Corporate Culture | Amanda and John's Blog

Civic engagement up or down? A Diamond Jubilee debate

John Drummond — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:21:07 +0000

This weekend millions of citizens will participate in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. There will be street parties, the Thames Pageant and the Concert. People will gather to light beacons and to watch the service and the carriage parade. More are lining the streets to see the Olympic torch.

Is watching the TV a sign of civic engagement? Maybe. 56% of the adult population watched the BBC coverage of the Coronation in June 1953. The facts about life 60 years ago are in new data released from the Office of National Statistics. People worked longer, went on strike more and committed to family (births outside of marriage are up from 4.8% in 1952 to 46.8% in 2010). Are these indicators of participation?

Today this government has set out its’ stall to give people more power. A new survey by Civil Service World of 1,395 civil servants finds that 65% say that citizen choice and transparency at the local level is a good or a great idea.

At the same time austerity cuts are reducing services. One argument would say that this is reducing people power. For example, new research from New Philanthropy Capital suggests up to a tenth of charities risk closing down in the next 12 months.

Another argument would suggest this is a great time to be innovate and re-design services in a way that gives people more power. The National Audit Office have thinking on intelligent decommissioning that engages users in re-imagining services.

The evidence seems to point to low interest by citizens. The turnout at May’s local elections was only 32%. Nine out of ten cities voted against holding mayoral contests. But is that because this government does not believe in public communications? Did the lack of public engagement on the arguments for or against the idea of mayors lead to this result or is it a symbol the people don’t want more power?

In November there will be elections for directly elected police commissioners in 41 force areas. The idea is that this will make policing more accountable to the public. But Sara Thornton, Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police is quoted as saying that the Home Office and politicians need to be a lot more proactive in getting people involved. Is this going to be yet another example of government failure in their Big Society agenda or will it be a beacon of new-found civic engagement?

Is the growth of social networking, the use of apps to give people more information and control of their lives, the use of nudge techniques by government and the increased engagement of the private sector in improving lives and improving communities evidence of more civic engagement or something else entirely?

Where is people power going? Do people have more power or less? Are people more engaged in their families, communities and workplaces or less? Does it matter?

What do you think?

By John Drummond

Chairman, Corporate Culture

What measures would be in a national sustainability index?

John Drummond — Tue, 29 May 2012 09:36:41 +0000

The OECD Better Life Index is a stronger snapshot of total social and economic wellbeing than individual measures like GDP or CO2 reductions. But it’s a snapshot of today and yesterday.

What I believe we need is national and international sustainability indices. National governments should be defining their own targets for 15, 20, 30 years from now in terms of aspirations to sustain and improve lifestyles.

The test for inclusion would be whether the measures are likely to help the nation to track progress towards stronger and more robust communities, economies and environments. The focus is on long-term sustainability (or continuity).

I suggest a national panel to develop these measures. And membership should not be confined to our traditional sources – academics, business leaders, government ministers – but also to people who have experience or insight on significant areas of home and community life.

But what kinds of measures would we be using? This is where I would welcome any thoughts from the vast brains gathered around this network. The kinds of measures I suggest would be a combination of the expected and the unexpected:

emissions reductions (sure)
overall employment and reduced unemployment (of course)
the retained capital of banks
the affordability of housing for first time buyers (or a change in our perceptions of ownership)
sales of electric cars
a reduction in the gap between top earners and lower income earners
a reduction in food miles

but also:

the percentage of people saving for their retirement
an increase in the longevity of marriages (currently 11 years)
employers agreeing young people leave school with the skills they need for a successful working life
real changes in behaviour to address social issues (overall numbers of people eating well, moving more, drinking less, smoking less, saving energy, recycling more etc…)

It’s a starter for ten. What would be on your list?

By John Drummond

Chairman, Corporate Culture

OECD launches Better Life Index

John Drummond — Mon, 28 May 2012 10:11:58 +0000

In the last few days the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has launched the Better Life Initiative.

It explores a richer array of measures for social and economic progress than gross domestic product. It uses 11 dimensions in the areas of material living conditions and quality of life. They are housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety, work-life balance.

These indices then allow a comparison across 34 countries. The top three spots are taken by Australia, Norway and the United States. The UK is 11th. Turkey ranks the lowest.

This is a part of a bigger project called “How’s Life?” which looks at the economy from the perspective of people rather than national economic numbers. A book is due later in the year.

Further information is available here.

By John Drummond 

Chairman, Corporate Culture

Is augmented reality a potential tool for behaviour change?

John Drummond — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:08:11 +0000

If you haven’t yet heard of augmented reality (AR), you will very soon. It’s a way of presenting digital information onto the physical world. Google is expected to launch a set of AR glasses later this year. Apple is also rumoured to be investing in the technology.

AR builds on existing apps like Yelp (which allows you to see comments left by users on points of interest) or Aurasma (which enables people to add photos, videos and animations to anything they want to augment like buildings or signs). Foursquare allows you to share where you are with others. Blippar uses AR linked to advertising.

This isn’t confined just to what you see but also what you hear. US band Bluebrain’s latest album comes with a GPS phone app that changes the music depending on your location. Hotspots have been placed around Central Park that trigger changes to music depending on where you are.

So imagine you are wearing the Google glasses. You can see this in action on YouTube here. Imagine you are a tourist and you could get info as you walk about people and architecture (music, images, comments) or you are a protestor and can add digital graffiti to offices or logos. By the way, not all uses will be positive.

This new technology also opens up a potential new tool for behaviour change campaigns. Imagine how glasses could help you eat well (maybe adding up your calories during the day or giving you info on products you are buying) or help you exercise more (tracking your calorie consumption against a target you have set yourself). Or maybe you want to use it as a social network app to join up with others who share your passion for a cause or to create a news platform.

Keep an eye out for it and feel free to add any additional thoughts you may have on how AR might be used for behaviour change, social marketing, sustainable business, employee engagement or community power.

By John Drummond 

Chairman, Corporate Culture

Long-term v. short-term: which is winning?

John Drummond — Wed, 23 May 2012 10:01:40 +0000

In the last week, a whole bunch of news items embrace the issue of long-term v. short-term – like a huge game of tug-of-war. But which is winning?

the OECD this week produce a Skills Strategy warning that we need to act now to prevent a lost generation of young people
there is a huge evolving issue around security of energy supply as Hollande steps back from nuclear in France and E.ON and RWE pull out of their joint venture to build nuclear plants in Britain
the percentage of people saving for retirement in the UK has fallen from 51% to 46% in the last year

So what are the other issues where there is a stress between the short-term and the long-term? And which is winning?

By John Drummond 

Chairman, Corporate Culture