Phronaseum Institute

Home page to the think tank

Purpose and Mission

The primary purpose of the Phronaseum think tank is to serve the Local government community in England & Wales.

• It will focus on addressing public policy issues at the local level by producing research, facilitating debate, and informing policy makers.

• The think tank will aim to bridge the gap between research and policy, ensuring that expert evidence and practitioner views inform policy debates and implementation. The ethos will be practitioner led, rather than academic.

• It will act as a catalyst for positive change, influencing public opinion, fostering engagement, and promoting well-informed policymaking.

• The think tank’s mission is to generate knowledge, propose initiatives, and support processes to contribute to a better society, through a statecraft led approach.

• The think tank will strive to put crucial issues on the table, acting as a filter for available knowledge and sharing it to stimulate debate and reforms.

• A specific focus will be civic and societal resilience, informing an approach to statecraft.

Stakeholders

• Local Government: These are the primary consumers of the think tank's research and services.

• Community Members: The think tank aims to engage a diverse range of voices, especially from practitioner groups, within local government ensuring that their inputs are considered. These will include; Chief Officers, Electoral Registration, Finance, Social care, Human Resources, Purchasing, Finance and Emergency Planners.

• Policymakers: The think tank will in time inform local policy makers with expert evidence.

• Researchers and Academics: A pool of research associates will contribute their expertise.

Methodology and Approach

• Virtual Entity with Colloquiums: Phronaseum will be a virtual think tank, utilising online platforms and digital media, but with in-person colloquiums and workshops, potentially at existing conferences.

• Collaboration: The think tank will collaborate with existing mechanisms, such as the Joint Engagement Forum and the Prometheus Group. There will also be an approach to some relevant Universities.

• Package of Outputs: The think tank will define a package of outputs that can be produced and delivered for every policy issue it chooses to study, including literature reviews, background documents, policy briefs, events and blogs.

• Open Access: The think tank will use creative commons licenses, making all academic outputs and materials freely accessible. This will be a keystone feature. The acceptance of sponsorship and lite touch branding will be allowed.

• Emphasis on Dissemination: Dissemination and knowledge sharing is key. The think tank will leverage partners, such as Socitm, to disseminate findings through regional meetings and their publications.

• Focus on Policy Questions: The think tank will focus on policy questions and solving problems, rather than only focusing on academic research.

• Strategic Partnerships: The think tank will partner with people rather than simply with organisations, to achieve clearly defined objectives.

• Flexibility and Adaptability: The think tank will be a learning organisation that is able to adapt and change and transform as needed.

• Governance: The think tank will leverage the Local Digital Services CIC as a legal entity to provide a legal structure, bank account and oversight.

• Credibility and Transparency: The think tank will operate with transparency and will be aware of the reputational risk that comes from opaque funding and communications.