My name is Max Hogg. I’m Policy and Research Manager at the education charity DEA. I recently completed a Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development, run by Forum for the Future.
Interests
I’m fascinated by people, what makes us tick, what stories we create to make sense of our lives, and how we can make sustainable development the irresistible story of our times.
I want to find ways to encourage people to be the best we can be (competent, engaged, empathic citizens), rather than the worst that we might be (insecure, acquisitive, selfish cynics).
I believe people are ingenious but malleable. Given the right incentives (moral, social or economic) and the ability to act as entrepreneurs both individually and collectively, we can achieve just about anything with our ingenuity. But we are vulnerable to outside influence, and we are currently caught in a complex social system which creates barriers to using our ingenuity effectively. These barriers include the insecurity that arises from absolute poverty and economic inequality, the creation of artificial needs through consumerism, and the overwhelming whirlwind of information that hits us daily.
I specialise in sustainable education, which is quite a complicated policy area that can be easily summarised; it’s about ensuring the next generation of citizens are competent to deal with the challenges that we know the 21st century will throw at us. I draw heavily on Thomas Homer-Dixon’s concept of the prospective mind contained in his book The Upside of Down.
I believe that if we are to protect and enhance our well-being in the 21st century, it is essential that we use the education system to create a generation of prospective minds.
Background
I graduated from Oxford University in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and I am (slowly!) studying for a Masters in Psychology with the Open University. I have worked for the following organisations:
- Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
- new economics foundation
- Green Stewards
- Financial Times
- Sustainable Development Commission
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
- Office for Public Management
- Department for Children, Schools and Families
- Halcrow
- Cornwall Council
Influences:
- Thomas Homer-Dixon, Canadian political scientist
- Andrew Simms, nef Policy Director
- Derek Parfit, philosopher
- Tim Smit, Eden Project Chief Executive
- Ian Christie, tutor on Forum for the Future’s Masters in Leadership for Sustainable Development
- Matthew Taylor, RSA Chief Executive
- Matt Grist, RSA Director of the Social Brain project
- Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence
- Ann Finlayson, Sustainable Development Commission Education Commissioner
- Anna Birney, Head of Leadership and Change, Forum for the Future
- Jeremy Clarkson, realist
