Education
Doctor Cottam was educated at Oxford University (Modern History Bachelor Honours), Sussex University (Master of Philosophy with Distinction in International Studies) and holds a Doctorate from the Open University in social sciences.
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Hilary Cottam
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Cottam’s recent work has focused on reform of the welfare state. In 2007 she founded the United Kingdom-based social enterprise Participle. She authored Beveridge 4.0 and Relational Welfare, two documents that call for public services that grow people’s capabilities and human connections.
Beveridge 4.0 demonstrates the need to update the vision of Sir William Beveridge, whose reports influenced the design of Britain’s 20th century welfare state.
Cottam has designed and led large scale systemic innovation projects in areas such as: prison reform. Services for older people.
Reducing unemployment. Managing and preventing chronic disease, and supporting families with multiple needs to design new ways of working with local government services.
In the 1990s, Cottam worked with United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund and the World Bank.
Returning to the United Kingdom in 1998, Cottam set up two award-winning social enterprises: School Works Limited (now the British Council for School Environments) which was ranked within Britain’s top 100 creative companies and the Do Tank Limited. She was a Director of the United Kingdom Design Council where she founded the Red Unit and launched a programme of public service design. She has been an advisor to governments in Latin America, Africa and in the United Kingdom. and has sat on the advisory board of not for profit organisations and a FTSE 100 company.
She is a regular commentator on social issues.
Doctor In 2005 Cottam was named United Kingdom Designer of the Year. In 2007 the World Economic Forum named Cottam as a Young Global Leader in recognition of her work on social change.
Her work has been featured in numerous design books (most recently Hello World) and in exhibitions in the United Kingdom Design Council, the Smithsonian, and most recently as one of 8 designers feature in the 100 year celebrations of the Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna (MAK).
