BROWSE OUR CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Family and Society

Focusing on how public policy can be better designed to give people and families more power over their lives, this programme brings together research into parenting, ageing and the impact of social change on young people. Led by Louise Bazalgette and Matt Grist, our projects are based on expert analysis of trends, innovative research methods and a progressive vision of social change.

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The Character Inquiry: Call for evidence

Jen Lexmond

Demos is issuing a call to evidence for it's work on The Character Inquiry.

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The Character Inquiry

Jen Lexmond, Matt Grist

A growing body of evidence shows that character is the most important factor in determining life chances.  The Character Inquiry brings together research leaders and experts to explore how developing character skills can be encouraged in public and private life.

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The Way We Live Now

Beatrice Karol Burks

Demos is exploring how lifestyles in Britain have changed in the past few decades and what it is that make our modern lives unique.

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Anatomy of Youth

Celia Hannon, Charlie Tims

Anatomy of Youth is a new research project which will look at society and policy making from the perspective of young people in Britain aged 16-25.

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Youth Civic Service

Sonia Sodha, Dan Leighton

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?

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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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Citizens

Decades of policymaking framed around consumer choice and economic growth have left those formulating policy unsure on how best to balance public and private interests. Led by Jonathan Birdwell, our work in this area seeks to understand the public interest and determine what implications it has for relationships between the state, citizens, business and civil society.

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Ending Forced Marriage

Max Wind-Cowie, Phillida Cheetham

This project aims to identify an effective cross-border approach to tackling forced marriage in Britain.

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Open Society Dialogues

Dan Leighton

This project explores the tensions, hidden assumptions and challenges to the ideals and institutions that make open societies.

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Civic Service International

Jonathan Birdwell, Susanna Pettigrew

This research will look at the potential benefits of a British international citizen service, investigating how it can be integrated into Big Society initiatives and increase civic engagement.

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The Future of Work

William Davies, John Knell

The project will explore the possibilities for a new politics of work.

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The Power Gap

Dan Leighton, Simon Hampson

A landmark project on everyday power shows how far we have to travel to become a nation of powerful people.

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A People's Inquiry into Personal Information

Peter Bradwell, Dan Leighton

This project will feature a 'People's Inquiry' to explore people's attitudes to the use of their personal information. It will use the outcomes from the deliberative groups to develop practical ideas for matching public expectations and personal information policy.

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Violence and Extremism

The last decade has seen a rapid growth in extremist and violent behaviours. There are growing incidences of gang membership, gun and knife crime, religious and political radicalism, and violence motivated by intolerance of others. Led by Jamie Bartlett, our work on violence and extremism seeks to understand what drives such behaviour.

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Truth, lies and the internet

Jamie Bartlett, Carl Miller

This projects asks the extent to which young people can discriminate between the wealth of information found online.

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Inside the EDL

Jamie Bartlett

The project looks at how the English Defence League work and who its supporters are.

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Legal Highs

Jonathan Birdwell, Jake Chapman

Demos is looking at how government can approach new harmful chemical substances, or 'legal highs', in an effective way.

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Resilient Places

Samuel Jones, Pippa Read

This project will investigate how infrastructure contributes to making places resilient and what opportunities infrastructure might provide in the future.

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On the edge of violence?

Jamie Bartlett, Jonathan Birdwell

This project looks at the relationship between violent and non-violent radicalisation by mapping the flow of ideas, people and money through violent and non-violent radical groups.

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Basra Journal

Charlie Edwards

In October 2008, Charlie Edwards, Head of Security at Demos made a trip to Basra, Iraq.

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Political Ideas

Alongside and connected with our research programes, Demos has political projects focused on the burning issues in current political thinking.

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Northern Lights Seminar Series

Catherine Fieschi

A seminar series to discuss social innovation and explore the secrets of the Nordic Model

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Recruitment 2020

Duncan O'Leary, Grahame Broadbelt

A project with the Guardian and the The Recruitment and Employment Confederation

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The Network Effect

Melissa Mean, Kirsten Bound

The Network Effect brings together Europe's future leaders in a creative, influential and distincitve network.

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Professional Authority

Duncan O'Leary

A project with IDeA looking at how efforts to re-orient services around the needs of users are disrupting professional boundaries, roles and status.

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Sweden: Back to the Top

World class achievements in innovation, legendary investment in people and a thriving export industry aren't enough to ensure Sweden's sutainable success, prosperity and global competitiveness.

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Knowledge and Inspiration

John Holden, Samuel Jones

This project highlights the evidence for the central importance of museums, libraries and archives to our future. By understanding their role as a public service, delivering public value, it will demonstrate what the sector does in terms of values that are intrinsic, instrumental and institutional, and show what they mean in practice.

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Public Services

The Coalition Government is facing the most significant fiscal challenges of postwar Britain. Led by Claudia Wood, our work on public finance will interrogate how the radical action needed to rebalance the budget can be undertaken without abandoning progressive goals.

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The Home Cure

Claudia Wood, Jo Salter

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

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Under One Roof

Claudia Wood, Phillida Cheetham

Demos is currently looking at how social housing providers can act as co-ordinators and hubs for support and earlier intervention for their clients.

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Advising Ambition

Eugene Grant, Jonathan Birdwell

This project will focus on school-to-work transition: how our education and training systems are preparing young people for employment.

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Centre for London

A new think tank exploring the great economic, social and environmental challenges facing London. The capital is the most productive economic region in the UK, but it also faces great challenges such as a severe housing shortage, child poverty, unemployment and demographic change. Centre for London, led by Ben Rogers, acts as a critical friend to London government, to develop rigorous and radical solutions to London's problems.

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Olympics Scorecard

Jess Tyrrell, Rob Whitehead

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?

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Smart London

Ben Rogers, Jess Tyrrell

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?

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Getting London Working

Rob Whitehead

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?

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London's Calling

Rob Whitehead, Stephen Evans

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

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The Thames: Making More of the Heart of London

Ben Rogers

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?

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East London Tech City

Rob Whitehead, Max Nathan, Emma Vandore, Jess Tyrrell

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.

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