Here in the land of Myopia, we are forever trying to support local communities to improve economic circumstances and quality of life for residents – especially in neighbourhoods regarded as relatively disadvantaged. The trouble is, we are sure that we are doing something wrong – but for the life...
In my actual day job, I am currently doing some work within a very large community. It is one of the largest employers in the world alongside the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the Indian railways and the Walmart supermarket chain. It is so large that in terms of its...
Sometimes common sense gets lost in the noise! I have been inspired listening to R. Edward Freeman, Professor at the Darden Business School, University of Virginia talking about the virtues of ‘conscious capitalism’. He talks about a new emerging narrative challenging the dominant, traditional view of what business is...
Conferences on Sustainable Living can be very tricky things! The term ‘sustainable’ can itself be quite ambiguous, even elusive. I was at one such conference a while back … which just happened to be in Letchworth … which just happens to be England’s First Garden City … which just happens to...
These days, we tend to talk freely and easily about social enterprise … but do we really have a common understanding of what we mean by it? This was the thought that sprang to mind when I read of the demise of the ‘not-for-profit’ Hadrian’s Wall Trust as set...
Confusion generally reigns in any conversation about statistics for poverty in the UK. Is it child poverty, income poverty, fuel poverty, food poverty? Is it before or after housing costs? Is it relative or absolute poverty? The calculations are all different and can give a widely different picture of...