We live in turbulent and uncertain times. Across the world societies are facing substantial economic, political, environmental and social challenges. Each of these exerts particular pressures on living standards, exacerbating existing inequalities and creating new lines of division. In the face of these challenges, Minimum Income Standard (MIS) projects (re)focus attention on what people in different societies need to live with dignity – what they need to feel included and connected, to feel secure, and to feel able to make choices about their lives. In producing living standards benchmarks, rooted in public consensus, MIS offers a way of thinking about what sort of societies we want, and how we might get there.
Reflecting on 20 years of MIS research in the UK and beyond, this lecture will first set out the value of decent living standards benchmarks in addressing inequalities, exploring some key principles underpinning how dignity is understood within MIS research. It will then detail some of the ways in which MIS research has and can be used in moving towards a more equal, less divided world – to inform living wages, to identify positive changes in public services and provision, to identify additional and different needs. The lecture will end by looking to the future, asking how MIS projects can help address the complex, ‘wicked’ problems of the next 20 years.
Date: Thurs 5 November 2026
Time: 7:00-8:30 PM
(Dinner and registration from 6:00PM)
