Policy Innovation Blog

The Civic Economy - Making it real

Laura Bunt - 13.05.2011

Laura Bunt reflects on some of the key themes to emerge from the launch event for our new Compendium for the Civic Economy - a showcase of 25 trailblazing ideas that are transforming local places and economies across the UK.

On Thursday we launched the Compendium for the Civic Economy, a fantastic collection of case studies and lessons of civic enterprise and innovation. We were delighted to be joined by a full room from a whole host of different backgrounds, and especially pleased that many of the civic entrepreneurs and practitioners featured in the book were able to be part of the event.

Fuelled by breakfast from the People's Supermarket - a cooperative social venture currently based in Camden - there was a real buzz in the room which was reflected in comments online. We kicked off with Inderpaul Johar (00:/) who talked about the genealogy of the project, then opened up to some lively conversation with our panel - Pam Warhurst from Incredible Edible Todmorden, Sam Conniff from youth communications agency Livity, and Tom Bolton from the Centre for Cities.

You can watch the event online on the NESTA website, but I'd just like to highlight a few themes that I thought were particularly pertinent to the debate:

Firstly, how these civic ventures blend economic and social outcomes. As Sam eloquently argued, social organisations such as Livity, the People's Supermarket as well as TCHO and Baisikeli fuse together financial gain and social impact. This isn't about separating profit-making and making a difference, but finding a way to make returns on honest transactions.

Secondly, how the civic economy finds ways to bring together the very big and the very small, the very global with the hyper local. Whether through creating networks across different places such as the Hub network of shared workspaces or Rutland Telecoms cooperative high speed broadband infrastructure, or finding ways to bridge between small enterprise and big business such as Fintry Development Trust's community purchasing model, the civic economy bridges across gaps.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the civic economy is about recognising and mobilising assets not serving needs. Pam talked about the importance of a positive, inclusive story in how she's engaging communities in learning about food in Todmorden. People want to feel part of the solution, not the problem. Sam emphasised how Livity's success depends on their open, inclusive approach to working with young people - building and using their skills to grow the business.

In an increasingly decentralised policy context, with the government stirring debate about the role and potential of the Big Society, this feels like exactly the right time to be reflecting on these questions - how the civic economy can come to be more than the work of the few, and the resources and support needed to help it grow. We do hope you remain part of the conversation.