Tag: regeneration

A Regenerated World

Kate Raworth’s work on the Doughnut Economy over the last few years has been nothing short of extraordinary. She has torn up the economic text books of the last 150 years and asked some much better and kinder questions about the future we need. It is so exciting to read that in collaboration with Janine Benyus, using biomimicry, the model is now being implemented in the City of Amsterdam. It opens up a world of possibility for a reimagined future, in which our world becomes regenerated for both people and the planet itself.

 

Kate’s book and then her blog deserve serious attention and, in my opinion, a Nobel Prize! There is no way in this short blog that I can even begin to explore the exponential potential of the work, but I do want to highlight some of the key issues. So many people are saying that we simply can’t go back to how things were prior to Covid-19. If we’re serious about that statement then we need to begin thinking about how we will experiment with alternative models and ways of being together that will be good for the future of the environment and create a much more socially just framework for the global family of humanity. I love this model that Kate offers in thinking about what is important for a place – it contains four key aspects. Local/Global – Social/Ecological.

 

We can apply this model to any city or given area, and it allows the people of that place to work with the uniqueness of their geography and demography. I believe it is a really helpful and holistic model when thinking about population and planetary health.

 

There are then several aspects if a group wish to move from understanding their region to bringing about transformative action. Kate calls these the 8 M’s.

 

 

The model then includes 4 really helpful sets deeper questions to create the framework around the local/global – social/ecological foundations.

 

Firstly – what does it mean for people to thrive within their own Geography?

 

 

Secondly, what does it mean for the local environment/ecology to thrive and regenerate?

 

Thirdly, how do the local people contribute to the wellbeing of the wider family of humanity? How can they ensure they are good global citizens?

 

 

Fourthly, how does the locality contribute to the wellbeing of the whole planet, by how it behaves?

 

 

This way of working takes serious collaboration, co-production and real change-making. I love the way that Kate illustrates this:

Here in Morecambe Bay, we would employ things like ‘The Poverty Truth Commission’ and ‘The Art of Hosting’ to ensure that every voice is heard and we embrace ‘otherness’. It will involve partnership with the team at ImaginationLancaster, The Social Inequalities Research Centre and the Health Innovation Campus at Lancaster University, Cumbria University, The Eden Project and anchor institutions like our District Councils, County Councils, the NHS, BAE, EDF, School Federations, the CVFS and the network of SMEs. It will also mean developing the kind of culture I talk about here.

 

Out of the ashes of this devastating time, a phoenix can rise of a regenerated society and ecology. Are we up for it? I sincerely hope so and I wonder in how many places this can become possible. We need to create online and then, once lockdown is over, more real, radical spaces of hospitality and collaboration as we work together for the future that is calling us.

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The NHS as an Anchor Institution

The Preston Model of economics has set many heads turning and tongues wagging! If you don’t know the story, it is well worth reading about, as it offers much hope for the future. Alternatively, you can hear Cllr Matthew Brown talking about it here.

 

If the NHS really took on board what it means to be an anchor institution, as the largest employer in the UK, it could have a seismic effect on the economy, the environment, the health and wellbeing of the people and social justice. It is well within the gift and grasp of the NHS for this to become a reality, both locally and nationally and would involve some basic and fairly straightforward changes (and some more slightly complex ones!) Here is a starter for 10:

 

1) Pay everyone in the NHS a living wage

2) Reinvest the NHS pension pot, taking it out of global corporations or off shore tax havens and instead putting it into local infrastructure and regeneration schemes

3) Ensure the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all staff, through developing the 5 ways to wellbeing in the work place and leading by example by ensuring healthy food options for patients and staff. This could also include all staff having 1/2 day per month to volunteer with local charities, communities and schools around health and wellbeing initiatives

4) Create positive discrimination to employ people and offer apprenticeships/training opportunities to people from more economically deprived neighbourhoods (as per Oldham) to help generate more economic wellbeing

5) Only procure from local/regional companies, again to improve local investment and ensure these companies also have a good health and wellbeing strategy for their own staff

6) Take responsibility for developing a green strategy

7) Join with other large local employers to develop this wider strategy and economic development plan, e.g around green transport, job creation and supporting worker cooperatives – this needs to include local councils and universities

8) Be part of the new local bank/credit unions being set up so that new banking systems are more accountable

9) Work with local schools which are struggling, and create healthy school partnerships which both secure the wellbeing of future generations and can create a more committed and secure workforce through new training schemes

10) Support the community voluntary and faith sector with both practical resource and infrastructure support through the primary care networks and integrated partnerships

 

This is by no means an exhaustive list, just a few examples. Imagine, though, what a huge difference it would make if NHS England, every Integrated Care System, each Integrated Care Partnership and every Primary Care Network adopted this kind of plan. We might focus less on the effects of poverty on health and more on what we can do to make a difference to it, because we would be a part of generating wealth and improving health! This takes the NHS into the doughnut and creates an economy of wellbeing – why wouldn’t we do this?! It’s easy to understand and not too hard to implement!

 

 

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Love Economics – Part 2

Posted on by Andy

Tweet When the economic crash of 2008 happened and the banks needed bailing out, the City of Preston in Lancashire, refused to blame the poor or adopt an economics of austerity. Instead, they developed an alternative economy, which is being hailed globally as one of the most exciting possibilities for the future in terms of [Continue Reading …]

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