Category Archives: Charities and Big Society

Big Issue founder John Bird fires rockets at charities and civil service

Posted on May 17, 2013 by

Summary A write-up of John Bird’s recent visit to Cambridge A few of you may know that I am a member of JCI Cambridge, the Cambridge branch of Junior Chambers International, an organisation that seeks to develop the professional skills … Continue reading →

Posted in Business economics and finance, Cambridge, Charities and Big Society, Party politics, Public administration & policy | Leave a comment

Public policy – is it academia vs party politics?

Posted on May 14, 2013 by

Summary Some thoughts from a couple of talks inside Cambridge’s public policy community Puffles has been flying around the Cambridge Public Policy community of late. Talks hosted by the Cambridge Science and Policy Exchange, by the Centre for Research in … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge, Charities and Big Society, Data, science and statistics, Party politics, Public administration & policy, Social media | 3 Comments

What role is there for civic society & local government social media in boosting voter turnout?

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

Summary Some thoughts from a Cambridgeshire perspective. I had a look at the turnout figures for the recent local government elections in Cambridge. Chesterton, The People’s Democratic Socialist Republic of Romsey, and The Royal Division of Her Majesty the Queen … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge, Charities and Big Society, Party politics, Social media | 3 Comments

Do we need a Fairtrade-style labelling system for manufactured products?

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

Summary Can such a labelling system help shoppers make the conscious choice to buy products manufactured under more humane and environmentally sustainable conditions? Or will it require legislation? This blogpost follows on from “I don’t want your charity, I demand … Continue reading →

Posted in Public administration & policy, Campaigning, protesting and demonstrating, Party politics, Employment and job hunting, Charities and Big Society, Business economics and finance, Law and legal issues | 4 Comments

“I don’t want your charity, I demand my rights!”

Posted on April 30, 2013 by

Summary Why the utterly avoidable factory collapse in Dhaka demonstrates the need for citizens’ rights over corporate ‘charity’ Some of you may have spotted retailers from all over the place scrambling to say that they will compensate the families of … Continue reading →

Posted in Campaigning, protesting and demonstrating, Charities and Big Society, Law and legal issues | 2 Comments

“Will 38 degrees please stop spamming my inbox?”

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

Summary Some thoughts on 38 degrees following comments from a number of MPs, Westminster & Whitehall insiders, and seasoned campaigners I took Puffles along to an event on the ‘social mediatisation’ of politics at the London HQ of the European Parliament … Continue reading →

Posted in Public administration & policy, Social media, Campaigning, protesting and demonstrating, Party politics, Charities and Big Society, Data, science and statistics | 16 Comments

Hacking local democracy – a response

Posted on April 28, 2013 by

Summary A response to Emma Daniel’s post on reinvigorating local democracy Emma‘s short blogpost is here - please read it before going further. One of her early questions is: “Why does local democracy need a reboot?” Low voter turnout and low … Continue reading →

Posted in Public administration & policy, Cambridge, Social media, Campaigning, protesting and demonstrating, Party politics, Charities and Big Society | 2 Comments

Local Government Elections – Cambridgeshire 2013

Posted on April 14, 2013 by

Summary Some thoughts on the elections next month from my lounge seat in Cambridge Local political types from various sides have asked me to write a blogpost about this, so here’s my tuppence-worth. County-wide, the lists of candidates standing across … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge, Social media, Campaigning, protesting and demonstrating, Party politics, Charities and Big Society | 1 Comment

On men’s fashion

Posted on March 30, 2013 by

Summary A moan about blandness In the grand scheme of things, men’s fashions as far as the Western world hasn’t changed that much in the past 100 years. The historian in me has never quite fathomed out why, after the … Continue reading →

Posted in Business economics and finance, Charities and Big Society, Fluffy topics | Leave a comment

Loyalty to institutions

Posted on February 25, 2013 by

Summary Why are people loyal to some institutions but not others? This post stems from a comment by Hilary Barnard in response to my last blogpost. Why was I so angry at the fund raiser who phoned me up out … Continue reading →

Posted in Business economics and finance, Charities and Big Society, Education, training and exams, Public administration & policy | Leave a comment