Month: November 2017

Finance Matters

Bank of England Future Forum 2017: Let’s Talk About Economics

Posted on November 16, 2017 by in Finance Matters

Today I attended the Bank of England Future Forum event at the magnificent St. George’s Hall in Liverpool, a suitably opulent background for such an important occasion.

In recent years – as I noted in my blog on the Bank’s Writing Week panel ‘What Is Good Writing’ – the Bank has been making strenuous efforts to broaden its approach to engagement and communication with Markets, Economists and News (MEN) intermediaries, with the general public, and with schools and colleges nationwide. This was the latest manifestation of those efforts. All three sectors were well represented at St. George’s Hall.

There is still a long way to go, as every single one of the Bank Governors sitting on the Forum stage acknowledged. But the very existence of such a dialogue – which is what it was – would have been inconceivable a few years ago.

It is representative of the Bank’s serious intentions, driven partly by the demands and opportunities of the digital age, to re-engage with a mistrustful public. And to help lift standards of economic literacy of (and engagement with) non-experts to levels they have probably never approached.

Language Matters

Bank of England Writing Week: What Is Good Writing?

Posted on November 8, 2017 by in Language Matters

The Bank of England’s approach to communicating with the outside world is receiving a lot of scrutiny, both internally and externally. Only last month former Deputy Governor Howard Davies wrote in the Guardian that central bankers must learn to speak in plain language.

This article cited a speech given by Chief Economist Andy Haldane in March, which revealed some of the Bank’s internal thinking about how to re-energise its approach to communicating with the outside world, especially wider audiences.

So it was a privilege to be invited to join an internal Bank panel, ‘What Is Good Writing’, arranged last month as part of the Bank’s Writing Week. This was a series of internal events designed to elicit ideas and discussion on writing best practice; and on the Bank’s plans to broaden and diversify its communications with both professional intermediaries and the wider public. The panel was chaired by Andy Haldane, reflecting his prominent role in the Bank’s ongoing communications initiative.

Three panellists – Sarah O’Connor from the FT, Anushka Asthana from the Guardian, and I – were asked to share our perceptions on the Bank’s communications, our experiences as writers and editors, and tips on drafting, language and accessibility; followed by a short Q&A session.

The rest of this blog summarises some of the themes covered at the panel, without attributing topics or views to individual panellists.