Mainstreaming Community Economic Development is a major strand of Localise West Midlands‘ work that explores and supports an economic development approach based on making the most of local enterprise, existing business supply chains, networks, community assets and human potential – for better shared prosperity and better places.
Research from Localise West Midlands in 2012/2013 demonstrated the significant benefits of more locally-owned economies in creating successful, socially just and diverse places, and highlighted how a locally-focused approach can be fully integrated into conventional economic development.
LWM then secured funding from Barrow Cadbury Trust and others to continue this work from November 2013 to October 2014 in a number of ways:
- Engage and discuss the opportunities offered by Mainstreaming Community Economic Development with project managers, policy makers and politicians
- Develop an informal learning network of practitioners to provide the opportunity for shared learning and wider implementation
- Work with partners to bring community economic development into the mainstream by testing its feasibility and ease of implementation in the West Midlands – including exploring collaboration opportunities with West Midlands retrofit SMEs, and working with the Right Care Right Here initiative in Birmingham and Sandwell.
- Monitor and evaluate the impact of the mainstreaming community economic development approach and the implications for future learning and implementation. This will include action research with organisations from the private, social and public sectors.
We are now working on a third phase of the project, also funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, aimed at working directly with specific groups and projects on this agenda, More can be found on our website below.
These Localising Prosperity webpages provide a resource for all types of organisation to explore the potential of this approach.
If you are interested in finding out more or getting involved in this work, for example, becoming a case study or joining one of our networks, or if we can help you develop ideas, please get in touch:
See the Mainstreaming Community Economic Development project webpages on LWM’s site, including links to the initial research.
Email us or call us on 0121 685 1155
Twitter: @localisewm #mainstreamingced
What people say about Mainstreaming CED
Localise West Midlands, The Warehouse, 54-57 Allison Street
Digbeth, B5 5TH