Grants / Projects we are funding

Brexit – opportunities and risks to a fairer, sustainable economy : Demos

Grant details

Amount:£20,000

Awarded on:01/12/2016

Status:Closed

Area of interest

Systems change

The Foundation issued a brief in autumn 2016 to commission a piece of work to explore what Brexit might mean, the opportunities and threats to economic resilience. At this stage, we have more questions than answers.

You can read the report: Making the Most of Brexit

What is the issue?

Demos agrees that, as the Friends Provident brief stated, there are “more questions than answers” regarding the UK’s economic resilience in the wake of our exit from the EU. As such, we believe the most effective way of delivering this brief would be to bring experts and stakeholders together in a forum where issues of trade, devolution, social and environmental protection, inequalities and so on can be debated and multiple points of view shared.

What will the project to try to achieve?

The objective will be to generate ideas and solutions to the research questions posed in the brief through a collaborative process with around 90 participants, which Demos will facilitate and guide to produce valuable, concrete insights and pathways to action.

Demos will be hosting three expert forums, lasting 90 minutes each. Each will loosely focus on an overlapping set of issues:

  1. Industry, trade and devolution;
  2. Social and environmental value and resilience; and
  3. Labour market protections and inequalities.

Ahead of each forum, Demos will produce a provocation research paper for participants, setting out important information and relevant data, alongside the key questions we hope to address in the forum (these will include those outlined in the brief).

At the conclusion of the three forums, Demos will prepare a cohesive report, drawing on the insights gained from each session – summarising the key points of discussion, contextualising them in existing evidence, proposing workable policy responses across a range of sectors and industries, and identifying further research opportunities.

Who might be interested in this project?

Each forum will be attended by up to 30 people across 5 stakeholder groups, including:

  • Local policy makers and officials
  • National policy makers and MPs
  • Academics and thought leaders
  • Representatives from civil society
  • Representatives from industry and business.

Demos will invite attendees to join the forums using balanced lists, to ensure an equal representation from each of these stakeholder groups.

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