Economics with People
Volume 4: Chapter 12: Reflecting on the past 12 months.
Where have we got to and where are we going?
A reflective chapter:
For our 12th chapter, after one year of blogs in this series, we thought it would be a great time to reflect on where we are now and how we got here, as well as parts of the journey that have not quite fitted in to the chapters we shared so far.
Working in Salford, with Salford people, we were experiencing in real time both the opportunities and potential that comes with economic development alongside the persistent wealth and health inequalities across the city. Salford recognised that economic determinants have a crucial impact on overall health and well-being, and wanted to make lasting changes. With funding the Health Foundation, we started the Economies for Healthier Lives project in April 2022.
You will know from previous chapters in this series that community wealth building felt like the best approach for Salford. We were inspired by other places both in the U.K. and internationally that had already started their own community wealth building journey. As co-production with local people is at the root of social and economic innovation for us, we wanted to make sure this was a key element of our community wealth building work, in addition to what we wanted to achieve with local anchor institutions.
In chapter 4 and chapter 5, we shared how we got started on both the work with local people and the local anchor institutions so we recommend revisiting these chapters if you are interested in this.
On reflection, factors that worked well during that time were having clear mission and values, identifying people to participate who shared our ambitions, and understanding the target area and demographics, so these could be accurately reflected in the work. These points were relevant to both the local people and agencies who got involved. We focused on two areas of Salford (Little Hulton and north Walkden) and decided on a cross-sectoral approach to the local anchor institutions. This felt right for us to benefit from the footprint of private, public and VCFSE organisations in areas of Salford that had experienced the fewest benefits from the city’s economic development. This is worth considering before embarking on your own community wealth building journey. Consistency in mission and values throughout helps to navigate the rockier stages where progress slows and challenges arise.
As with all things new, not everything works out exactly as planned or as hoped for. At Unlimited Potential, we are familiar with the ups and downs of innovation processes, but are reminded there are storms to be weathered each time. Changes to stakeholder priorities and engagement, local people faced with economic opportunities that are brand new or unexpected, and changes to the project team itself. We found the mitigating factors in all of these instances were the relationships we built, some good will of those involved (back to values!) and identifying the right people at the right level to participate, who are also driven by system change and ready to try a new approach. Where we have had senior decision and policy makers on board, progress has happened.
It is difficult to say what we might do differently if we were to start again, as we are where we are because of what we have tried and tested. We would, however, recommend considering the infrastructure and availability of what exists locally to grow the social economy and support those wanting to set up their own social and co-operative businesses, especially with regard to financial support for set-up and capital costs. This is a real barrier for those without connections to family or other businesses, access to capital funds or good financial literacy. What is available locally will differ and make a big difference to the pace at which social and co-operative businesses can set up and operate.
At present, Salford is in a really strong position. A very receptive environment to community wealth building and economic change has been cultivated, at a time where more economic development in the city is anticipated. Over the past two years, Public Health and Economic Development professionals have spent more time together learning and understanding where their work and priorities interconnect and what they might do collectively to create a fairer, greener, healthier city with a more equitable spread of wealth.
We are starting to reap the fruits and flowers of the seeds we have sown. For example, in July 2024, as a result of the work of the new Salford Local Anchors Network, Salford City Council included in its new Corporate Plan a commitment on progressive procurement to “work with the city’s other anchor institutions to ensure every pound spent in Salford is maximised for local benefit, including … to increase the amount of money the council spends with local SMEs and social businesses to support the wider growth of the social economy in the city.”
Having explored business and contract opportunities through exploration and co-production with local anchor institutions, the young adults participating in the project are now looking to set up two new social businesses. They are learning about resourcing and running a social business. This is a lengthy and continuing process that has been both helped and hindered by what is available locally and to what the participants have access.
We have come far towards both demand by local anchor institutions and developing social and co-operative businesses as new suppliers. The immediate future is to have not only trading social businesses firmly in the supply chains of local anchor institutions, but also a committed and ambitious local anchors network in Salford that harnesses their power and wealth. The local anchor institutions are planning on priorities such as workforce and fair employment, progressive procurement, and making financial power work for local places.
Policy and system change are also in our sights. We are part of the team refreshing The Salford Way (Salford’s strategy to tackle inequalities), which is absorbing our learning from Economies for Healthier Lives. Our insights are valued and trusted and our work is recognised as a key activity in achieving an inclusive and green economy for the city. We continue to advocate for policy and action that will make Salford fairer, greener and healthier and to provide examples of what this looks like for local people and local anchor institutions.
Being within the wider context of Greater Manchester brings both interesting prospects and a different set of challenges. We have shared our learning, in particular, towards Live Well, Greater Manchester’s movement for community-led health and well-being. We also want to share our learning with the nine other boroughs in Greater Manchester, each of which has a different economic and demographic profile to Salford.
We often find ourselves repeating “trust the process”. We encourage others to remain patient, even where change is slow and obscured.
Drawing on our experience, some key recommendations for nurturing an inclusive and green economy are:
· Greater collaboration between public health and planning teams - embedding health into planning or regeneration projects from the outset, and economic development into public health strategies.
· Reimagine the purpose of the places we live, work and spend time in - what can we use these for and how could we make them work for everyone?
· Create an infrastructure that supports the development of the social economy, especially for those who have little or no control and ownership of wealth.
· Embed community wealth building into policy and strategy.
· Establish a consistent approach that reduces extractive economics and embraces inclusive economics.
This is our last chapter of this series. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for reading and taking an interest in our work. We have enjoyed sharing as much of the journey as we could on Substack but always willing to share more. If any of the chapters have resonated with you, or you want to know more about a particular stage or experience we really encourage you to reach out to us by email at ehl@unlimitedpotential.org.uk.
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