Molly Webb
Former Demos researcher
Molly Webb worked as a Demos researcher on science, technology and innovation from January 2005 - August 2007.
- Show and Tell Web 2.0 A cultural anthropologist from Kansas on Web 2.0 and how the machine is us/ing us. It's nice Friday morning inspiration! continue reading on 30th March 2007 in Demos Website
- EasyJet to EasyCare? What might a care ethic in policy look like? Compassionate conservatism? Big brands? Would you entrust your granny to EasyCare the way you entrust your luggage to EasyJet? Listen to Charlie Leadbeater's talk at the Demos Care Conference on March 21st on why we need a care ethic at the heart of 21st century policy, and what that might look like. No, he's not advocating EasyCare, but it's an interesting image... continue reading on 26th March 2007 in Demos Podcasts
- Giving citizens the megaphone The past year has seen a surge in both government and citizen's attention to climate change. Scientists largely agree that climate change is happening and that it's human induced. And as the weather becomes weirder, public awareness is growing. The Stern Review urges economic action now to prevent costly adaptation later, the financial community is investing more in clean tech, and people want to see action on climate change. It is no longer an option not to act, the question is, what now? continue reading on 5th March 2007 in The Disrupters
- All the rage, precariously Social entrepreneurs (SE) might be the new black, but we still need to do far more to support them. Here's a quote from one enthusiastic woman on the LeapFrogging blog who still isn't comfortable with the label 'social entrepreneur'..."My "idea" is actually working, and it is having unimaginable results! But my venture could still die on the vine. No SE is an island, and so many others must join in - the masses, the $$$, the brains, the media, the web-diva, database-dude and the... continue reading on 29th January 2007 in Social Switchboards
- Making change happen I've just been contacted by Jo from a very cool new website: http://www.makeyourmarkconnect.org "We think that collaboration with people can help you make your ideas happen. The idea is to give group organisers a central, cost-free place to tell new people about their meet-ups and to let those people who want to make their own group, shout their interests from the rooftops (or website!)."You can post your own events there, and get involved in a community of change-makers all over the... continue reading on 25th January 2007 Comments (1)
- Asian 'hotspots' come to London “I suggest we focus on the future, because it is where we are going to spend the rest of our lives,” said RA Mashelkar today at the Atlas of Ideas conference. He was responding to the question “Why are we starting to collaborate with Asia now, why haven’t we done it sooner?” Mashelkar’s response is suitably diplomatic, but also reflects the general mood today at the Atlas of Ideas conference: that though the UK has a pretty good record of collaborating with... continue reading on 17th January 2007 in The Atlas of Ideas
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Rebel with a cause
"Optimism is a political act" says Alex Steffan in the first sentence of the 'politics' section of the WorldChanging book (from the people at the worldchanging site) out late last year.
Are social movements fueled by optimism? Or rebelliousness? Eric Prydz has captured the latter mood in his re-mixed Pink Floyd's ‘Proper Education' (See the video on YouTube) continue reading on 9th January 2007 Comments (2) - Solutions after Stern Since the Brundtland report, now coming up on its 20th anniversary, we’ve had a international framework for sustainable development: environmental problems needed action from both the north and the south. Now we are faced with Stern’s latest economic modeling, and the point is the essentially the same: we’re in this together. Especially developed nations need to invest now to reduce our impact on the planet. We get it. Climate change is the most colossal market failure... continue reading on 3rd November 2006 Comments (1)
- Collective creativity We-think, a new book by Demos associate Charlie Leadbeater, is being published online first, to allow public comments:"I am releasing the book prior to formal publication next year so that people can comment upon the text, add to it, disagree with it. I hope this open approach to peer review is in itself an experiment in collaborative creativity and will help to create new ways for people to write books and share ideas." - Go to the websiteIt's not news that a vibrant ideas 'commons'... continue reading on 13th October 2006
- Show me the money I attended the Birkenhead Forum last night, where investors and investees meet to drink organic wine and talk about clean tech, sustainable business and social investments in general. Last night, Pooran Desai, one of the founders of BioRegional spoke about some of the business ventures they've been involved with since 1992, including BedZed, the zero emissions community by architect Bill Dunster, and more recently, One Planet Living, a joint initiative with WWF.When asked how to measure... continue reading on 13th October 2006