Application guidance for Building Alternative Economic Models in Birmingham

Through our Economic Justice programme, we are supporting the building of a movement for economic transformation in Birmingham. We believe that successful movements offer alternatives to the current system, as well as campaign for change. 

This strand of our programme will support a small number of bold experiments to develop alternatives to the mainstream economy.  We are interested in hearing from organisations working in Birmingham that are testing or building alternative economic models that have potential for deep, long-term and sustainable change to create a more equitable economy in the city.   

To be eligible for funding you must be working on an approach with potential for systems change beyond your own organisation.  Examples of such approaches include practical demonstrations of alternative economic models such as  Doughnut Economics  and  Community Wealth Building, or approaches such as  Commoning that give local people, particularly those further from power, more access to and control over assets.  Those we fund will also be actively working for systems change outside their own organisations. 

 We will not fund: 

• services that support individuals within the current system (for example employment support, advice work or access to services, food banks) 

• academic research 

• work which will only benefit a single organisation (for example grants to individual social enterprises to grow their work)  

• work that does not demonstrate an alternative to the current economic system that could be adopted by others.