Will David Cameron's 'Big Society' Work in Ottawa?

British Prime Minister David Cameron is in Ottawa today, where he will address Canada's Parliament, and I'm delighted. Maybe he'll light a policy fire under the Harper government.

At a time when Big Ideas seem to be out of fashion, Cameron is definitely a Big Ideas guy -- or perhaps I should say, Big Idea guy, as he is focused on one Big Idea, which he calls "Big Society."

Big Society could be called the counterpoint to Big Government. It is about challenging and empowering citizens and civil society to play a much bigger role in problem-solving by agreeing to get Big Government out of the way.

But Cameron is no Margaret Thatcher. If he agrees that Big Government diverts citizens from taking responsibility, his solution is not to dismantle the "nanny state" or throw Brits into the deep end of the pool, forcing them to sink or swim.

Instead, Cameron believes that belonging to a community is a vital part of human nature and that, when given the chance, people display a natural willingness to work together as a community to solve problems. Big Society is about creating the right environment for this to happen.

The Big Society - Anarchy With A Middle Class Twist?

Anna is the model citizen. The 31-year-old self-described professional volunteer spends Mondays running a free bike workshop, Wednesdays counselling others in the community, and in her spare time is helping to build a community garden in Camberwell, South London.

For her it's about taking responsibility for where she lives. "If I didn't believe that what I spent most of my time doing made people's lives more pleasant, I'd be pretty lost. I'm hoping that I make life easier for others."

Among her projects: Free computing workshops, a shop set up to help young mothers who cannot afford their kids' back-to-school clothes, free skill-share workshops.