NEW toolkit: Engaging the Disengaged: A guide for policymaker and campaigners
New toolkit launched today.
Research consistently finds that certain social groups are more politically disengaged and therefore underrepresented than others; this includes younger people, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and people living in coastal and more densely urban areas. Does this simply reflect a personal choice by certain groups not to engage or follow politics, or does it reflect a political failure not to make political engagement seem worthwhile?
Dr. Donna Smith and Dr. Dan Taylor from the Open University developed this toolkit following much reflection and discussion on the core problem of political disengagement across the UK, based on learning from their respective projects nationally and in Wales (Donna) and in several English regions facing different kinds of deprivation and challenges (Dan) to draw out practical measures and provocations for policymakers and campaigners to grasp the thorn of disengagement.
This toolkit provides practical insights for policymakers and campaigners on methods to engage disengaged groups, it aims to give you and your organisation new insights into the barriers for democratic participation, and ways to engage the disengaged in making change.
Who is this toolkit for?
Policymakers can gain practical insights into barriers to citizen engagement to inform more inclusive and effective policies, based on a range of current OU projects.
Campaigning groups and civil society organisations can use practical strategies from current OU projects to better connect with disengaged communities and drive impactful change.
Researchers can explore concepts and methods to understand and address barriers to political engagement among disengaged groups.
Authors
Bios: Dr. Donna Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at The Open University whose research focuses on UK politics and media, active citizenship, and political education, drawing from her Westminster politics experience. She leads the Changemakers project exploring how young adults can better understand making political and social change, and serves as a Trustee of the Political Studies Association among other professional roles.
Dr. Dan Taylor is a Senior Lecturer in Social and Political Thought at The Open University and a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker (2023), and author of three monographs on British politics and political ideas. His current research focuses on community, connection and care across England through three projects examining inclusive growth and housing, unpaid care and social care, and community development in different regions.