REconomy

Objectives

We are working with 10 Transition Initiatives (TIs) during 2011 to help them to define then acquire and strengthen the skills they need to:

• Engage their existing local businesses and organisations in discussions about the Transition issues, the implications and the potential solutions (which might include, but certainly aren’t limited to, TTandC’s services); and
• Stimulate the start-up of Transition Enterprises that can take advantage of the low-carbon and re-localised markets, and shape a more sustainable and equitable local economy.

To provide a means to estimate the economic potential of a local Transition economy and its local assets, skills and other resources, and explore how this can be used to best effect to engage all the relevant players in a co-ordinated and prioritised set of activities to deliver this potential (we are working with 3 of the TIs on this - see more info here)

To research relevant thinking and its practical application, and lessons learned so far.

To consult with participating TIs, the wider TN, and other partners and organisations in this field, and signpost to current services as appropriate.

To enable monitoring and evaluation of the project and its outcomes.

To experiment with different knowledge dissemination techniques.

To share our resources and learnings with the Transition Network and our partners (and beyond).

To secure funding for subsequent project phases and ideally, some funding for the new social enterprises directly.

Note: clearly social enterprise has been around for a long time, and there are a number of organisations offering help and support. We are not looking to duplicate services/support/partners that already exist, but to sign-post/broker/package/partner as appropriate and accelerate take-up within transition communities in particular.

What the project will create

• A shared project web-based workspace where everyone can access resources and share information and stories
• A definition of ‘Transition Enterprise’ i.e. social enterprise in the context of Transition
• A generic vision of ‘a resilient local economy’ in the context of Transition, and a specific version of this for each project TI where useful, along with a ‘what next’ 12 month plan
• A ‘Business Case for Transition’, backed by referenced research and case studies, the components of which can be reassembled into different versions for different sectors, for example
• A generic process which can be used to estimate the value of a new Transition Economy
• A web-based set of knowledge and resources for use by project TIs (TN and others), delivered in a number of ways (e.g. workshops, webinars etc.) to engage existing businesses and organisations and stimulate Transition Enterprises
• A methodology for TIs to evaluate progress towards their vision (with indicators fairly consistent across the TN)

Why are we doing this? Desired longer-term outcomes...

TTandC’s remit is to help increase the number of successful, sustainable, profitable local businesses and enterprises, within a resilient local economy, which:
 

1. Recognise resource and energy limits, and explore steady state or de-growth scenarios;
2. Move to re-localisation, where appropriate;
3. Consider a new type of business-social contract, where the marketplace and businesses are fair, and serve the public good;
4. Move towards shared equity and a wide range ownership models, including community ownership and limited multiples of salary levels.

Benefits

The benefits of these outcomes are reduced environmental and carbon emission impacts, stronger more resilient local economies that serve the true needs of the community, and reduced income/wealth disparity, the major source of societal problems today.

There are 3 levels of beneficiaries:

* The immediate direct beneficiaries will be the transition initiatives that will acquire the skills, knowledge, confidence and means to engage their local businesses and other organisations with local resilience-building activity, including the stimulation of new sustainable enterprise that serves the community;

* As a result of this engagement, the local businesses and organisations will have access to information and services that will help them understand the risks of continuing a business as usual model, understand which options will reduce these risks, and so are more likely to thrive in a low-carbon more localised economy. New businesses and social enterprises will provide new jobs for local people.

* Thus the community benefits from a stronger more sustainable local economy, and more control over their livelihoods and availability of goods and services; and

If the engagement process works, and demand is created, Transition Network can deliver ‘resilience-building’ services for a reasonable fee, paying local people as well as helping to secure its own financial sustainability.

Project evaluation 

Processes will be put in place to monitor/evaluate for example:

Project performance - on time, on budget, according to plan; Achievement of project objectives; Effectiveness of workshops, training, toolkits, webinars etc.

REconomy outcomes for TIs - Impacts on the TIs – are they proceeding towards their vision, and achieving their own REconomy objectives?; Key factors influencing the TIs success; This will link directly to the wider TN project for evaluation and monitoring, currently in planning.

Participating Transition Initiatives 

1. Transition Durham 
2. Transition Omagh, N.Ireland 
3. Sustainable Thornbury (near Bristol) 
4. Transition Hereford (also a rural hub) 
5. Transition Manchester 
6. Transition Leicester 
7. North Howe Transition Toun (Scotland) 
8. Transition Town Totnes 
9. Transition Finsbury Park, London 
10. Transition Ipswich

To see all of these TIs on a map, along with other TIs that have expressed an interest in joining future rounds of the project, please see this google map.

Summary of proposed project activities 

1. Research & consultation stage (by end of June 2011)

• All attended Social Enterprise In Action workshop to begin the work to understand the opportunities, needs and barriers facing the TIs, what we mean by social enterprise and what a new local transition economy might look like.
• Working with the TIs to produce their own vision of an ‘ideal transition local economy’ (what does it do, what does it include, what does it look like, how does it work etc.) and a 12 month plan for working towards this vision. 
• Identify what support the TIs want in implementing their plans, and how they prefer this support to be provided.
• From the TIs, the Transition Network and beyond, the team collated current knowledge about innovative and effective business engagement, and new enterprise start-up at the local community level.

2. Development stage (by end of Nov 2011) – informed by the research stage...

• Develop overall services map, based on the different journeys that people might take.
• Develop resources/toolkit for ‘How to engage local businesses’ or signpost to partner resources.
• Develop resources/toolkit for ‘How to stimulate new Transition Enterprise’ or signpost to partner resources.
• Develop process for Economic Evaluation work
• Pilot toolkits and delivery techniques and adjust as needed.

3. Delivery and support stage (from Dec 2011)

• Deliver resources/toolkits to the 10 TIs and others.
• Ongoing support as resources permit.

4. Co-ordination and sharing (ongoing), and project continuity.

General project management activities, sharing finding and outputs across the TN and beyond.

We have used the term ‘business’ here but include, as appropriate, all types of private, public and third-sector organisations.

If you are interested in being kept informed about this project, please join our project workspace here.