Engage Britain is a new organisation focused on tackling our country’s most complicated and divisive challenges – from the crisis in care to immigration. Our agenda will be set by people’s concerns, including those that have been left to fester too long, such as poverty and protecting the environment.
Engage Britain will chart a new course for policy-making that aims to bridge divides. We will go beyond traditional approaches that bring together small teams to recommend quick fixes. We will put citizens and communities at the centre of our work. We believe that they are best placed to get to the heart of the biggest issues.
Engage Britain will launch around the end of the year, founded on the principle that bringing together citizens, communities, practitioners and frontline specialists is the best way to solve our problems. We will draw together those with different views, knowledge and experience and support them to engage in constructive debate. We will ensure that those who are usually left out of making policies – but who often bear the brunt of them – are central to all discussions.
Engage Britain won’t exist to promote a particular ideology or support any political parties. By putting different, sometimes conflicting, views at the heart of our work, and drawing inspiration from successful community schemes that reach across divides, we will devise fresh, non-partisan approaches to the big challenges facing the country.
Engage Britain’s initial Trustees have extensive experience in policy, business and research:
Engage Britain’s Managing Director is Julian McCrae, who is responsible for setting up the organisation.
Engage Britain will be funded by donations. We have secured an initial contribution from the Hands Family Trust, the philanthropic trust established by Julia and Guy Hands, to extend access across society. We will broaden our contributors over time.