Government Office for Science - identity is important element in policy making
This is of course what we do; provide empirical evidence about the specifics of individual and group identity. We use a bespoke data collection process to probe aspects of identity. In the process we set a baseline for identity attitudes and beliefs and then monitor developmental change.
This Office for Science research work was undertaken in response to growing evidence of significant changes in the way people see themselves and others. Many factors are in play: the economic downturn, globalisation, international migration, social media and modern communications technology. In addition mobile technology and the ubiquity of the internet enable people to be constantly connected across many different platforms, the so called ‘hyper-connectivity’. The latter is tending to remove any meaningful distinction between online and offline identities, ‘public’ and ‘private’ identities.
Professor Sir John Beddington, Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government and Head of the Government Office for Science summarised the findings as follows. The report concludes that ‘identity’ is not a simple notion. People can have many different overlapping identities which are fundamental to their individuality. Identities can exercise a powerful influence on the health and well-being of communities and the degree to which they can build up social capital. There are important implications for a range of policy issues such as the collection and use of data by government and the private sector.