The Paddy Ashdown Forum

The Paddy Ashdown Forum is a Think Tank and exists to increase useful skills, capabilities and capacities of civic education as well as advance education and policy development on sustainably viable national and international governance for the public benefit.

The Paddy Ashdown Forum will promote studies on different areas comparing the UK and International experiences to contribute to and inform the public debate in the UK and elsewhere. Research will be published online as well as disseminated via roundtables, seminars and discussions and will be publicly available within the UK and Europe.

Co-creating and co-implementing projects with diverse communities that include policymakers, business and industry, collective groups, NGOs, minority represented groups and interests and others…

Think-Tanks over time too often attune themselves to political cycles. Many make use of sophisticated marketing and PR strategies with considerable success. And, while their typical audience of other Think-Tanks, funders and policy makers are pleased with the results, outcomes are often disconnected that create unintended consequences and leaves the public underwhelmed.

Most recently across Europe and the US we have seen a dramatic rise of populism. Brexit. And, climate-change has morphed to climate-crisis. The usual audience for Think-Tanks and the public need a fresh Think-Tank…

Focus must be given to the general public since it is the public who ultimately give agency for any institution to exist. The public have a thirst for explanations of what is going on. What has happened? How have we got here? The public want to play their part in shaping the future.

Society increasingly wants to know who is influencing their elected representatives. The public actively seeks to participate in public debates. No longer is society simply content to consume the opinion of a small minority of intellectual elite.

The Paddy Ashdown Forum will seek to guide rather than instruct. Output framed inclusively, connected interdependently, yet simply communicated will aim to engage everyone as equals. As a result, this will give rise to holistic evidence-based conversation. Ultimately, a new Think-Tank credibility can be born.

Minding-the-gap between evidence and policymaking is key to enhancing a think-tanks effectiveness and its sustainable viability. Rather than relying on the passive transfer of information, The Paddy Ashdown Forum will contextualise, frame and communicate evidence with inclusivity, diversity and climate-justice at its heart.

Contact
details

Address:
The Paddy Ashdown Forum Ltd
136 Coleherne Court
London SW5 0DY
United Kingdom

Phone: +44 (0) 7484 277787