YOUNG FOUNDATION: A historical perspective: Michael Young’s legacy and the history of the Institute for Community Studies

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https://www.youngfoundation.org/about/

 

The Institute for Community Studies’ legacy is defined by its focus on the everyday lives, voices, and concerns of ordinary people. As we mark 70 years since the organisation’s inception, Holly Smith outlines its profound impact on the contours of the welfare state, the social sciences, and political thinking. This document shares how the Institute’s complex history, and of the legacy of its founder Michael Young, are crucial to The Young Foundation’s methodologies, and to the future of community studies.

 


Civic Scholar

Holly is a PhD student at University College London, where her thesis looks at community action.

She has a focus on high-rise estates in Britain from 1967 to 2015. An interest in social justice is at the heart of her research. She is particularly concerned with social housing, progressive urbanism, community empowerment, and public ownership models. Holly holds a BA and MPhil in history from the University of Cambridge, and has previously worked in social action, journalism, and fundraising.

Outside of research, she also enjoys cinema, reading, and cold-water swimming.

 

 


We support locally-led action, building knowledge around the issues people tell us they care about. We work collaboratively to improve lives and address shared challenges, driving social change for stronger communities and a fairer future.

Our founder, the social researcher and innovator Michael Young, laid down The Young Foundation’s roots in 1954. We have a long and a proud history of community-led innovation, incubating more than 80 new organisations – including The Open UniversityThe School for Social EntrepreneursYear HereSocial Innovation Exchange, and many others.


The Young Foundation is devoted to fighting inequality through trailblazing research and by working with communities. Their ethos of ‘doing with’ people – rather than people ‘being done to’ – is vital. They have a cracking track record of creating and supporting the scaling-up of social innovations that have really made a difference to people’s lives.

 

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