Building a sharing economy with a social purpose
PRESS RELEASE
A sharing economy with a social purpose: Nesta announces ShareLab Fund grantees
Training refugees as language tutors and a community car scheme to tackle rural isolation are among the eight projects to be funded by the ShareLab Fund, it was announced today. Through the programme, innovation foundation Nesta will support and develop collaborative economy platforms that can support public services and create social impact.
The collaborative economy is defined as using digital technologies to share things we already have access to - whether goods, services, knowledge or skills. It is often referred to as ‘the sharing economy’ and popular because of businesses like Uber, Airbnb and TaskRabbit. However, apps and platforms based on the premise of addressing social and environmental needs are still in their infancy.
To encourage further innovation and grow the evidence-base, each ShareLab Fund project will receive up to £40,000 and additional non-financial business support from Nesta over eight months. The eight projects are:
Helen Goulden, Executive Director, Innovation Lab at Nesta, comments: “The ideas funded through ShareLab show that the collaborative economy has many practical applications beyond just finding a place to stay or getting a cab ride. We see great potential in these innovations to help alleviate some of the pressure on local governments, addressing the real needs of people, families and communities.”
Last November, Nesta research(1) revealed an untapped market for platforms with a social purpose - nearly 45 million British adults are not aware of how sharing economy technologies can help them access social support services, or support community causes.
To find out more about the programme and the grantees, visit: www.nesta.org.uk
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For more information contact Kasia Murphy in Nesta’s press office on 020 7438 2610/2543 or 079 2980 0765, or by email on: [email protected]
Footnotes:
1. TNS Global interviewed 2,445 British adults online between 13th and 20th October 2016. Data were weighted by age, gender, region, socio-economic grade and education to be representative of all adults in each country. Data were weighted by age, gender, region, education and socio-economic grade to be representative of all British adults aged 16+ The research was commissioned by Nesta.
About Nesta: Nesta is a global innovation foundation. We back new ideas to tackle the big challenges of our time, making use of our knowledge, networks, funding and skills. We work in partnership with others, including governments, businesses and charities. We are a UK charity that works all over the world, supported by a financial endowment. To find out more visit www.nesta.org.uk
Nesta is a registered charity in England and Wales 1144091 and Scotland SC042833.