Previous Consultations

1st April 2019

The Theology of Governance in a Cathedrals Context

Supported by The Church Commissioners

As part of the follow up to the Cathedrals Working Group (CWG), the Third Church Estates Commissioner, in partnership with St George’s House, hosted a consultation on 1st – 2nd April to discuss the theology of governance in a cathedrals context. The consultation was designed to facilitate a conversation between those deans selected by their peers to discuss what theology has to say on the topic of cathedral governance. 

The idea was to use the principles or criteria that emerged to inform a critique of the CWG proposals, with a view to recommending appropriate changes to Synod both through a resulting GSMisc and through the Synodical process.

28th March 2019

Faith and Artificial Intelligence 2

In partnership with Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence

This two-day workshop bought together 30 faith community leaders, scholars and policy-makers, to explore faith perspectives on emerging technologies of Artificial Intelligence, and help religious stakeholders to feedback to their communities who might have questions about the future of the technology and their religion.

 

Understanding the Prevent Strategy
20th March 2019

Understanding the Prevent Strategy: on paper, in practice, in public perception

The Prevent Strategy, set up in 2006 and reviewed in 2011 and 2018, aims to prevent terrorism by targeting people who are deemed vulnerable to radicalisation and is an extremely contested arm of the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST. It.

In a 2017 House of Commons debate James Berry, MP described the ‘two polar opposite views’ on Prevent: one that sees it as an essential and inviolable tool in the fight against terrorism; the other that criticizes its perceived targeting of Muslims and potential to erode rights to privacy and confidentiality. The conflict between these two interpretations is exacerbated by factors including the difficulty in defining radicalization and the lack of concrete information on Prevent referrals due to the confidential nature of its service. In addition, the claim that Prevent has a safeguarding function has been criticized due to a fear that it will lead to securitization of essential services such as health and social care. How is Prevent interacting with these concerns and challenges? Is it effective and fair and what steps can be taken to make it more so? Thought and discussion are needed to answer these questions.

Impacting Learning Outcomes Through Space Design
21st February 2019

Impacting Learning Outcomes Through Space Design: Methods for Now and the Future

In partnership with Herman Miller

Participants explored the notion that active learning spaces and respective pedagogies directly impact learning outcomes. These outcomes are typically considered in, for example, the areas of progress in student grades, user satisfaction, and sustainable design. Participants will however also investigate learning space design and its impact on student skills development, and how we can best evidence and present this at our organisations and universities.

 

The Future of Urban Living
13th December 2018

The Future of Urban Living

In partnership with Future iQ

The future of urban living is an increasingly critical issue given population trends which show more and more people becoming urban dwellers. Cities and their inhabitants are becoming one of the most influential factors shaping the future of the planet.

On the current trajectory, by 2050 the urban population is estimated to be 6.3 billion (66% of the world’s projected population). Currently 54% of the global population already live in cities. With a further three million people per week moving to urban centres, the future of urban living is an issue we needed to explore in depth and prepare for creatively and pragmatically.

The full report from the consultation can be read here

Rehabilitation of Offenders
4th December 2018

Rehabilitation of Offenders

In partnership with the High Sheriff of The Royal County of Berkshire

This Consultation looked in depth at issues surrounding the rehabilitation of offenders. The focus was on both local and national with an emphasis on examining ways in which ex-offenders gain employment or secure self-employment.

Other issues relevant to the transition from prison to civilian life such as mental health, alcohol and drug dependence, featured in our discussions but the transition to employment was our major concern.

We wished to highlight and learn from successful local and national initiatives in this field, identify gaps in provision, and explore ways in which knowledge, expertise and best practice might be more widely shared. From a local perspective, the consultation seeked to identify a range of initiatives aimed at the rehabilitation of offenders that might be usefully implemented in Berkshire.

The full report from the consultation can be read here

Effective Solutions to Organised Gang Violence, St George's House
28th November 2018

Equity and Integration – driving effective solutions to organised gang violence and criminality

In partnership with NHS England South East and Excelsior Safeguarding

Gang violence and criminality is both a global and a national issue, much of it grounded in exploitation. In November we hosted a twenty-four hour Consultation focused on finding solutions to this pervasive problem. Our primary focus was on transforming health services and systems to better identify, support and safeguard our most vulnerable clients ‘at risk’ from gangs, drugs, violence and other forms of exploitation.

Improving the delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant
26th November 2018

Improving the delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant

In partnership with the Forces in Mind Trust

We looked in depth at how the Armed Forces Covenant could be better delivered throughout the UK to help support Service leavers and their families in the transition to civilian life. We focused on the place of the Covenant in society; where the roles and responsibilities for the delivery lie; barriers to effective Covenant delivery; and how best to overcome these barriers.

The consultation also provided participants with the opportunity to consider a piece of newly commissioned research by FiMT on how organizations are delivering pledges under the Armed Forces Covenant, currently being undertaken by Shared Intelligence and NatCen.

The Covenant is a major policy commitment by the UK Government towards the members of the Armed Forces Community, which includes individuals who have served or who serve in the Armed Forces and their families. With an Armed Forces Community of over 6 million – nearly 10% of the UK population – the Covenant is in place to ensure that these individuals are treated fairly and do not suffer a disadvantage as a result of their or their family member’s service.

This consultation was founded on recent research commissioned by FiMT from Shared Intelligence and the National  Centre for Social Research on how the delivery of organisational pledges made under the Covenant can be improved. The overall aim of this consultation was to further discuss the report findings and recommendations with a wider group of stakeholders, to better understand how the implementation of organisational pledges under the Covenant could be made more effective.

The full report from the consultation can be read here

On-Farm and Local Slaughter
8th November 2018

On-Farm and Local Slaughter

Questions surrounding on-farm and local slaughter are a significant issue in UK agriculture. This Consultation looked in depth at the topic, embracing questions of economics, technology, public perception, practicalities and policy development at government level.

In particular, we looked at whether there is a need for more local abattoirs; whether new technologies offer the opportunity to revisit the concept of on-farm slaughter; and if opportunities do exist, what actions are required to turn those opportunities into practice?

The full report from the consultation can be read here

Future for Communities
25th September 2018

Future for Communities

In partnership with Local Trust

This consultation focused on the future for communities and place, exploring the importance of community as a key issue for policy makers and practitioners. It drew on current research conducted by the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) and Local Trust on the necessary conditions for creating empowered communities in the 2020s which is due to report in the summer.

It also considered the emerging findings of the Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society due to report in autumn 2018. The consultation took place at a critical time in this policy space, as the Government considered the content of its own Civil Society Strategy (on which it launched its own consultation in March).

 

x
Menu