Publications and Outputs

Published

  • Mapping Britain's unmet needs: a report for the Commission on Unclaimed Assets (2006) Mulgan, Buonfino and Geissendorfer

This report provides a broad overview of unmet needs in Britain and aims to inform likely areas of priority for investment by the [Commission for Unclaimed Assets]. The authors provide a framework of the ways in which people meet their needs and a set of tools to help identify people or groups whose needs are not being met.

The report identifies 40 areas of unmet need, clustered around six themes: progress and prosperity; classic poverty; inadequate family and support structures; globalisation; psychological needs and violence. It concluded that there is a pressing need for an in depth regular survey of changing needs and social priorities in Britain.

  • Mapping rural needs in Britain and Ireland: a report for the Carnegie UK Trust (2007) Buonfino with Geissendorfer

This report, commissioned by [Carnegie UK] considers unmet needs specific to rural areas in Britain and Ireland. It finds that whilst many of the needs felt in rural areas are common to the rest of the UK, some needs are specific to rural areas. Rural needs fall into three clusters: needs of transition; needs arising from a lack of universal services; needs arising from challenges of connectedness.

  • Discovery, Argument & Action: How civil society responds to changing needs (2008) Caulier-Grice, Mulgan and Vale

This report explores how civil society responds to changing social needs. It finds that civil society in its many forms plays vital roles in discovering and then meeting social needs - from poverty and disability to discrimination. Civil society's roles include campaigner, innovator, researcher and service provider. But whilst civil society plays vital roles in discovering and meeting needs, its legal structures risk becoming frozen around past needs and leaving the most pressing contemporary needs unmet. The authors advocate using the new 'public benefit test' to ensure that civil society organisations remain focused on the most pressing contemporary needs.

Forthcoming

  • Interim Report: an interim report, laying out the initial findings of the Mapping Needs programme, is due to be published at the end of September, 2008
  • Final Report: the final report is due to be published during the summer of 2009

Other outputs

  • Deep and persistent exclusion: interrogating the idea of ‘the bottom 2.3 percent' - thoughts in progress (June, 2008)
  • Interrogating the idea of ‘the bottom 2.3 percent' - further thoughts (June, 2008)
  • Note of seminar (June, 2008)

This document, and the accompanying presentation, lay out our thoughts in progress on how we might think about and research severe social needs. It formed the backbone of a seminar on the 24th June 2008, in which these ideas were discussed and interrogated. These thoughts will inform the needs programme as it develops and in particular have helped crystallise a focus on social need which are multiple, severe and persistent.