Hey Tom, have been reading some of your writing. This one intrigued me as I used to work in human rights .. now a tech founder and do a bit of social innovation now and then. I think you've missed a fundamental analysis of where the money comes from in all of this. You've also missed an analysis of the power dimensions within each. There's also a kind of coming at this from the outside rather than the inside, where you might see the conceptual value alignments but it doesn't really look like that from within. You've clearly got a big brain so interested in where this has come from and how this has been informed. It's also likely that you've moved on from this model a little. If you'd like to have a chat let me know.
Hey, thanks for your message. Yes interested in chatting. Can't seem to message you here, but if you can dm me here or on substance/twitter lets find time to chat :)
Hey Tom, really interesting concept you’ve got going here - very useful to read and have as a resource moving forwards.
Given my background in university research, I was interested to see that, whilst academic research/ers featured in the canonical works / community figures lists, not as many academic research groups or institutions were listed as idea exchange orgs - why do you think this is? maybe the work of university research groups is too niche and the work of university institutions too broad, with both being less focused on meaningful exchange as they should be?
I wonder if, in this case, your map highlights a problem that needs solving… keen to hear yours (and others) thoughts on this :)
P.S. in Cambridge, I found my tech policy community in CSAP and the Bennett Inst — I feel these places qualify as “ideas machines” but I’m unsure where they’d go on the map (I’ll give it some more thought!)
Hi Bluebell - thanks for the comment here - glad to see some of it seems to make sense! I think you are right that academic research communities should definitely feature here. Initially, the focus on idea exchange orgs was supposed to be a bit more meetup ish, and i think because I maybe gave this a more corporate vibe, I didn't think about universities being a central part of that.
But that was probably wrong so they should! I am going to probably return to this in a few weeks and reiterate.
For me, a central plank of these idea exchange orgs should be having some fluidity with another part of the ecosystem (e.g. industry, media). Bennett/CSAP probably meet those criteria.
The challenge of putting the academic public policy groups on this map as it currently exists is probably due to their relative 'independence'. In this sense, they may be better seen as adjacent supporting organisations that float to engage with different idea machines. But idk, will muse on this!
Thanks for your thoughts Tom — that all makes sense! Looking forward to watching the map grow, but definitely see why it’s important to keep it focused.
Hey Tom, have been reading some of your writing. This one intrigued me as I used to work in human rights .. now a tech founder and do a bit of social innovation now and then. I think you've missed a fundamental analysis of where the money comes from in all of this. You've also missed an analysis of the power dimensions within each. There's also a kind of coming at this from the outside rather than the inside, where you might see the conceptual value alignments but it doesn't really look like that from within. You've clearly got a big brain so interested in where this has come from and how this has been informed. It's also likely that you've moved on from this model a little. If you'd like to have a chat let me know.
Hey, thanks for your message. Yes interested in chatting. Can't seem to message you here, but if you can dm me here or on substance/twitter lets find time to chat :)
Hey Tom, really interesting concept you’ve got going here - very useful to read and have as a resource moving forwards.
Given my background in university research, I was interested to see that, whilst academic research/ers featured in the canonical works / community figures lists, not as many academic research groups or institutions were listed as idea exchange orgs - why do you think this is? maybe the work of university research groups is too niche and the work of university institutions too broad, with both being less focused on meaningful exchange as they should be?
I wonder if, in this case, your map highlights a problem that needs solving… keen to hear yours (and others) thoughts on this :)
P.S. in Cambridge, I found my tech policy community in CSAP and the Bennett Inst — I feel these places qualify as “ideas machines” but I’m unsure where they’d go on the map (I’ll give it some more thought!)
The Bennett INst. should def be on the map somewhere, alongside policy people like TBI. It's slightly tech for good, and alot about sustainability, intangibles and general progress. Here's a pod I did with Diane Coyle. https://www.thendobetter.com/investing/2021/8/31/diane-coyle-innovation-intangibles-inequality-sustainability-and-measuring-beyond-gdp-podcast
Hi Bluebell - thanks for the comment here - glad to see some of it seems to make sense! I think you are right that academic research communities should definitely feature here. Initially, the focus on idea exchange orgs was supposed to be a bit more meetup ish, and i think because I maybe gave this a more corporate vibe, I didn't think about universities being a central part of that.
But that was probably wrong so they should! I am going to probably return to this in a few weeks and reiterate.
For me, a central plank of these idea exchange orgs should be having some fluidity with another part of the ecosystem (e.g. industry, media). Bennett/CSAP probably meet those criteria.
The challenge of putting the academic public policy groups on this map as it currently exists is probably due to their relative 'independence'. In this sense, they may be better seen as adjacent supporting organisations that float to engage with different idea machines. But idk, will muse on this!
Thanks for your thoughts Tom — that all makes sense! Looking forward to watching the map grow, but definitely see why it’s important to keep it focused.