Policy Lab has an eight year history of testing innovative approaches to policymaking. Central to this story is collaboration between different disciplines, whether they be from the social sciences, sciences, humanities or arts. Some of the methods, such as design …
What is the best way to find new ideas to solve old problems? In the face of a huge unemployment problem across Europe, the European Commission wanted to attract the brightest minds to come up with new solutions. In 2012 they decided to try a competition to see what response they would get.
The Children and Young People’s Services commissioning team at Lambeth Council sought to test the coproduction and co-commissioning of services in collaboration with the New Economics Foundation and the Youth Offending Service.
The Civil Contingencies Secretariat in the Cabinet Office had to find a way to swiftly deliver messages to the public, alerting them to emergencies and providing information on what to do to stay safe. The team decided to trial different approaches.
NHS Birmingham East and North commissioned Uscreates in 2010 to develop and pilot a programme to increase awareness and rates of Chlamydia testing among this age group in Birmingham. At this time, one in ten of 15 to 24 year olds in the UK were infected with Chlamydia.
Using digital tools to listen to customers can help you achieve a much richer picture of what they want and need. At least that's what the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills' (BIS) Focus on Enforcement team found when they wanted a …
Preventing terrorist groups from developing the capability to create and use weapons containing nuclear material is vital to global security. Prevention is not just about securing the physical nuclear material – information about its storage and transportation as well as …
An unconventional conference run by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) opened up the debate on cyber-security to a global audience.The growth of the internet has transformed our everyday lives. Whilst it has clear economic and social benefits, it opens …
Who is responsible for supporting young people who are struggling to find employment or apprenticeships? A new Minister with a joint DfE and BIS portfolio wanted the two departments (plus, later, DWP) and four delivery bodies to form a virtual …
The Secretary of State was interested in investigating if ‘Ofsted’ style ratings could be introduced for health and social care providers. This initiative had a challenging history, a mixed evidence base, and it was subject to strong stakeholder opinions.
Ministers and officials at the Department for Work and Pensions were looking for new ways to tackle youth unemployment. Despite receiving a lot of attention in recent years, youth unemployment continued to present a challenge