Hilary Cottam is Professor at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at UCL (University College London) and author of Radical Help.
Hilary Cottam joins us to explore the field of social design and rethinking our vertical, post-war systems so as to ensure that we are not simply putting 1950s systems online, but rather are actually embracing a digital mindset with collaboration and sharing that are front and centre, being mindful that today’s challenges are vast and urgent and we need to think about them differently and rethink how we design new social systems that are fit for purpose.
So, whether you’re a policy maker, a corporate strategist or want to glean what the future of our society could look like, today’s episode is for you.
About Hilary Cottam
Hilary Cottam is a social entrepreneur, thinker and writer with a track record in changing social systems.
Radical Help (pub. 2018) has been widely credited with shifting the narrative and practice around social systems. Hailed in the New York Times as ‘mind-shifting’ Radical Help has led to social change in the UK and in Scandinavia where a Relational Welfare Institute has been established to implement the proposals in Denmark and Norway.
In 2020, Hilary was named as one of Fast Company’s ‘most creative people’ in recognition of the wider international impact of her work.
She holds an Honorary Professorship at the Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose at UCL where she teaches on the MPA. In 2005, she was named UK Designer of the Year for pioneering the field of social design. In 2007, she was named a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum in recognition of her work as a social entrepreneur, creating new welfare enterprises that have been used by tens of thousands of citizens. In 2019, Hilary was awarded a national honour, the OBE in recognition of her services to the welfare state. She was educated at Oxford, Sussex and the Open Universities and holds a PhD in social sciences.
For more information:
The book: Radical Help
More about Hilary Cottam