In recent months there have been many proposals to create a youth civic service. But what should such a scheme try to achieve? What should it look like? And what are the views of young people themselves?

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.

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.

Demos has embarked on a new research project exploring the influence of parenting in character development of children and the link between character, life chances, and well-being.

Demos is undertaking a year-long research project focused on children aged 7-16 who are already displaying signs of being at risk of social exclusion and deprivation in later life.

Wishful Thinking delves into the hopes and dreams of everyday Britain, discovering that in the face of collective pessimism, as individuals we are positive, pragmatic and generous in our wishes and expectations.

This project aims to quantify and measure the actual economic and social value of Britain's 5,500 charity shops within communities.

This research will seek to explore the extent to which the Scouting movement helps impart employability skills such as team work, confidence, interpersonal skills and leadership

This project examines how a parent's problematic relationship with alcohol can impact on parenting and children’s perceptions of alcohol.

This project explores the role of faith groups in 21^st century British society – in particular, their role in progressive politics.

This project will investigate young people's attitudes towards the EU across Europe.

This project will explore how the European Union can prevent 'backsliding' on democratic commitments among member states.

Public diplomacy – diplomacy directed at people rather than other diplomats – is vital for tackling global risks like climate change, terrorism or HIV obliterate geographic, disciplinary and organisational borders. This project explores how governments can equip themselves to operate effectively in this new context.

This work examines the implications of current trends in the English Language for policy agendas. Run in association with Cambridge Assessment, and ESOL Examinations at the University of Cambridge, it will identify not only areas in which policy makers will have to change to meet the challenges posed by the emergence of variants of English - Englishes - but also how government and others can work with providers to take advantage of the many opportunites that 'Englishes' present...

Following the recent public diplomacy review, now seems like a good time to revisit what we mean by cultural diplomacy and the ways in which culture helps to deliver Britain’s foreign, developmental, and sustainability objectives. This project asks what this means for cultural institutions and whether they could play a role in fostering public debate and engagement. It also set out a new and practical framework for policy makers and practitioners in the UK and beyond.

Demos has undertaken futures work with a wide range of organisations – helping groups from trade unions to international security bodies plan ahead.

The way young people use technology outside school is changing and so are the ways they learn. This project, funded by the NCSL, aims to explore how schools should respond to children's informal learning with digital media such as games consoles, the internet and mobile phones.

We are examining emerging approaches to public service delivery from across the globe to understand what a new wave of reform might look like in New Zealand, and to examine how unions can take a proactive role in helping their members adapt and thrive in the future.

The debate about what support young people with special educational needs receive for their learning, needs to start with what young people themselves really value - not just where they go to school.

This research aims to identify precisely what values people associate with dying in a home environment and establish why so many more people say they want to die at home.

This project will analyse the generational shift in attitudes towards the welfare state and its far-reaching implications.

Demos is exploring the possibility of personalised end of life care that reflects personal values and also involves maximum choice and control for care users and their families.

Through this project, Demos hopes to paint a detailed and evidence-based picture of the lives of families who are struggling with the cumulative effect of multiple disadvantage in Scotland today.

This research is exploring the potential of prepaid card technology to achieve a personalised, integrated, empowering state.

This project looks at the role social housing providers can play in helping people back to independent living following a period in hospital.

The London Olympics are on track to regenerate a vast swathe of East London, turning a poisonsed industrial site into the biggest new park since Hyde Park, but how will Londoners really benefit and have the goals been met?

Smart city technologies promise to make cities more efficient, liveable and productive. There are real implementation challenges on introducing new technologies at scale in an established city. What are the costs and benefits for London?

Despite being one of the most prosperous cities in the world, London has among the UK’s highest rates of worklessness: one in three working age Londoners is out-of-work. What will be the impact of welfare reforms on London and how London can get the best from this new system? How can models of localism and devolution boost employment in the capital?

This project focusses on access to higher education in London's schools and boroughs and looks at high skills as a key economic driver. 

The Thames is one of London's greatest assets but also presents one of its more pressing challenges. How can improvements to the quality of the architecture and public spaces, and more use of the banks and the river itself be financed, managed and delivered?

The plans for East London Tech City have generated a good deal of excitement. But the way ahead is far from clear. This project looks at how these plans can be best achieved, by comparing East London to other international tech based regenerations and by talking directly to entreprenuers.