Committee: Policy and Resources Date: 4 October 2012

Subject: Public Demos and CentreForum: City of London Corporation corporate membership renewals Report of: For decision Director of Public Relations

Summary The development of effective working relationships with a range of think tanks across the political spectrum is a key objective of the City of London Corporation. This programme of work aims to address key themes and further the organisation’s strategic objectives.

Demos is a key think tank whose aim is to search for and communicate ideas to give people more power to shape their own lives. Its vision is a democracy of free citizens, with an equal stake in society. Demos works across the political spectrum, and with a number of government departments, public sector agencies, private sector firms and charities.

CentreForum is a leading independent, liberal think-tank seeking to develop evidence based solutions to problems facing Britain. It has an excellent reputation based upon a series of high quality events and research publications. CentreForum works most closely with the Liberal Democrats although it does work with the other leading parties.

The City Corporation has a long history of successful co-operation on a series of events and projects with both Demos and CentreForum and has been a corporate partner of both since 2010; these memberships are now due for renewal.

As a corporate partner, the City Corporation is able to engage more easily with key audiences and be closely involved in policy development work. Renewing the City Corporation’s corporate partnership to these two think tanks will continue this programme of work and further the organisation’s strategic objectives.

This report proposes that the City of London Corporation remains a corporate partner of CentreForum for two years at a cost of £10,000 per year and a corporate partner of Demos for two years at a cost of £7,000 per year to be met from your Committee’s Contingency for 2012/13 and Policy Initiatives Fund (under Research) 2013/14 and charged to City’s Cash.

Recommendation

The Committee is recommended to agree that the City of London Corporation remains a corporate partner of CentreForum for two years at a cost of £10,000 per year and a corporate partner of Demos for two years at a cost of £7,000 per year to be allocated from your Committee’s Contingency for2012/13 and Policy Initiatives Fund for 2013/14 and charged to City’s Cash.

Background 1. The development of effective working relationships with a range of think tanks across the political spectrum is a key objective of the City of London Corporation. This programme of work aims to address key themes and further the organisation’s strategic objectives.

2. Demos was established in 1993 by Geoff Mulgan, who worked as Director of Policy to Prime Minister Tony Blair and the leading academic and writer, Martin Jacques. The remit of this multi-purpose think tank is to search for and communicate ideas to give people more power to shape their own lives. Its vision is a democracy of free citizens, with an equal stake in society. Demos now works across the political spectrum, and with a number of government departments, public sector agencies, private sector firms and charities. The Prime Minister recently commented that ‘Demos is at the heart of public policy debate.’

3. The current Director of Demos is David Goodhart who is also editor-at-large of Prospect Magazine, Britain’s leading current affairs monthly. The membership of its advisory council includes the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander MP, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Dr Vince Cable MP and the Head of Labour’s Policy Review, Jon Cruddas MP. The City Corporation has recently worked with Demos on an event on good growth with the Minister for Government Policy Oliver Letwin MP and a roundtable on financial services with a group of newly elected Labour MPs. The City of London also sponsored a major Demos research project City Limits that sought to minimise the risk of policy-makers damaging Britain’s long-term competitiveness. Demos has also assisted in incubating the Centre for London for which the City Corporation is a founding sponsor.

4. CentreForum is a leading independent, liberal think-tank seeking to develop evidence based solutions to problems facing Britain. It has an excellent reputation based upon a series of high quality events and research publications. CentreForum works most closely with the Liberal Democrats. However, it does work with the other main parties and there are also Labour and Conservative parliamentarians on its Management Board which includes the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg MP, the Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, Andrew Tyrie MP, and the former City Minister, Lord Myners. The Deputy Prime Minister the Nick Clegg MP recently commented ‘CentreForum has provided a volley of thought provoking and accomplished ideas that have nourished liberals of all parties.’

5. The City of London Corporation has enjoyed a strong relationship with CentreForum since its previous incarnation as the Centre for Reform. This has included major speeches with the last three Liberal Democrat Leaders as well as a number of party conference activities. In the last eighteen months the City Corporation has worked with CentreForum on major events with the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg MP, the Chief Secretary, Danny Alexander MP, and the Business Secretary, Vince Cable MP. In addition the City of London worked with Centre Forum on a dinner for new Liberal Democrat parliamentarians.

Proposal 6. The City of London Corporation became a corporate partner of both Demos and CentreForum in 2010. The City Corporation is also a corporate partner of a number of other leading thinks tanks from across the political spectrum including IPPR, Reform, the European Policy Forum and the Foreign Policy Centre.

7. Being a corporate partner not only strengthens the overall relationship between the City of London Corporation and each think tank but also carries a number of additional benefits. As a corporate partner, the City Corporation has regular contact with research directors to discuss the progress of relevant projects, enabling the City Corporation to be closely involved in policy development work. The City Corporation is also able to engage more easily with key audiences, either through hosting or attending events, that would prove more difficult and time consuming to achieve without these links to key think tanks. The City Corporation receives invitations to the extensive programme of seminars, conferences and briefings including some partner-only events and also receives copies of all publications and policy briefings produced by each think tank.

8. Demos and CentreForum have both recently established corporate partnership programmes. The Demos corporate programme includes Accenture, PwC, Zurich and Centrica while the CentreForum programme includes Bloomberg, Citigroup, KPMG and Prudential.

9. The Demos and CentreForum memberships are due for renewal. This report proposes that the City of London Corporation remains a corporate partner of CentreForum for two years at a cost of £10,000 per year and a corporate partner of Demos for two years at a cost of £7,000 per year. These are the standard rates in both instances for corporate partnership.

Financial implications

10. There is no possibility of meeting the proposed financial support from existing local risk resources. The Policy Initiatives Fund 2012/13 is now fully committed. It is therefore proposed that the required funding for CentreForum of £10,000 per year for two years and for Demos of £7,000 per year for two years is drawn from your Committee Contingency for 2012/13 and Policy Initiatives Fund for 2013/14, categorised under the Research section of the Fund and charged to City’s Cash.

11. The current uncommitted balances available within your Committee’s Contingency for 2012/13 amounts to some £612,000 and for the Policy Initiative Fund 2013/14 some £672,000 , prior to any allowances being made for any other proposals on today’s agenda.

Conclusions 12. The relationship with Demos and CentreForum accords well with the City Corporation’s key objective to develop effective working relationships with a range of think tanks across the political spectrum. Renewing the City Corporation’s corporate partnership to these two think tanks will continue this programme of work and further the organisation’s strategic objectives. It also gives access more easily to City Corporation key audiences creating opportunities for high level interaction and enables the City Corporation to be closely involved in policy development work.

Contact: Adam Maddock Corporate Affairs Manager 020 7332 1771 [email protected]