Blogs & articles

Sure Start: how government discovered early childhood

Comment

26 Oct 2011

Author of a new book about the development of Sure Start, Naomi Eisenstadt FRSA argues that its story is an ideal case study on how to deliver services for young children and on the policymaking process.

Mote or beam?

Blog

26 Oct 2011

Matthew Taylor

It was inevitable, I guess, that the Coalition Government would in time abandon any pretence that it would abolish the spin doctoring used by New Labour.  The leaking of the Beecroft review of employment regulation is more evidence that all Governments need spin. I spoke to someone from Number Ten a few weeks ago who mentioned the review in passing saying that all the measures Mr Beecroft proposed were simply too ‘nasty-looking’ to take forward. Leaking the paper, presumably in some way to appease Conservatives demanding the Government repatriate various EU regulatory powers, is a classic spinning tactic; using the impression that something is being done as an alternative to actually doing anything.

Breaking up isn’t hard to do

Blog

25 Oct 2011

Matthew Taylor

I am greatly relieved that Philip Stephens wrote this piece in the FT today. The last time I commented on political affairs north of the border I faced a mini barrage of criticism, so I had been holding back on my dismay about the apparently unstoppable tide of Scottish independence. Philip’s excellent column gives me some cover.

Civic chat up lines: How to talk to strangers

Blog

24 Oct 2011

The Social Brain team has been brainstorming ideas for new projects recently. One idea that came up was to do some work developing ‘civic chat up lines’. Making connections with people around us is a key ingredient in our wellbeing, so being able to start conversations with strangers is surely a useful skill. Avoiding doing so in a way which makes the recipient of your chat up line think you’re weird or feel their space is being invaded is obviously of some importance. The writer and director Miranda July addressed this subject in the Guardian this weekend, but I’m not going to recommend testing what she suggests as I think grabbing hold of the nearest stranger by the arm might not lead to the kind of meaningful and rewarding social encounter we’d like to promote. So, how do you start a conversation with a stranger?

RSA Animate - The Divided Brain

Comment

24 Oct 2011

Renowned psychiatrist and writer Iain McGilchrist explains how our 'divided brain' has profoundly altered human behaviour, culture and society. Taken from a lecture given by Iain McGilchrist as part of the RSA's free public events programme.

Selectively grumpy

Blog

24 Oct 2011

Matthew Taylor

Men of my age need to watch out. I don’t want to be accused of a combination of ageism and sexism but it is my experience that past the age of fifty women tend to become more positive and adventurous while men become more risk averse and negative. Perhaps I’ll explore the reasons for this phenomenon in another post but its observation has made me wary of signs I might be becoming a grumpy old man. And still they come. On Friday evening, as I drove across South London, there was one of the classics of incipient ARG (age-related grumpiness): I found myself shouting at the radio.

Social entrepreneurs: why we do it [videos]

Blog

24 Oct 2011

‘I would like to see a Social Entrepreneurs Network in every region of the RSA and in every country of the world’, said RSA Chief Executive Matthew Taylor, at the latest RSA Social Entrepreneurs Network event.

PBR - high hopes, big questions

Blog

22 Oct 2011

Matthew Taylor

Along with localism, payment by results (PBR) is one of the Coalition's big ideas for public service reform. It is the main form of commissioning in employment services, and will become a very significant part of the way other services are procured and delivered including probation, prison rehabilitation and drug treatment and recovery. There has also been talk of using PBR to commission services for problem families, although Whitehall insiders admit the are hugely complex issues to address about measuring and attributing outcomes. 

Flying the flag for Animate

Blog

21 Oct 2011

Matthew Taylor

The new RSA Animate is up. It is Iain McGilchrist talking about the divided brain, the subject of his masterwork ‘The Master and his Emissary’. My bet is that it will have had a million views in just a few weeks so you can be real trend setter and be among the first 10,000. You will immediately want your friends to watch it too so you can discuss it with them.