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• Innovation in the Islamic world I've written a piece for the FT today on the prospects for innovation in the Islamic world. This is a curtain-raiser for a new project that we'll be launching in February 2008 to map the changing dynamics of science and technology-based nnovation across the 57 member states of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. We'll be doing this in partnership with the OIC, the journal Nature and others. Send me an email if you'd like to know more, or visit the Atlas of Ideas project page. from : jameswilsdon 19th October 2007
• Pro-Poor innovation The latest issue of id21, published by our friends from the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University, is just out. It includes an article on our nanodialogue in Zimbabwe, and another on our Atlas research on China. Plus biotech in Bangalore, social entrepreneurs in Kenya and rural innovation in Nepal - all this and more can be found here. from : jameswilsdon 27th September 2007
• Innovative China I've recently returned from Beijing, where I spoke at the launch of the OECD's review of China's innovation system. Most of the movers and shakers in Chinese S&T policy were present, and there was some lively debate about the balance between 'indigenous innovation' and the need for more international collaboration.I've written a comment piece in today's China Daily which summarises what I said at the OECD event, building on the arguments in our Atlas of Ideas report. The National Science... from : jameswilsdon 11th September 2007
• Making sense of hybrids Tomorrow is a big day for science governance anoraks. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority are deciding (in public) whether to allow research on hybrid embryos. The novelty is that their decision comes after months of deliberation - some public, some private, in newspapers and in staged engagement experiments - among experts, policymakers and the public. For the last couple of years, we at Demos have been speaking to all sorts of organisations, including the HFEA, about how they... from : jackstilgoe 4th September 2007
• In a Highly Complex World, Innovation From the Top Down “Elites have a lot of leverage but less than they used to,” says Peter Leyden, director of the New Politics Institute in San Francisco. “More people are getting their voices heard.” Mr. Leyden sees an emergent American “republic of innovation,” where growing numbers of people influence what innovations are made and when. Skeptics, however, say that the rosy scenario is exaggerated and that user-generated innovation is merely a kind of “democracy lite,” emphasizing high-end consumer products and services rather than innovations that broadly benefit society. “Difficult questions are going unasked about who is participating in innovation and on what terms,” says James Wilsdon, director of the innovation program at Demos, a think tank in London. from : charlieedwards 29th July 2007
• Top-down reform is not enough to win public trust in services “Over the past 10 years the government’s investment and reform have delivered massive improvements in our public services. Waiting lists have shortened, crime figures have fallen, and the performances of local authorities have vastly improved. But the public rightly demands more. As the new Demos pamphlet demonstrates, the next stage of reform must be about allowing frontline service staff the resources, time and motivation to fully engage citizens in designing the services that the public relies on.” from : charlieedwards 23rd July 2007
• The Disrupters A building services manager for a local council. A Cumbrian hill farmer. A high-end concierge service. And a Bath-based leadership coach. These are not the people who you would expect to be pioneering solutions to climate change. Yet each of them is responsible for innovations that could put us on the path to a lower-carbon society. from : mollywebb 11th July 2007
• Yeah dedication's what you need... if you want to be an innovator woooooh So we launched our new collection, Unlocking Innovation, in a cinema at the BFI yesterday. You can take part in an online debate about it here. Apart from being a pretty cool venue, we heard the new local government minister John Healey talking about the fact that the 'performance paradox' is now one of the biggest challenges the government faces. Services improve, but satisfaction declines. Why? Maybe because we're using the wrong measures, definitely because we don't do enough of the kind of... from : simonparker 11th July 2007
• Demos/NESTA Report and Environmental Challenge Launch The Innovation Challenges programme aims to stimulate innovation in response to major social issues.  Please join us for the launch of our next challenge which will focus on climate change.  We will also launch our latest report - a NESTA/Demos publication on low-carbon innovation entitled ‘The Disrupters’.  The launch event will include a panel debate which will consider the role of Government, investors and the public in improving the conditions for low-carbon... from : mollywebb 6th July 2007
• Unlocking Innovation launch So it's only a week to go until me and Sophia launch our new collection on public service innovation - more details here. The book is a really nice mix of writers including Ed Miliband, Geoff Mulgan and Paul Coen tackling the vexed question of how we can put service users at the heart of the way the public sector innovates and improves. There are also loads of practical examples of user focussed innovation in action.We're being joined for the launch by the new local government minister, John... from : simonparker 3rd July 2007

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