British Academy: The UK's National Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Future Work
The Policy Centre is currently undertaking work on the following subjects:
New Paradigms in Public Policy (chaired by Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby)
Today, there is a friction in public policymaking, in that resources are tight but there are pressing, and often conflicting, concerns to be tackled.
In particular, there are demands on public services from unemployment, an ageing population and rising expectations of living standards. Climate change and its effects also look to become increasingly prevalent as a policy issue.
This collection of reports considers future directions in public policy in the UK and the framework of ideas that surrounds policymaking. Issues that are considered include:
- climate change;
- democratic engagement;
- multiculturalism;
- future age demographics;
- recession and recovery;
- balancing the demands of the public;
- and neighbourhood problems and the Third Sector.
The start of the project was marked by a lecture from Professor James Fishkin, in June 2010, entitled How to make deliberative democracy practical: Consulting the public thoughtfully.
Reports published in the series so far include:
- Climate change and public policy futures by Ian Gough. 26 July 2011.
- Economic futures by Andrew Gamble. 20 September 2011.
- Squaring the public policy circle: Managing a mismatch between demands and resources by Peter Taylor-Gooby. 28 November 2011.
- Building a new politics? by Gerry Stoker. 11 January 2012.
- Post-immigration 'difference' and integration by Tariq Modood. 9 February 2012.
The Future of Public Service Broadcasting (chaired by Baroness Onora O'Neill)
The current BBC licence fee arrangement comes to an end in 2013 and the Charter is due for renewal in 2016.
While this is some way off, there have already been a number of suggestions about future models for a public service broadcasting system, but the debate is by no means settled.
2009 saw a flurry of papers published about public service broadcasting (PSB) – television, radio and other electronic media funded by the public – and the routes it should take forward.
The majority of this has revolved around the funding of PSB (whether it should it be cut, increased or redistributed) and the dissemination of information and entertainment in a digital age.
This study will cover existing research and also make suggestions about how public service broadcasting and content can be fully used to fulfil and better its objectives, in line with different models of funding and technology.
Recommendations should judge the value of public service broadcasting in terms of the balance between financial issues, societal benefit and how the level of regulation in broadcasting would affect this.
The Policy Centre has commissioned a comparative overview of PSB in developed companies, to be ready for autumn 2011, that will inform the larger project.
How can policymakers raise household saving? (with the IFS)
The matter of savings behaviour has grown in importance over the last few years.
Firstly, Britain’s population is steadily ageing, a trend which, if it continues, could put increasing pressure on the state as they struggle to pay pensions. The 2008 economic crisis also highlighted the lack of savings (and level of personal debt) amongst many people and as such, the subject of personal savings has come under scrutiny from politicians and the media.
This overview will bring together the theoretical literature on household saving and behaviour change interventions and examine the options open to policymakers.
It will summarise where there is a consensus on what works (and what does not) and highlight the limits of the literature. As such it will be an invaluable guide to policymakers interested in savings and behavioural change.
League Tables in the Public Sector (chaired by Professor Harvey Goldstein)
League tables and performance indicators are widely used in the public sector – to measure education, crime reduction and health provision, amongst other things.
Their prevalence has met with a critical response from some; and this study discusses the value of their use in schools, higher education and police forces.
The report was informed by a forum held in January 2011, attended by policymakers and academics.
Nudging citizens towards localism? How policies to encourage behaviour change by citizens link to decentralisation and the Big Society (chaired by Professor Peter Taylor-Gooby; authored by Professor Peter John)
The current government’s interest in the use of nudges coincides with two other major policy directions: that of decentralisation and of stimulating more civic behaviour and voluntary activity, i.e. the Big Society.
This overview, authored by Professor Peter John, will review current policy in decentralisation and Big Society, and to find out how it connects to research in behaviour change.
It will investigate the scope of delivering more interventions on this basis, whether there is enough connect between ‘nudge’ on the one hand, and ‘think’ on the other, and whether the links between academic knowledge and policy interventions have been thought through carefully enough.
Parallel legal systems (chaired by Professor Sue Mendus; authored by Professor Maleiha Malik)
The issue of parallel legal systems has taken on special significance in recent times. The intense public response to Archbishop Rowan Williams’ suggestion that some religious communities could ‘share’ jurisdiction with state law in specific areas is one catalyst for this debate.
This overview contributes to debates about parallel legal systems in the UK through a discussion of four inter-related themes. First, it proposes a definition of a parallel legal system which is relevant for the UK debates. Second, it discusses why the topic of parallel legal system has taken on greater importance in the contemporary UK context. Third, it explores the advantages and disadvantages of different responses that are available to the demand for accommodation of parallel legal systems. This section also includes practical case studies from family law and the accommodation of Muslim legal norms in the UK. Fourth, the report considers the options for developing future academic and policy research.