Here are some of the Consultations currently in the planning stages:
Delivering Social Justice – Unlocking Local Leadership
The Department of Work and Pensions has recently drawn up a Social Justice Strategy paper aimed at reducing poverty in the UK. National approaches to tackling poverty have, in the past, tended to focus on directly addressing the income levels of poorer families to bring them above a notional poverty line. The Government's strategy sets out an ambitious plan for reform which looks at diagnosing the root causes of poverty.
Ageing and Spiritual Growth
As part of our occasional series on ageing issues, this consultation will explore a number of areas related to ageing and spiritual growth. Can we work towards a theology of ageing? How can we recognise and enable spiritual growth? What is the role of older people in enabling the mission of the church? These are among the questions the consultation will seek to develop.
Towards a Theology of Place: Why Church Buildings Matter
This consultation is a partnership with the Church Buildings Council. The intention is to explore the theological significance of church buildings and to provide a guide for use in parishes across the country.
Institutional Wellbeing, in Partnership with CTI Princeton
A sense of crisis pervades the leadership of many different kinds of institutions today. In a time of fiscal stringency, one response is to measure institutions in terms of productivity, efficiency, or return on investment. Fiscal soundness is an important achievement, but it does not address the issues of identity, integrity, and mission. The wellbeing of institutions, like the flourishing of persons, requires attention to the goods that are proper to each of them.
Being Human in our Digital Age
Mass public access to digital space has created a new social environment with enormous commercial, social and educational potential. But it also raises issues of privacy, identity, personal relationships, social engagement and justice, especially for the pre-digital generation. How can we measure the impact of internet-based communications on human wellbeing?
Citizens of Tomorrow
What can be done to improve the lives and prospects of Britain's disadvantaged young people? We know that more than a million 16-19 year olds are unemployed in Britain, there is a growing fear of young people among adults, commercial exploitation of young people is rampant, and provision of social support for young people is shrinking rapidly. We have an opportunity to create a coherent social partnership between the voluntary sector, government, business, and the media.
Faith and the Media
The purpose of this Consultation will be to improve the quality of religious debate in the media and by extension to increase religious literacy generally in society. How can the media both present faith and religion accurately and also cater appropriately for those of different faiths? Is there any hope of a shared ethical position across the faiths? If so, how can the media help this to be understood? In areas of disagreement and controversy, how can the media shed more light than heat?
Countering Violent Extremism
Since the Bush Administration declared the "War on Terror" in 2001, the Western World has been watching and waiting for terrorist attacks of magnitudes, preparing for devastation and trying its best to stop the threat of terrorism getting to a scale which is impossible to combat. Whilst it is safe to say that this is an on-going battle, do we know what exactly we are battling against? And are we sure we are doing it in the right way?
The Role of Government
We are in conversation about a consultation that would look at the role and shape of 21st century government in the UK. What sort of State do we want? Should we rethink the nature of the social contract? Remembering Beveridge's five key themes, Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness, what are the 'giants' today? Where should we focus resources? What do we expect of citizens?
