On this page you’ll find discussion kits that follow our aim to help people ‘Make Sense of the Big Issues Together’.

We think there is an enormous hole in our society’s arrangements for discussing and reflecting on current issues. There is plenty to read, although it mostly comes from one particular perspective. Plenty of podcasts, ditto. There are programmes like Question Time on the TV, although they don’t seem designed for enlightenment. There are debates, current assemblies and the like.

What is lacking is the ability for a small group of people to organise their own discussions, so that its members can work through the issue and each come to their own view. We support such groups both with information on the topic along with a simple process that makes it straightforward and fun to run.

Some of the kits come in printed cards – we’ll send a set you if you ask us. Others can be downloaded and printed, while others can be used online.

Here’s our current range of discussion kits:

  • Funding Social Care: Social care is in crisis. Funding is a critical part of that crisis. We have collectively to agree what level of social care to fund, and how to raise the money. We invite you to take part in the conversation.
  • Citizens Income: A Citizen’s Basic Income (CBI), also known as a Basic Income (BI) or a Universal Basic Income (UBI) is where the government gives each of its citizens an income, with no strings attached.
  • Driverless Cars: Driverless cars are coming down the road. But do we want them? If so, how safe do we want them to be? What do we want to happen to say car ownership and public transport? We believe that we should all be able to have our say on such questions.
  • How Should Britain Be Run?: The way we allow politicians to make important decisions is being questioned from all sides. Our kit looks at issues like how to give citizens more influence, and how to stop short term thinking; and then moves on to suggest some of the many possible improvements that are bubbling up.
  • Inter-Generational Justice: Are Baby Boomers letting down Millennials? Are Millennials’ expectations too high? Does inter-generational fairness matter and if so what do we need to do to create it?
  • New Local Politics: If we are to work out how to do local politics differently in the UK, shouldn’t we draw on some of the best examples from around the world?

and specifically relating to the Climate Emergency

  • Discuss with others what you will and won’t do about the Climate Emergency, and what government policies you would and wouldn’t vote for, as we imagine walking into the future with Climate Walk.
  • Learn about wonderful things people have done in cities around the world to start dealing with the Climate Emergency in Local Climate Solutions. Use these ideas to stimulate your imagination of what you could do with those who live around you!
  • Learn about some of the top 100 Climate Emergency big ideas that scientists from Project Drawdown have researched and costed by playing Climate Trumps. You might hear about Silvopasture, Geothermal Power, Heat Pumps, Alternative Cement or Regenerative Agriculture!
  • join the Assembly of Humans and More-Than-Humans, which uses role play to give More-Than-Humans – such as peat bogs, bats, eagles and atmosphere – the experience of negotiating on an equal footing with humans.

 

Our history

Here are some of the early discussion kits that Perry Walker created when working at NEF – the New Economics Foundation: