Emerging Ideas
Projects in development
We're developing new project ideas all the time. Take a look at the overview section for a list of our latest ideas and who to contact to get involved. If you are interested in partnering with us or hearing more about our forthcoming projects, please contact Niamh Gallagher.
The users and tools of new media are tangibly dismantling the traditional news paradigm, partly driven by a new breed of citizen-journalists who are building a more open, and potentially democratised communication space. We have been developing a project with the Reuters Institute for the study of Journalism that will look to the intersection of politicians, traditional professional journalists and the DIY ethic. We will be asking what the impact of DIY, citizen journalism might be on how we publicly report on and debate politics and current affairs.
If you are interested, send an email to peter.bradwell@demos.co.uk.
The Future of Satire
Demos would like to examine the role of satire in politics and society today. From Swift and Gillray, to Steve Bell and Private Eye, we have laughed and even winced as the great and the good are twisted, contorted and humbled. Satire plays a central – if warped – role in how we access and read politics. But to what extent does humour distract from the real issues? While satire has a role to play, can easy laughs take away from serious debate?
For more information, contact: samuel.jones@demos.co.uk
Sex Toy Story
Demos wants to look at how technology and science will interact with sex in the future. Innovations in this sphere could redefine fertility, reproduction and the way we enjoy ourselves. From Viagra to teledildonics, from Second Life sex to the new Kinsey report, shouldn't we start talking about this in the open?
For more information, contact: jack.stilgoe@demos.co.uk
Cultural Literacy
This project will examine and evaluate new behaviours, attitudes and approaches to dealing with the global inability to read other cultures. Beyond the staples of reading, writing, and arithmetic, the challenge now is to think afresh about what skills we need in a changing and hyper-connected world.
For more information, contact; samuel.jones@demos.co.uk
Born Again?
Demos would like to look into how the rhetoric around personalisation and the reality of maternity services overlap. Does the jargon of personalisation and choice really hold any resonance for women in this context? And how do the private decisions around the nature of birth match against the public discourse around the politics of birth? Maternity services offer a lens through which we can assess how our public services cater for individual needs at a point when feedback mechanisms are at their weakest.
For more information, contact: hannah.green@demos.co.uk
The Politics of Public Behaviour
The politics of public behaviour looks set to become the defining issue of this parliament. From diet to household energy use, recycling to transport use, we can now see emerging a new set of political issues which have a direct influence on quality of life for millions of people. The challenge is to find strategies that address public concerns, resolves shared problems and increase people’s personal freedom and autonomy.
For more information, contact: duncan.oleary@demos.co.uk
You Know When You've Been Quangoed
Some issues are too important for party politics – so why not give them to quangos? Reinvented non-departmental public bodies could act as democratic hubs for taking action on issues as diverse as climate change, immigration and children. Ultimately, we could take some of the biggest problems a little further away from politics, and a lot closer to people.
For more information, contact: simon.parker@demos.co.uk
Whose Olympics Is It Anyway?
Demos is looking to set up a public engagement project, exploring the aspirations of people living in the Lea Valley for the Games in 2012. A legacy for East London was at the heart of the bid, so what do East Londoners want and expect from Games? We are particularly interested in exploring the potential for developing the skills and aptitudes of people living in the five boroughs through the opportunities created by the Olympics.
For more information, contact: duncan.oleary@demos.co.uk
Information
Demos will explore the new relationship to knowledge – spurred on by cultural and legislative changes such as the Freedom of Information Act. We want to understand how the emerging channels for freer access to information are changing how people live.
For more information, contact: peter.bradwell@demos.co.uk
Armed Force? The future of the British Army
Until recently the debate around our armed forces has focused on the latest developments in technology and not on the software - the human dimension. Yet the British forces are undergoing significant internal and external change. Together with Tim Edmunds and Anthony Forster we are going to explore the next big issues facing the British Army of the future.
For more information, contact: charlie.edwards@demos.co.uk
Club 18-30
Demos is thinking about relationships, work and politics for the 18-30 generation. Following on from Freedom’s Children, published in 1995, we want to investigate what has changed in a decade and how much has stayed the same, from parenting and work life balance to political affiliation, values and aspirations.
For more information, contact: niahm.gallagher@demos.co.uk
Be A Podcast
We believe in openly sharing ideas. The 'Be a Podcast' feature is an invitation for anyone to do just that. We have no interest in owning what is said or commercially profiting from the ideas, but we do want to provide a platform for innovative thinking. We’re trying to engage academics, professionals, students, policy wonks, opinion makers and thinkers to share our ideas.
For more information, contact: podcasts@demos.co.uk