Announcing a Marshall Plan for Civic Life

There is a growing movement for civic renewal, with broad political support. But one question remains unanswered: how do we fund this work at the scale required?

Announcing a landmark programme of research and deliberation to develop a funding settlement for civic renewal.

This is a time of division and fractures, both between political parties and within them. Yet there is a growing consensus that national renewal in Britain cannot happen without a revitalisation of civic life.

We do not get a consensus like this unless people are pulled there by deep tides of history and evidence. In a recent report, Kinship Works documented the many reasons that investment in community life is now so urgent. There is also an increasingly strong evidence base showing that when a nation’s communities are depleted, so is its economy.

The movement for civic renewal has not only gained momentum because it is needed, but also because we are now much clearer what the work entails. In the last few years, we have seen the emergence of a communitarian statecraft — a way to use the power of the state and public institutions to foster thriving communities. Thanks to 15 years plus of pioneering practice, and programmes like Power to Change and Big Local, we know how to do this work well, and we also know how the state needs to show up in order to support it.

Now, we need to answer; can we fund civic work in a way that in itself strengthens communities? Are there financial tools that give people true ownership, and a felt sense of ownership, over work to revive their local communities, or that amplify the pride and belonging we each feel towards the places in which we live?

To tackle these questions, Kinship Works and Demos are launching a landmark programme of research and deliberation: the Marshall Plan for Civic Life. The work starts with seed-funding from This Day and Joseph Rowntree Foundation, but this is the beginning; we want to build a broad coalition, with other partners, funders, and collaborators.

📩  Interested? We want to hear from you! Get in touch with us here.

❓Want to know more? Read the full announcement blog here – by Chief Executive, Polly Curtis, and Demos Trustee and Convenor of Kinship Works, James Plunkett.