Provocations

We commission short pieces or provocations to stimulate debate, enable people to air their opinions and suggest solutions.

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Found 37 Results
Provocation

Levelling up – what will it mean for future generations? | Provocation by John Lotherington

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Regional disparities have haunted policy makers in the UK for generations – regional economic agencies have come and gone, motorways were built to reconnect economic centres, subsidies were tried and then more market forces. But, as we emerge from the pandemic, ‘levelling up’ has come to be ‘the defining mission of this government’, according to Michael Gove. In this provocation, John Lotherington questions the leveling up strategy.
Provocation

Time to reconcile conflict and collaboration—some insights from mediation | Provocation by Andrea Westall

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Author(s):
As we move ever closer to 2030 – the arbitrary endpoint for the collectively agreed UN Sustainable Development Goals – and in a year when the commitments of the climate negotiations at the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, COP26 will need to be further strengthened, we do not have the luxury to stay in our comfort zones, or just comment from the side-lines. Agreeing and negotiating how we go forward, in a fair way, will be tough. It requires us to roll up our sleeves, banish any presumption of easy ‘win-wins’, and engage with people with whom we may not easily get on.
Provocation

Designing for impact: the next stage for climate assemblies | Provocation by Graham Smith

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Author(s):
If the recent COP26 tells us anything, it’s that different ways of making hard decisions about our shared futures are needed. Too often critical decisions are made through last minute compromises, hammered out amongst small groups of negotiators behind closed doors, with the voices of those who are most vulnerable to the ravages of the climate crisis excluded.
Provocation

Is the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act standing up to the test of time and delivering for future generations? | Provocation by Peter Davies

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Author(s):
The Wellbeing for Future Generations (Wales) Act became law in 2015. It is now 6 years since the Act became law and we are entering a critical period with transition from key leaders, local authority elections and with enough time passed to judge whether the Act has actually made any difference to how Wales is governed – although not enough to see whether it has made a difference for future generations. So, has the Act achieved what we hoped for Wales?
Provocation

An Opportunity for Transformational Change: A Provocation on the Potential for a Future Generations Commissioner for the UK

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Author(s):
In response to the provocations by Peter Davies and Sándor Fülöp at the FDSD event 'A Future Generations Commissioner for the UK', Andrea Westall argues that we need to think beyond institutions in isolation. While Commissioners may have an important role to play, we need to be creative in developing governance structures that promote long-term thinking at all levels.
Provocation

Future Generations Commissioners: Learning Lessons from Wales

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Author(s):
In this provocation, Peter Davies offers personal reflections on his role in the development of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales within the broader story of the journey of devolution – a journey that started with the duty to promote sustainable development in the initial Government of Wales Act. His role in this story begins in 2006 when he was appointed to the UK Sustainable Development Commission as Commissioner for Wales.
Provocation

The Necessity and Powers of Future Generations Organisations

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Author(s):
The imminent ecological crises and our consumer society's lack of receptivity to this bad news mean that an independent, authentic voice is needed to represent the interests of future generations. In this provocation, Sándor Fülöp draws on his experience as Hungarian Ombudsman to explain the necessity and powers of a future generations organisation.
Provocation

How can the Interests of Future Generations be Protected in the UK Political System?

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Author(s):
In response to the provocations by Peter Davies and Sándor Fülöp at the FDSD event ‘A Future Generations Commissioner for the UK‘, Victor Anderson reminds us that there are a variety of approaches to safeguarding the interests of future generations. Our focus can be on any of the three different traditional branches of government in the UK: the executive, legislature, and judiciary.
Provocation

Economics is for Everyone! | Provocation by Graham Smith

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The economy is an area of decision-making fiercely protected by experts and politicians from public participation. But public confidence in this closed policy community is waning and arguments for democratic participation in an area that so profoundly shapes all our lives are growing. Against this backdrop, the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) has launched an exciting project in 2016: the Citizens’ Economic Council (CEC). T
Provocation

The EU Referendum and the UK’s Environment: What are the implications for democracy?

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Charlotte Burns and Viviane Gravey argue that the EU Referendum debate in the UK has been "surprisingly quiet on the issue of the environment". They look at three options for the UK from the point of view of their impacts on participatory democracy, as well as point to the tension between participation and stable long term rules for environmental protection. They believe that the terms of the current debate are far too narrow. "National sovereignty is essentially a red herring that offers little in the way of genuine democratisation of environmental (or any other) policy area."

Latest News & Comment

Wales—A Well-Being Nation 

Wales—A Well-Being Nation 

In this article, Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner of Wales, sets out his Office’s new seven year strategy, arguing that the WfG Act has to now “work harder and faster”, even though, at the same time as public finances, including his own office, are under severe pressure.

FDSD Newsletter, Autumn 2023

FDSD Newsletter, Autumn 2023

From national to local level, Scotland is rethinking how its policy, and participation practices, can better reflect sustainable development, wellbeing, and the needs of future generations. This FDSD newsletter showcases some of the activities that are happening, or are being considered.

Deepening Democracy for the Long Term | By Graham Smith

Deepening Democracy for the Long Term | By Graham Smith

The public’s perspectives on future generations are highly structured by the context in which they are articulated. A long-term perspective is rarely taken by people when they make immediate and everyday decisions – with the exception of those motivated by ‘lifetime-transcending interests’.

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