News and Events

The Carnegie UK Tust's latest publication, Power Moves: Exploring Power and Influence in the UK, was launched at the Scottish Parliament's Festival of Politics on Friday 22 August.

Power Moves provides a real-life account of how people have influenced change.  The report tells the stories of four recent policy decisions and examines the role of civil society associations in influencing the decision.  These four case studies explore the issues of energy, school dinners, equalities and English language teaching.

As part of the Carnegie UK Trust's involvement in the Festival of Politics the Trust will be holding an event on Friday 22 August at the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh.

The event will be following up on the Trust's work on power and influence, looking at who has power and how it is used.

The event will also see the launch of the Carnegie UK Trust's latest publication 'Power Moves' which explores power and inlunce in the UK. The report contains four case-studies documenting how civil society associations have applied and engaged with power. The case studies relate to school meals, the energy review, the sexual orientation regulation and the availability of english (ESOL) classes. Free copies of this report can be ordered by contacting morven@carnegieuk.org.

The Democracy initiative is hosting a workshop on ‘Power tools’ at the CIVICUS World Assembly, the theme of which is People, Participation and Power. The workshop takes place on Saturday 21 June.  The session will help delegates to engage with, use and provide critical feedback on the practical tools and approaches they use to understand and increase their own power, influence and participation in decision-making processes. We hope this will be a valuable platform for civil society associations to learn from each other and to enhance their own capabilities. 

The Democracy Initiative has commissioned two further case studies on power and participation.

The Institute for Public Policy Research will investigate the 2006 Equalities Act, and in particular, the sexual orientation regulations.

The think-tank, AccountAbility, will focus on the 2006 Energy Review and its impact on citizens in the UK.

Both case studies will be published in December 2007.  For further information, visit the power and influence section of this website.

The Democracy Initiative has commissioned Rand Europe and the Democratic Audit to produce one case study each on power and participation.

The Democratic Audit will look at recent policy on ESOL classes and the decision to remove free access to English language classes.

Rand Europe will investigate recent policy and debate over school meals, and in particular, the campaign run by Jamie Oliver.

To find out more, visit the power and influence section of this website.

The European Citizens' National Consultations got underway in February 2007.  This is the first ever pan-european event for citizens in all 27 member states to discuss their views on the future of europe.

So far, randomly selected Europeans in 10 countries have made their voices heard on issues including

• Energy and the Environment
• Family and Social Welfare
• EU's Global Role and Immigration

The dates for each round of events are:

Group 1: Feb 10/11
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia, Ireland

Group 2: Feb 24/25
Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary, Belgium, Germany

The Carnegie Democracy Initiative has commissioned the Democratic Audit to undertake a review of existing research and analysis of power and influence in the UK and Ireland.  This review will help shape a wider work programme on power and influence.

Following this review, the Democracy Initiative plans to commission a series of case studies to provide further insights into decision making and how it impacts on the lives of ordinary citizens,

To read more, visit the power and influence section of this site.

On the 21st September 2006, the Carnegie UK Trust organised a 24 hour workshop to inform the work of the Democracy Initiative – a strand of the Trust’s new Democracy and Civil Society programme. The day was facilitated by the International Futures Forum and was designed to challenge participants’ perceptions and understanding of the democracy landscape.

We are pleased to announce details of phase one of our Democracy Initiative.

The Democracy Initiative aims to shed new light on the future challenges for tackling the democratic deficit. The Initiative supports a more responsive and vibrant democracy in which power is shared, and that the voices of diverse groups of people are heard.