case for ‘character’ as the key to life chances.

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Coming of Age

Louise Bazalgette, John Holden

Drawing on older people’s perspectives, this project will explore ageing in culture and society and investigate how public policy should respond to the challenges posed by our ageing society.

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Commission on Assisted Dying

Louise Bazalgette, William Bradley, Beatrice Karol Burks, Sarah Kennedy

Demos will act as secretariat to the Commission on Assisted Dying, an independent inquiry into the issue of assisted dying in the UK.

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Ageing Sociably

Louise Bazalgette, Claudia Wood, Phillida Cheetham

This project will identify ways that private companies can make use of their local presence and existing operating structures to generate new social opportunities for older people.

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Ageing Across the EU

Louise Bazalgette

Demos is investigating the different experiences of older people across EU countries.

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