Over the past few decades, Japan has faced a dual challenge of decreasing birth rates and an ageing population. To address this, the government has launched several major initiatives since the 1990s to tackle the problem, including the Angel Plan, the… Read more
Archives: Public Impact Fundamentals
The Electronic Health Records System In the UK
In 2002, the UK government launched development of the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) NHS Care Records Service, which was intended to deliver an electronic health records system containing patient records from across the UK. There were problems with… Read more
Sparkassen Savings Banks in Germany
The Sparkassen are a group of savings banks that have been operating across Germany since the first one was established in Hamburg in 1778. They were born of the need to invest in the country and in German society, and they… Read more
The Rockefeller Foundation and Philanthropy for Social Change
The Rockefeller Foundation was set up in 1913 to deploy the vast wealth of the John D. Rockefeller’s company, Standard Oil, in philanthropic projects. The first major donation was to the American Red Cross, and health and education were initially… Read more
The Dutch policy on marijuana use – continuity and change
The liberalisation of the use of marijuana in the Netherlands was initiated in 1976 as a radical response to the social problems of drug abuse. It was founded on the recommendations of the country’s Baan Commission, published in 1972, and has… Read more
The rise of cycling in the urban areas of The Netherlands
In the 1970s, the Netherlands was becoming dominated by the car, with high levels of pollution and traffic-related deaths. Thanks to pressure groups and enlightened local politicians, cities such as the Hague, Delft and Groningen began to encourage the growth… Read more
The cap-and-trade system in Québec
As part of its response to climate change, the Canadian province of Québec aimed to cut its greenhouse gas emissions significantly. To reach their self-imposed GHG reduction targets, one of the central measures of the government of Québec was… Read more
MillionTreesNYC: planting and tending the urban forest
MillionTreesNYC was an urban forest initiative that formed part of PlaNYC, which focuses on encouraging sustainable projects across the city. It involved a partnership between a city department, NYC Parks, and a New York not-for-profit, The New York Restoration Project. Read more
Responding to climate change: Melbourne’s urban forest strategy
The millennium drought, higher temperatures and an ageing tree population threatened the city of Melbourne with an environmental challenge. An important plank in the city’s response was the creation of an Urban Forest Strategy, which promised and delivered thousands of… Read more
Cycle infrastructure in Copenhagen
When the City of Copenhagen introduced its Cycle Policy 2002-12, it had already introduced priority cycle lanes and green cycle routes. It wanted to build on these initiatives with a number of aims in mind: greater road safety, a cleaner… Read more