Blogs written by us, on either our site or an external site
A new paper examining Shared Future’s Leeds Climate Change Citizens Jury highlights the co-benefits of deliberation, writes SF Director Jez Hall. Local authorities wanting to achieve meaningful carbon reduction, are increasingly turning towards public engagement. Shared Future is part of this, having delivered a wide range of
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The pandemic interrupted the use of participatory budgeting (PB) programmes, but we believe there is a growing appetite to restart them post-Covid, especially grant making PB programmes. While grant making PB certainly has benefits, there are pitfalls too, says Shared Future Director Jez Hall in this end of year opinion piece. The work for Shared Future, he adds, is to suggest ways to make the transition from PB grant-making to consider the larger ‘mainstream’ budgets and reach the ideal situation where we have both.
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We sort the recommendations from six citizens’ processes into broad themes to find the top five most frequently mentioned climate policy asks.
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Katy Rubin reflects on Democracy Pioneers, a project to engage Glasgow’s policymakers on climate change through theatre.
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Few would deny the legitimacy of deliberative democratic processes. Citizens’ assemblies – or citizens’ juries, which have fewer participants – can provide a mandate for politicians to take action commensurate with the scale of the problems at hand. They reflect the diversity of the local population and
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The role of young people as independent actors in their own right, able to define and become architects of their future has changed over the years. In thinking this through, we might look back and reflect on how the concept of youth participation has evolved over the decades since the student led protest movements of the 1960s. Much has changed. In a series of 5 short blogs Jez Hall looks at emerging democratic innovations.
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In springtime Shared Future Director Jez Hall is feeling hopeful. In our Easter blog he reflects on the behaviours that build a good society:
Altruism, democracy and stewardship.
Relating back these big themes to the work we do at Shared Future on local democracy, climate change and to support mutual aid. And it all started with a dream.
There are two viruses affecting our world. The Covid19 pandemic and racism. One natural, one manmade. Both affecting some more than others. People centred approaches are at the heart of building back better. Public bodies can support and enable resilient communities and tackle social injustice by putting public money at the disposal of citizens; to better serve their needs, and to rebuild trust in our government and between people.
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We’re excited to see the birth of numerous new community led mutual aid groups eager to help their neighbours. Every neighbourhood has tremendous people with untapped skills and experience.
When we join together we are a vital lifeline for those who are bearing the brunt of Covid-19; whether for those physically distancing themselves or those who might not have access to the support they need in this crisis.
Getting and keeping people together is however sometimes easier said than done. At Shared Future our long experience of community development and community organising suggests that there are certain things to be thinking about when undertaking a much-needed community-led response.
It’s the season to be celebrating with our friends, neighbours and families. As we wrap up another year ( and it’s the 10th Christmas since we formed Shared Future CIC) we have been reflecting on what has changed, and why the idea of a shared future remains close to our heart. Together we are stronger.
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