The Challenge
Through our consultation work with Exeter City Futures, a potential requirement was highlighted around support for social enterprise and individuals in Exeter that built the capacity for project development and delivery against the Net Zero Exeter 2030 Plan.
Exeter City Futures wanted to build on its engagement learning over the past 4+ years and work to further raise funds to support local changemakers and boost their capability, resilience and confidence to discourse with, and influence city stakeholders and policy makers.
Our Solution
Global City Futures led the co-ordination and submission of a bid for grant funding to The National Lottery Community Fund, on behalf of Exeter City Futures. This funding was intended to build on Exeter City Futures’ successful community engagement and Connect Events to date and develop a social development programme to support communities to build local change projects.
Contact UsWith this funding Exeter City Futures are delivering the following work packages:
Work Package 1: Connect Events
Strengthen Exeter City Futures’ Connect events by bringing together businesses, communities, and local authorities to define shared challenges, build joint solutions, and champion a collaborative approach across the city.
Work Package 2: Innovation Toolkit
Share Exeter City Futures’ Innovation Approach by publishing a toolkit that can be made available to all city communities and changemakers.
Work Package 3: Research Social Enterprise
Develop a social enterprise and community development support programme for local changemakers to build sustainable projects that align with the Net Zero Exeter 2030 Plan.
This bid was based on community engagement work already delivered by Global City Futures through Exeter City Futures (CIC) in the following areas:
- Engagement activities with individuals, communities, businesses and local authorities to design and deliver the Net Zero Exeter 2030 Plan.
- Community engagement within the ward of Heavitree to support communities to use data as evidence to problem solve community issues relating to congestion and energy challenges in partnership with Exeter City Council and the University of Exeter
- Exploring Crowdfunding as a tool for engaging communities as changemakers
- Piloting a skills-based programme for communities to develop local projects
The Result
Start date September: 2019
Completion Date: August 2022
Value: £250,000
Year 1 priority delivery is as follows:
- Research on social enterprise and community development in Exeter
- Preparation of an innovation toolkit to support communities in evidencing problems and developing solutions
- Ongoing delivery of networking Connect events
Project Lead, Partners & Stakeholders
