There’s an interesting discourse around the exposure of Bell Pottinger’s shameful behaviour, which shows excellent work from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. On the one side stand the majority of us, ordinary people and those who believe in the power of democracy. On the other there’s a small elite group of people who will be [...]
I’ve been impressed with the way 38 Degrees has given grass-roots campaigning a bit of a nudge lately. But their latest campaign is a case study in how not to do it. It’s patronising, doomed to failure and guaranteed to get people off side. Why? First of all, it’s a petulant knee-jerk reaction. Never a [...]
MPs are treating the new e-Petitions system (and therefore the people that sign them) with little more than lip-service, verging on contempt. I’ve argued that successful petitioning systems have absolutely nothing to do with technology – although the internet does lower barriers and make the public process easier – they are about having an effective [...]
‘Community informatics doesn’t have much theory’… well, actually it does, it’s just that practitioners don’t call it that. Practice is (or feels) more instinctive, more intuitive. But if theory does exist (and we know it does) how does practice inform the organic development of it and the creation of new theoretical models? What roles does [...]
I’ve been listening to politicians and experts talking all day about the big six power companies. The crux of the argument against is that they have too much power, they control the networks, are pretty much unaccountable and the system they deliver is impenetrable. It’s too difficult for the majority of the public to understand. [...]
The Draft Auckland Plan is just out. It’s a vision for the city going out to 2040. Oh dear. Now, I’ll caveat this comment by saying that I’ve not had a chance to read it in detail but I have skimmed through it to try and get a general feeling about where it’s going. Why? [...]
For thinktanks to be effective, they must be imaginative and radical. But a funding crisis is making them increasing bland. Thinktanks have been part of the British political landscape for some time. Mostly, they do good work, making a considerable impact nationally and in more localised ways. For example, work on supporting the working poor [...]
