2020 Public Services Trust & Demos joint seminar: Resilience and capability building - a new model for the welfare state - invitation only

60 years on from Beveridge we need to re-examine the universal entitlement model if we want to have a social settlement which enables people to lead the lives they choose and reduces the dependency ratio. An increase in coproduction and cooperative models in public services will bring into stark relief the need for engaging citizens and communities in what is provided and how it is provided.

The seminar will look at how Amartya Sen's capability model could be combined with emerging thinking about resilience to create a more mixed welfare system which unlocks social resource and individual capability and doesn't just depend on state funding.  This will be especially important in an era when public services will face new demand pressures arising from demographic change, climate change and social polarisation just when the public finances are least able to pay for extra spending.

The question of ends and means, of purpose and affordability, are central to the 2020 PST’s mission to stimulate deeper understanding of the challenges facing public services to inform policy making. We hope you can join us for this seminar to discuss these issues in more depth.