With rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and telecommunications and the growing importance of data in our decision-making, we are witnessing a period of significant digital disruption. The resource-intensive nature of these technologies has also created a growing divide between the leaders and the followers, and the winners and the losers. Experts will discuss how the current disruption materialises socially, economically, and geopolitically. This is not the first wave of disruption in recent history, so how can we learn from earlier examples, and is it different this time? How can ..read more

Infrastructure is vital for the economic growth of places and enhancing the wellbeing and quality of life of its citizens. In this session, our guest speakers discuss why infrastructure matters in the 21st century and how decision-makers can deliver it. What actions are needed to improve the delivery of infrastructure? How can data-driven tools improve decision-making? And how can policymakers future-proof infrastructure projects to ensure that new plans benefit people and places now and in the future? Guest speakers: Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Member of Parliament for Tunbridge Wells, and former ..read more

It often seems policies are developed in real time in reaction to ever-changing geopolitical events. In this session, our guest speakers discuss how the UK’s institutions – business, policy, and civil society – can help proactively shape resilience to domestic and international shocks and firm-up socio-economic stability. They explore the investment priorities for building economic, political, and social resilience, even in the face of climate change, inflation, war and inequality, and suggest real-world policy solutions. Guest speakers  Catherine Little, Civil Service Chief Operating O ..read more

The Northcote Trevelyan Report of 1854 is seen as the foundation document for the UK Civil Service. The pillars it established have shaped the institution ever since. But much has changed in the 170 years since that report’s publication. The size, sophistication, and range of responsibilities of the Civil Service are immensely different. So too is the governing context, in which social media, a 24/7 news media, rapid technological change, a less trusting public and a hyper-partisan political environment are re-shaping the boundaries of what is possible and what is expected. In the midst of so ..read more

Rory Cellan-Jones and leading experts Charlotte Cavaillé, Ailbhe McNabola and Jack Shaw discuss the causes of income and regional inequality, why policymakers should care, and what policy interventions work best to reduce them.  Leading experts from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy and Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse discuss recent trends in income and regional inequality, and evaluate the effectiveness of different policy approaches. They identify the opportunities and challenges of (de)centralisation, what works best to revive ‘left behind’ places, and whether the assump ..read more

Prospect’s Editor, Alan Rusbridger chats to the winner of the Bennett Prospect Public Policy Prize 2022 , Walter Pasquarelli, and Prof Dennis Grube of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, about "What is a 21st century civil service for?" Walter Pasquarelli—a policy research manager and consultant in the Tech & Society practice of Economist Impact—created and submitted a short film titled: “Towards a semantic civil service,” which argues for a civil service (inspired by the semantic web) that is decentralised, grants personal control of data, and creates more bespoke and better process ..read more

This panel discussion explores the intersection of public policy and public-purpose technology - the technology needed to help address major public needs - in 2022, and how leading founders, investors, and policy experts view them.  Leading experts look at the challenges and opportunities in engaging technology innovation to address pressing public needs and bring together perspectives from entrepreneurship, investment, and academia.  They explore: The role of government and public policy in the development and uptake of public-purpose technology Whether states should more explici ..read more

There is a growing political focus upon the future of the UK Union, in the context of consistent support at 50% or higher for independence in Scotland, the destabilising impact that Brexit has had on Northern Ireland and the emergence of a more active independence movement in Wales. A report published by the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge, and The Constitution Society,  states that the future of the Union needs to encompass a clearer focus upon the lack of a developed culture of, and machinery for, bringing the different governments of the UK together. Two ..read more

There is a growing appreciation that the ‘success’ of a society is about more than money and growth, and that 'well-being', including our health, relationships, feelings, environment, goals, and other items, all have value to us, and that we should make decisions that invest in these areas accordingly.   There is however a less widespread appreciation of how to measure and weight these 'life qualities'. Different countries and organisations adopt different methods - from the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, to the OECD's Better Life initiative - and how much they are worth ..read more

There is a growing political focus upon the future of the UK Union, in the context of consistent support at 50% or higher for independence in Scotland, the destabilising impact that Brexit has had on Northern Ireland and the emergence of a more active independence movement in Wales. A report published by the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge, and The Constitution Society,  states that the future of the Union needs to encompass a clearer focus upon the lack of a developed culture of, and machinery for, bringing the different governments of the UK together. Two ..read more