Public and civic engagement activities are now widely seen as critical in building trust in public institutions, developing social capital and social cohesion in local communities, and lending great legitimacy to public decision making processes. In the context of social innovation, the idea that citizen engagement is critical to the development and implementation of new... Find out more

Over the last decade there has been a proliferation of methods and approaches to citizen engagement. From idea banks and competitions to co-creation workshops and online petitions, governments, public services and businesses are increasingly keen to garner insights and information from citizens, service users and customers. The idea of citizen engagement itself is a broad... Find out more

This podcast is a recording of the seminar “A Steak in the Economy” held at The Young Foundation on Thursday, 15 August 2013.  From job creation to revitalising the high street, and even boosting British exports, Cynthia Shanmugalingam explains why the new food economy can deliver more than just a great meal. For further details,... Find out more

Engagement practices have particular value for the development of effective social innovations. In particular, this report argues that some forms of engagement will enable a better understanding of needs so that appropriate solutions can be developed. Participation practices can also introduce divergent thinking from unexpected sources which can help to uncover novel solutions to complex... Find out more

The aim of the Beyond GDP project was to expand our understanding of how we measure societal progress at a local level- in other words, to going beyond monetary measurements to look at the many other aspects which affect quality of life. On a broader level, we aimed to encourage greater use, consistency and development of... Find out more

In the current socio-political context, including rising unemployment and the recent UK riots, men are increasingly facing crises and yet are more resistant to seeking help. Yet in spite of this, men are rarely considered to be a “target group” and all too often they are not immediately thought of when developing services and projects... Find out more

This project, exploring the Theoretical, Empirical and Policy Foundations for Social Innovation in Europe (TEPSIE) is being carried out by a consortium of six partners, including The Young Foundation. Together, this consortium has designed a research programme which aims to prepare the way for developing the tools, methods and policies which will be part of... Find out more

This presentation captures the findings from a project between Neighbourhood Management in King’s Lynn, the Young Foundation and Insight 1st, working with Netform social network analysis software. The aim of the project was to use social network analysis (SNA) to explore relationships between residents and public agencies delivering services in Fairstead, a priority neighbourhood management... Find out more

This report explores the lives of those people who work at night: the men and women who keep our hospitals open, clean our offices, allow us to cancel lost credit cards, serve us drinks in a club or drive us home afterwards. It tells their stories. Who are they? What jobs do they do? Why... Find out more