Demos (UK think tank)

Last updated
Demos
Formation1993;30 years ago (1993)
Type Think tank
Legal statusCharity (no. 1042046)
Headquarters15 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DD
Location
  • London
Chief Executive
 Polly Curtis
Website www.demos.co.uk

Demos is a cross party think tank based in the United Kingdom with a cross-party political viewpoint. Founded in 1993, Demos works with a number of partners including government departments, public sector agencies and charities. It specialises in public policymaking in a range of areas - from education and skills to health and housing.

Contents

Demos houses the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM), which leads the study of how the rise of the digital world affects politics, policy and decision-making.

The current Chief Executive is Polly Curtis, a former journalist and editor at The Guardian, HuffPost UK, Tortoise Media, and PA Media. [1] The organisation is an independently registered educational charity.

History

Demos was founded in 1993 by former Marxism Today editor Martin Jacques, and Geoff Mulgan, who became its first director. It was formed in response to what Mulgan, Jacques and others saw as a crisis in politics in Britain, with voter engagement in decline and political institutions unable in their view to adapt to major social changes. Demos was conceived as a network of networks which could draw together different sources of ideas and expertise to improve public policy. [2]

In the run-up to the 1997 general election it was seen as being close to the Labour Party, in particular its then leader Tony Blair. It defines itself, however, as independent of any political party. [3] Geoff Mulgan went on to work inside Downing Street in 1997. At that time Demos was seen as central to New Labour's vision for Britain. [4]

Between 1998 and 2006, under Director Tom Bentley, it moved away from being just a think tank and an increasing part of its workload was described as 'public interest consultancy'.[ citation needed ]

On 9 August 2006, in a speech at a Demos conference, British Home Secretary Dr John Reid stated that Britons 'may have to modify their notion of freedom', as a result of his plans, claiming that freedom is 'misused and abused by terrorists'. [5]

Over the summer of 2008, Demos cut back its workforce (from 23 full-time staff in January 2008 [6] to 17 by September 2008 [7] ) and did not attend any political party conferences, leading to speculation that it was in financial difficulty. [8] [9]

In 2010, David Cameron, then leader of the opposition Conservative Party, launched Demos's Character Inquiry, giving a speech on the importance of parenting and early years support. [10]

Following his appointment in 2010, as Special Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, Richard Reeves stepped down as Demos's Director and was replaced by former Economic Secretary to the Treasury Kitty Ussher. [11] She left Demos in 2012, with David Goodhart taking over as director. In 2011 Ben Rogers created Centre for London within Demos, before establishing it as an independent registered charity in 2013.[ citation needed ]

In January 2012, Demos set up the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM) to research trends in social media, and the role online conversations can play in political engagement and social policy research. CASM lead digital media monitoring for the 2015 British Election and focuses on how the rise of the digital world affects politics, policy and decision-making. [12]

In January 2014, Claudia Wood became Demos's Chief Executive. She joined Demos in 2009, after leading policy in other UK think tanks and in Tony Blair's strategy unit. [13]

Polly Mackenzie joined Demos as the new Director in January 2018. She previously worked for Nick Clegg from 2006 to 2015, helping to write the 2010 Coalition Agreement, and served as Director of Policy to the Deputy Prime Minister from 2010 to 2015. [14]

List of Directors and Chief Executives

Director/Chief ExecutiveYears active
Polly Mackenzie2018–present
Claudia Wood2014-2018
David Goodhart 2012-2014
Kitty Ussher 2010-2012
Richard Reeves 2008-2010
Catherine Fieschi 2007-2008
Madeleine Bunting 2007
Tom Bentley 1998-2006
Geoff Mulgan 1993-1997

Research

Demos is a member of the British Polling Council and a company partner of the Market Research Society. [15] They are the only think tank in the UK using Pol.is, an online tool used to gather open-ended feedback from large groups of people, for the purposes of policy development. They also conduct social listening through Method 52, their in-house social media analysis technology developed in partnership with the University of Sussex.[ citation needed ]

Demos historically published a quarterly journal, titled Demos Quarterly, [16] which features articles from politicians, academics and Demos researchers.[ citation needed ]

Centre of the Analysis of Social Media

The Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM) is a collaboration between Demos and the Text Analytics Group at the University of Sussex, using social media research to gain insight and understanding on political, social and policy issues.[ citation needed ]

The current Director of CASM is Alex Krasodomski-Jones. Previous Directors include Jamie Bartlett and Carl Miller.[ citation needed ]

Key people

RoleName
Interim Chief Executive [17] Polly Curtis
Chair of Trustees Julie Mellor
Head of ResearchHarry Carr
Director, Centre for the Analysis of Social MediaAlex Krasodomski-Jones
Director of External AffairsMaeve Thompson
Director of OperationsHeather Williams-Taplin
Research Director, Centre for the Analysis of Social Media Carl Miller
Senior FellowCharles Seaford

Funding

Demos has been rated as 'broadly transparent' in its funding by Transparify. [18] In November 2022, the funding transparency website Who Funds You? gave Demos an A grade, the highest transparency rating (rating goes from A to E). [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Think tank</span> Organization that performs policy research and advocacy

A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental organizations, but some are semi-autonomous agencies within government or are associated with particular political parties, businesses or the military. Think-tanks are often funded by individual donations, with many also accepting government grants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Institute for Strategic Studies</span> British international affairs think tank

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute for Public Policy Research</span>


The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is a progressive think tank based in London. It was founded in 1988 by Lord Hollick and Lord Eatwell, and is an independent registered charity. The think tank aims to maintain the momentum of progressive thought in the United Kingdom through well-researched and clearly argued policy analysis, reports, and publications; as well as a high media profile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre for Policy Studies</span>

The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independence, self determination and responsibility. While being independent, the centre has historical links to the Conservative Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Smith Institute</span> British neo-liberal think tank and lobby group

The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) is a neoliberal UK-based think tank and lobbying group, named after Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosopher and classical economist. The ASI is rated as one of the least transparent think tanks in the United Kingdom in relation to funding and has been shown to receive funding from the tobacco industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Economic Affairs</span> Neoliberal think-tank

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity. Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further the dissemination of free-market thinking". It says it does so by "analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute for Fiscal Studies</span>

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It produces both academic and policy-related findings.

The Social Market Foundation (SMF) is an independent British political public policy think-tank based in Westminster, London. It is one of the 'Top 12 Think Tanks in Britain' and was named 'UK Think Tank of the Year' by Prospect in 2012. Its purpose is to "advance the education of the public in the economic, social and political sciences" and to "champion ideas that marry a pro-market orientation with concern for social justice". Policy ideas are based on the concept of the social market economy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reform (think tank)</span> British think tank

The Reform Research Trust is a think tank which publishes its own research and also publishes papers from external authors. It was founded by Nick Herbert and Andrew Haldenby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoff Mulgan</span> British political advisor

Sir Geoffrey John Mulgan CBE is Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London (UCL). From 2011 to 2019 he was Chief Executive of the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and Visiting Professor at University College London, the London School of Economics, and the University of Melbourne. In 2020, he joined the Nordic think tank Demos Helsinki as a Fellow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Alliance (think tank)</span> British environmental charity and think tank

Green Alliance is a charity and independent think tank based in central London, United Kingdom (UK).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitty Ussher</span> British politician (born 1971)

Katharine Anne Ussher is a British economist and former politician who is the chief economist at the Institute of Directors. She was previously a Labour Party MP and Treasury minister, and later Chief Executive of the Demos think tank. She is also a Non Executive Director with the UK subsidiary of the fintech Revolut, and also at the local authority pension pooling company, London CIV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre for Social Justice</span>

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) is an independent centre-right think tank based in the United Kingdom, co-founded in 2004 by Iain Duncan Smith, Tim Montgomerie, Mark Florman and Philippa Stroud.

Civitas: The Institute for the Study of Civil Society is a British think tank working on issues related to democracy and social policy. It was founded by David George Green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TaxPayers' Alliance</span>

The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) is a pressure group in the United Kingdom which was formed in 2004 to campaign for a low-tax society. The group had about 18,000 registered supporters as of 2008 and claimed to have 55,000 by September 2010. However, it has been suggested that a vast majority of these supporters – who do not contribute financially or engage in campaigning – were simply signed up to a mailing list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute for Government</span> British independent think tank

The Institute for Government (IfG) is a British independent think tank which aims to improve government effectiveness through research and analysis. Based at 2 Carlton Gardens in central London and founded as a charity in 2008, it was initially funded with approximately £15 million by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, at the instigation of Lord Sainsbury.

The Wilberforce Society (TWS) is an independent, non-partisan, student think tank, named after MP, Cambridge alumnus and abolitionist William Wilberforce, based at the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 2009 and is a registered charity. TWS aims to "promote constructive and intelligent debate" around the University of Cambridge, and "represents the views of moderate students," offering undergraduates and graduates "the opportunity to become involved with policy conception and analysis with the possibility of genuine impact." TWS follows an independent, diverse and non-partisan policy agenda set by the executive committee, but also carries out commissions for external organisations and public figures, which have included members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ResPublica</span> British think tank

ResPublica is a British independent public policy think tank, founded in 2009 by Phillip Blond. It describes itself as a multi-disciplinary, non-party political research organization, whose aim is the creation of bold solutions for enduring socioeconomic problems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Miller (author)</span>

Carl Jack Miller is an author, speaker and researcher at Demos, a think tank based in London, where he co-founded the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM) in 2012. As of 2019 Miller is also a visiting scholar and research fellow at King's College, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">55 Tufton Street</span> London building housing lobby groups related to pro-Brexit and climate change denial

55 Tufton Street is a four-storey Georgian-era townhouse on historic Tufton Street, in Westminster, London, owned by businessman Richard Smith. Since the 2010s the building has hosted a network of libertarian lobby groups and think tanks related to pro-Brexit, climate science denial and other fossil-fuel lobby groups. Some of the organisations it houses have close connections with those at 57 Tufton Street next door, including the Centre for Policy Studies and CapX.

References

  1. ↑ "Demos - Polly Curtis - Chief Executive" . Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  2. ↑ Times Higher Education - Demos's brave new words
  3. ↑ "About - Demos". www.demos.co.uk.
  4. ↑ Hope, Toby Helm and Christopher (10 September 2018). "The top twelve think tanks in Britain" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  5. ↑ "Terror 'may force freedom curbs'". 9 August 2006 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  6. ↑ "Demos | People". Archived from the original on 18 January 2008.
  7. ↑ "Demos". demos.co.uk.
  8. ↑ Correspondent, James Kirkup, Political (28 August 2008). "Demos, architect of Cool Britannia, denies financial problems" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  9. ↑ Dawar, Anil (28 August 2008). "Demos thinktank shuns party conferences". the Guardian.
  10. ↑ Demos. "David Cameron launches Demos' Character Inquiry" – via Internet Archive.
  11. ↑ Demos (16 September 2010). "Demos appoints Kitty Ussher as Director". Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  12. ↑ "Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM) at Demos".
  13. ↑ "Claudia Wood - biography".
  14. ↑ "Polly Mackenzie - Demos". www.demos.co.uk.
  15. ↑ "Introducing the Public Participation Lab". Demos. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "Demos Quarterly". quarterly.demos.co.uk.
  17. ↑ "BBC Two - Daily Politics, 15/05/2018". BBC. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
  18. ↑ "New Report: How Has Think Tank Transparency Evolved in 2018?". Transparify. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  19. ↑ "Who Funds You? Demos".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.