Now the Bennett Institute for Public Policy is the Bennett School of Public Policy, follow us on our new Bluesky account where we've just posted about our latest podcast episode on #migration
bsky.app/profile/benn...
Today, the Bennett Institute for Public Policy has expanded to become the Bennett School of Public Policy, @cam.ac.uk
The Bennett School will continue to conduct leading public policy research, teaching & engagement, for the right kind of growth fairly shared.
Please now follow our work here.
The English devolution bill marks a major shift in how England is governed, with more powers for mayors & local areas—but concerns remain over accountability & local voice.
@alwalker.bsky.social explores this big moment for the governance of England.
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/english...
Community infrastructure fosters civic trust, reduces isolation, & builds democratic resilience.
Its erosion fuels pessimism & populist thinking.
Investing in community—like parks, pubs, libraries & lunch clubs—promotes democracy & props up the lives of communities & citizens across the UK.
Studies show clear links between the decline of public amenities & the rise of populist parties:
Pub closures → more UKIP votes
GP closures → far-right support
High street vacancies → Reform UK surge
Libraries, youth clubs, pubs, high streets—these aren’t just amenities. They’re where people connect, belong, organise, & feel seen. When these spaces disappear, so do the bonds that hold communities—& democracies—together.
Populist politics is on the rise—from Trump to Reform UK.
Why? It's not just economic hardship or distrust in elites.
In a new blog, Rosa Marks argues something deeper is at play: the collapse of social & cultural infrastructure. 🧵
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/social-...
. @michaelkenny.bsky.social recently visited the Nanyang Centre for Public Administration (NCPA) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Highlights included:
🌐 A keynote at the Lien International Conference
📚 A talk to NCPA Executive Master students
🤝 Productive dialogues with NCPA scholars
🎙️What’s the value of speaking other languages?
In this month’s Crossing Channels, Wendy Ayres-Bennett points out a major AI issue: big languages dominate training data, so smaller languages & dialects get left behind. That’s a problem.
🎧 pod.fo/e/2fb7e1
#AI #Multilingualism #podcast @iast.fr
Congratulations to Lord Chris Smith—former chair of the Bennett Institute's Advisory Council—on being elected as the new Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is the 109th Chancellor & will hold the post for 10 years.
Lord Smith says he is thrilled to be elected & to serve the University.
From pubs to populism: what the decline of community space means for democracy
Rosa Marks explores how rebuilding social & cultural infrastructure can help reverse the UK’s slide into distrust, division & populist politics?
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/social-...
@britishacademy.bsky.social
At our latest Brown Bag, affiliated researcher Helen Johnson shared new work on social clustering & its impact on disease risk. Clustered unvaccinated groups are driving measles risk. A UNICEF-backed model shows ignoring this can underestimate outbreaks 10-fold. Targeted strategies are essential.
New blog: As trust in government wanes, devolution must empower citizens & their neighbourhoods. Without tackling deep-rooted inequalities with real local powers & investment, initiatives like the Plan for Neighbourhoods may fall short.
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/making-...
Devolution must empower citizens & neighbourhoods—but without addressing spatial inequalities via stronger local powers, investment & accountability, efforts like the Plan for Neighbourhoods may fall short, write Geoff White, Colin Warnock & Peter Tyler www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/making-...
. @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social writes how a well-functioning legal system is essential for economic trust, trade, & growth, but chronic underinvestment is eroding UK civil justice — & unless addressed, this erosion will undermine the economic environment.
www.nuffieldfoundation.org/research/our...
In the latest episode of the @bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk's podcast series, Crossing Channels, Benjamin Pitt & I discuss the value of speaking other languages: pod.fo/e/2fb7e1. @benpitt.bsky.social explains how language & culture shape the way people think & the value of cultural/linguistic diversity
Have you seen our @bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk work on the measurement of social and cultural infrastructure? Might be of interest . . .
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/research/res...
New blog on how the Renters’ Rights Bill could improve private renters’ mental health
Private renters face mental health risks due to tenancy uncertainty. Marco Felici explores how banning "no fault” evictions in the UK’s Renters’ Rights Bill could help
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/renters...
🎙️What is the value of speaking other languages?
"We're in a current geopolitical situation where we need to be able to speak other languages... & that works through things like soft power & diplomacy as well social cohesion, conflict resolution."— Wendy Bennett
🎧https://pod.fo/e/2fb7e1
#podcast
. @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social calls for new frameworks to better measure & manage data’s role in innovation, AI, & economic development, to inform policy & ensure fair value distribution at @wipo.int conference in Geneva.
Watch: www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/blog/rethink...
NOW OUT ON FIRSTVIEW!!
A Rally for Democracy? #Authoritarian #Resurgence, #Ukraine, & #Global #Democratic #Allegiance
By Roberto Stefan Foa & Xavier Romero-Vidal
doi.org/10.1017/S153...
🎙️New episode of Crossing Channels out today!
What’s the value of speaking other languages?
Wendy Ayres-Bennett & Benjamin Pitt join Richard Westcott to explore how the languages we speak shape our identity, thinking, relationships—& even our economies.
🔗https://pod.fo/e/2fb7e1
#podcast @iast.fr
We at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk have coordinated a letter in @thetimes.com today in which numerous individuals and organisations call on the government to withdraw its mistaken rules which are having a serious chilling effect on civil servants speaking in public…
While the US & China race for AI supremacy, ASEAN is quietly offering a radical alternative: governance as power.
A must-read new piece from AIxGEO, my research group at Cambridge, on Southeast Asia’s approach of collaboration, not competition, as forming the basis of AI power.
Calling all university administrators! We're looking for a Teaching & Learning Coordinator to work at the new @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk
💻Lead teaching & course operations
👩🏽Manage a team
⚙️Help shape academic policies & processes
Apply by 9 July 2025
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about-us/vac...
Watch @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social deliver a keynote speech on “Rethinking Progress in an Intangible Economy” at the launch of @wipo.int's World Intangible Investment Highlights 2025 — 9 July, 8:40am-8:55am (CET), online.
View here: webcast.wipo.int/home
While Washington and Beijing race for AI supremacy, Southeast Asia is turning the art of governance into a source of geopolitical power.
New AIxGEO analysis, led by @verityharding.bsky.social, reveals how ASEAN has transformed the bloc into a pivotal force in global AI policy.
🧵1/4
Thank you to our Advisory Council for meeting yesterday & offering valuable guidance as the Bennett Institute prepares to become the Bennett School of Public Policy—expanding our teaching, research & engagement to address today’s pressing public policy challenges in an increasingly turbulent world.
We're hiring a Teaching & Learning Coordinator to join the @bennettschool.bsky.social
You'll lead teaching & learning support, manage admissions & course operations, & help shape the policies & processes behind our academic programmes.
Apply by 9 July
www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/about-us/vac...
📸 A productive & inspiring team away day!
Team Bennett is hard at work planning for the exciting opening of @bennettschool.bsky.social this October 2025 - under the leadership of @michaelkenny.bsky.social & @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social
#Research #Teaching #Engagement #Impact
