About | The Marshall Plan for Civic Life

There is now broad support for the need to revive civic life across Britain. Over many decades, the clubs, associations, mutual networks, and infrastructure of a thriving civic life have been depleted. We are now paying the price for this - in mental and physical ill-health, struggling public services, and a fractured and volatile culture and politics.

We also now know better what the work of civic renewal entails. 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. There are also many lessons to learn from 15 years of pioneering practice in communities across Britain, and from programmes like Power to Change and Big Local.

For all of these insights, one key question has remained largely unanswered: how do we pay for the work of civic renewal? Such a long-running and broad decline can only be reversed by a multi-billion pound effort, sustained over a decade and more. Funding must also be secure, moving us beyond a world in which community groups survive by piecing together short-term grants and contracts, living forever on the edge of closure.

The Marshall Plan for CIvic Life is a landmark programme of research and deliberation to develop a funding settlement for the work of civic renewal. We will explore a range of financing mechanisms, looking at international examples and the history of the civic sphere in Britain to identify the most promising options. We will also explore the impacts of different mechanisms on the resilience of the settlement. And we will explore how different funding options could help to shape culture and behaviour, for example by supporting community wealth and ownership and fostering pride in local places.

As well as exploring funding mechanisms, we will work with others to develop an overall philosophy and framework, learning from the power of the original Marshall Plan. The framework is not just a practical structure for funding, but an underpinning logic about how all actors - state, citizens, private sector and civil society - can collaborate on national renewal. It is the foundation for a new deal - a way for the system to come together to rebuild civic life in Britain, from the ground up.

The programme is led by Kinship Works and Demos, with seed-funding from This Day and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. We are building a coalition of funders, practitioners, and policymakers. If you would like to find out more or get involved, please get in touch.

There is now broad support for the need to revive civic life across Britain. Over many decades, the clubs, associations, mutual networks, and infrastructure of a thriving civic life have been depleted. We are now paying the price for this - in mental and physical ill-health, struggling public services, and a fractured and volatile culture and politics.

We also now know better what the work of civic renewal entails. 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. There are also many lessons to learn from 15 years of pioneering practice in communities across Britain, and from programmes like Power to Change and Big Local.

For all of these insights, one key question has remained largely unanswered: how do we pay for the work of civic renewal? Such a long-running and broad decline can only be reversed by a multi-billion pound effort, sustained over a decade and more. Funding must also be secure, moving us beyond a world in which community groups survive by piecing together short-term grants and contracts, living forever on the edge of closure.

The Marshall Plan for CIvic Life is a landmark programme of research and deliberation to develop a funding settlement for the work of civic renewal. We will explore a range of financing mechanisms, looking at international examples and the history of the civic sphere in Britain to identify the most promising options. We will also explore the impacts of different mechanisms on the resilience of the settlement. And we will explore how different funding options could help to shape culture and behaviour, for example by supporting community wealth and ownership and fostering pride in local places.

As well as exploring funding mechanisms, we will work with others to develop an overall philosophy and framework, learning from the power of the original Marshall Plan. The framework is not just a practical structure for funding, but an underpinning logic about how all actors - state, citizens, private sector and civil society - can collaborate on national renewal. It is the foundation for a new deal - a way for the system to come together to rebuild civic life in Britain, from the ground up.

The programme is led by Kinship Works and Demos, with seed-funding from This Day and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. We are building a coalition of funders, practitioners, and policymakers. If you would like to find out more or get involved, please get in touch.

There is now broad support for the need to revive civic life across Britain. Over many decades, the clubs, associations, mutual networks, and infrastructure of a thriving civic life have been depleted. We are now paying the price for this - in mental and physical ill-health, struggling public services, and a fractured and volatile culture and politics.

We also now know better what the work of civic renewal entails. 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. There are also many lessons to learn from 15 years of pioneering practice in communities across Britain, and from programmes like Power to Change and Big Local.

For all of these insights, one key question has remained largely unanswered: how do we pay for the work of civic renewal? Such a long-running and broad decline can only be reversed by a multi-billion pound effort, sustained over a decade and more. Funding must also be secure, moving us beyond a world in which community groups survive by piecing together short-term grants and contracts, living forever on the edge of closure.

The Marshall Plan for CIvic Life is a landmark programme of research and deliberation to develop a funding settlement for the work of civic renewal. We will explore a range of financing mechanisms, looking at international examples and the history of the civic sphere in Britain to identify the most promising options. We will also explore the impacts of different mechanisms on the resilience of the settlement. And we will explore how different funding options could help to shape culture and behaviour, for example by supporting community wealth and ownership and fostering pride in local places.

As well as exploring funding mechanisms, we will work with others to develop an overall philosophy and framework, learning from the power of the original Marshall Plan. The framework is not just a practical structure for funding, but an underpinning logic about how all actors - state, citizens, private sector and civil society - can collaborate on national renewal. It is the foundation for a new deal - a way for the system to come together to rebuild civic life in Britain, from the ground up.

The programme is led by Kinship Works and Demos, with seed-funding from This Day and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. We are building a coalition of funders, practitioners, and policymakers. If you would like to find out more or get involved, please get in touch.