Research Projects
Manifesto for a Digital Britain
Contact Email: k.withers@ippr.org
Introduction
Between July 2004 and July 2005, the Digital Society Team ran a programme of events and research papers, building towards the publication of a Manifesto for a Digital Britain, prior to the next General Election.
The aim of this process was to open up a politically neutral space within which competing voices on this topic can be heard. With endorsement from all three leading parties, the process was as open and welcoming as possible.
The Manifesto for a Digital Britain aimed to drive digital issues into mainstream political discussions, and to do this by acting as a bridge between technology and policy communities. In order for ICT to become a mainstream concern, technological concepts and choices have to be translated into political concepts and choices.
Further Information
Final Report - Modernising with Purpose: A Manifesto for a Digital Britain
Between July 2004 and July 2005, the Digital Society Team ran a programme of seminars, conferences and research papers, leading up to the publication of Modernising with Purpose: A Manifesto for a Digital Britain.
This report outlines a policy agenda structured around the three strands of ‘modernising’, ‘delineating’ and ‘recognising’, and argues that these priorities can provide new purpose to the way in which Britain modernises its public institutions and economy.
The report is available to purchase in hard copy, or download in pdf here.
Project Weblog
The Manifesto project has a dedicated weblog. This provides a convenient way to keep-up-to-date with the project on a day-to-day basis, and give feed-back on our events and publications.
Digital News: Genie's Lamp or Pandora's Box?
This paper by Jamie Cowling looks at the changing roles and responsibilities of news providers in the digital age, and considers future challenges for policy makers, regulators and news professionals.
Overview document "A Manifesto for Digital Britain"
ippr background paper: Offshoring Practices in the UK - Where are the Limits?
Biometrics and the UK's Identity Cards Legislation
This paper by Mathew Kabatoff, of Goldsmith's College London, looks in detail at the Identity Cards Bill, and explores the possibilities opened up by biometric technology.
A Sense of Place: The Geographkate oakley papery of the Digital Manifesto
This paper by Kate Oakley explores the new regional inequalities that are associated with digital technology in the UK.
UK Businesses and ICT and productivity: Where is the Productivity Growth?
The relationship - or lack of one - between ICT investment and productivity growth has been one of the most hotly debated economic issues of recent years. This paper summarises some of the evidence, and leading viewpoints.
Is Online Community a Policy Tool?
This paper by William Davies, Senior Research Fellow in Digital Society at the ippr, looks at whether government may have a role to play in enabling decentralised social uses of the net, and whether online public spaces could benefit from formal regulation.
The Network-Empowered Citizen: How People Share Civic Knowledge Online
This paper by Professor Stephen Coleman explores how new forms of political expression are taking place, with the internet as their central organising tool.
The Approach to Internet Content Regulation in the Context of Child Abuse Images Online
Background paper summarising initiatives focussed on improving child safety online, and reducing the presence of child abuse images on the Internet.
E-voting: Policy and Practice
Background paper summarising current e-voting initiatives and the UK Government's policy approach
Trade Union Membership and the Internet: Lessons from Civil Society
This paper by William Davies, Senior Research Fellow at the ippr, looks at what trade unions might learn from the study of the internet as an enabler of social capital.
Influence and Control: Getting citizens to behave online
This paper by Kay Withers, Research Fellow at the ippr, compares different government strategies for influencing online behaviour, and locates media literacy within them.
A Panacea for all ills: what can media literacy achieve? 17th March 2005
Do we need to protect the public domain? 17th February 2005
Transanctional Services in the UK: Effective or just efficient? 15th February 2005
Digital Rights and Digital Heritage: preserving creativity in the Internet era, 2nd February 2005
Identity, Technology and the Public Interest, 17th January 2005
From Grass Roots to Networks: the role of social capital in political participation, 30th November 2004
Is Online Community a Policy Tool? 26th November 2004
Organising Online: where next for unions and the Internet? 12th November 2004
A Responsibility Shared: finding solutions to protect children online, 2nd November 2004
Getting more from less: can ICT make work places more productive? 25th October 2004
What makes a world class e-Government? 9th September 2004
Offshoring Practices in the UK - Where are the Limits? 30th July 2004
A CIO for Government, 7th June 2004
The ippr is grateful to the Manifesto’s major sponsors Atos Origin, BT and Steria. For sponsorship of specific themes we would also like to thank BBC, British Music Rights and Microsoft.
Files
Publications
Modernising with Purpose
A manifesto for a digital Britain
This report outlines a policy agenda structures around the three strands of 'modernising', delineating' and 'recognising', and argues that these priorities can provide new purpose tp the way in which Britain modernises its public institutions and economy.
Events
The Cabinet Office announced in May that Ian Watmore, currently Managing Director of Accenture, is to become Government Chief Information Officer, or “Head of E-Government”. Two week’s after the announcement ippr ran a high-level seminar in Portcu...
07/06/2004 - 07/06/2005
Is Online Community a Policy Tool?
Extended uptake of the internet leads to greater and greater social uses for it. Success stories such as eBay and introduction services demonstrate that online contact needn't only be within 'virtual communities', but can create tangible real worl...
26/11/2004 - 26/11/2004
Manifesto for a Digital Britain Launch Event
This event launched an exciting new programme of work for the Digital Society Team. The new programme will build upon and extend previous ippr work on public service media and communications regulation, e-Government, safety on the internet, the...
28/07/2004 - 28/07/2004
A responsibility shared? finding solutions to protect children online
Since 1997, the percentage of reported child pornography hosted in the UK has fallen from 18% to less than 1%. However, BT recently announced they had blocked almost 250,000 attempts to view illegal child pornography in just three weeks since the ...
02/11/2004 - 02/11/2004
Getting more from less: Can ICT make public sector workplaces more productive?
Sir Peter Gershon's efficiency review identified "productive time" as one of the 6 key areas where the Government could achieve efficiency savings across the public sector. This means smarter working, and smarter implementation of ICT. The chall...
25/10/2004 - 25/10/2004
Is e-government better government?
This one-day conference explored how ICT can deliver tangible benefits to public service users, the institutional and delivery challenges posed to public service providers by ICT, and how e-government can improve in delivering value to the public....
15/12/2004 - 15/12/2004
Identity, Technology and the Public Interest
ID cards, biometrics and other technologies for collecting and managing information about the identity of individuals raise many issues for policy and practice. This joint ippr-Oxford Internet Institute forum brought together researchers, practiti...
17/01/2005 - 17/01/2005
From grass roots to networks: the role of social capital in political participation
A decline in democratic participation has co-incided with extended uptake of the Internet. Governments have been keen to utilise the capabilities of new technologies in order to reverse this decline by pushing Government services online, however, ...
30/11/2004 - 30/11/2004
Organising Online: Where Next for Unions and the Internet?
This joint TUC-ippr half-day conference reviewed the evidence of how the internet has benefited trade unions, and looked at possibilities that are still to be exploited. Questions addressed included: • What are the most successful online strategi...
12/11/2004 - 12/11/2004
Offshoring Practices in the UK - Where are the Limits?
Shifting production processes overseas is a fundamental aspect of globalisation, but whereas previous waves of offshoring mainly affected manufacturing today service sector jobs are also being offshored. Thanks to dramatic advances in Information ...
30/07/2004 - 30/11/1999
ICT and International Development
This small, round table seminar discussed some of the main issues that would be dealt with at the WSIS....
01/12/2003 - 01/12/2003
This evening event explored the practical and policy issues around electronic voting. It looked at the challenges around designing and managing e-elections, and how new media professionals and policy makers can deliver effective e-voting solutions...
04/11/2004 - 04/11/2004
What Makes a World Class E-Government
To discuss this topic we were joined by Michelle D’Auray , former CIO to the Canadian Federal Government. The most recent Accenture international e-Government survey, E-Government Leadership: High Performance, Maximum Value rated Canada, by a c...
09/09/2004 - 09/09/2004
Latest Reports:
Migration Statistics, August 2010
Latest research on NEETs
Immigration and Employment
Now It's Personal
Learning from welfare-to-work advisers from around the world >
Why Interns Need a Fair Wage
A briefing from ippr and Internocracy >
Regeneration Through Co-operation
Creating a framework for communities to act together >
Global Brit
ippr podcasts >
RSS feeds >