About Nesta

Nesta is an innovation foundation. For us, innovation means turning bold ideas into reality and changing lives for the better. We use our expertise, skills and funding in areas where there are big challenges facing society.

Is there a problem with trust in public services in Britain?

We recently heard from trust expert and author, Rachel Botsman, on the current state of public trust in Britain. The In Conversation event, 'Is public trust dead in Britain?'  focused on what’s happening to trust in society alongside developments in technology - while trust in public institutions seems to be collapsing, new forms of trust enabled by technology are simultaneously rising up.

From crisis levels of distrust to more moderate levels of cynicism, there’s mixed opinion on how people perceive current levels of trust. A topic that continues to dominate the news agenda and public discussion, we’ve captured some thoughts on the state of the problem as well as suggestions on how best to improve the situation. Read the thoughts below and let us know what you think in our poll. 

1. Fit for purposes services 

 

2. Respect and competence are key

  

3. New rules for the digital era

Sources
1. Polling on resident satisfaction with councils
2. These are the professions we trust the most (and least) in a "post-truth" world
 

Author

Eddie Copeland

Eddie Copeland

Eddie Copeland

Director of Government Innovation

Eddie was Nesta's Director of Government Innovation.

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Tom Symons

Tom Symons

Tom Symons

Deputy Director, fairer start mission

Tom is the deputy mission director for the fairer start mission at Nesta.

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Rachel Botsman

Rachel Botsman is a world-renowned expert on an explosive new era of trust and technology. She is an award-winning author, speaker and University of Oxford lecturer and has contributed…