WORK UNDERWAY
We are working with partners in Grimsby and nationally to bring Our Future to life
Our Future is starting in Grimsby
We are working with citizens in Grimsby and the wider region to test the model and bring it to life. We are:
Building the collaboration - bringing people together who are already building a brighter future
Mobilising people - working alongside community organisers who are engaging people across the area to make change
New resources - bringing new funding, networks and expertise to the town to support the work underway, including creating a network of Grimsby diaspora who are committed to the region’s future
Developing the approach - building an understanding of what is needed to support citizens to bring about the future they want for Grimsby, and identifying the opportunities for change.
The initiative is rooted in Grimsby Town Football Club which has a central role in the community and is supporting the work underway.
Our Future is working to create wider change
Alongside the work in Grimsby we are also developing the model with wider applicability to other towns in the UK or further afield. To do this we are working with partners to develop:
Funding model that provides the right sort of money over the long term to ensure citizens have the resources they need to build the future
Operating model that brings together people, the resources and funding they need to deliver holistic change in the area
Citizen power and governance model to ensure that citizens have power and agency in driving the future in their community
Impact measurement framework for measuring the change that is underway to ensure accountability and transparency
What we’ve been doing and thinking
Change
Thoughts from Emily Bolton on her personal story and motivations in setting up Our Future
5th October 2022
Our Future Open House event
Themes from the open house event in Grimsby in November 2022
12th January 2023
Our Future in the Financial Times
The work of Our Future was cited in the FT as an example of how left behind towns are transforming their own futures and how we can think about money differently.
20 February 2023
Our Future in the Guardian
Our co-founder Jason Stockwood shares the link between the transformation underway in football and the development of Our Future. He explains how Our Future is mobilising the power of the football club to harness people’s love of home and build a better future, and the critical role of the club spanning the proud history of the town and hope for the future.
24 February 2023
The Change Underway in Grimsby
Guardian journalist Louise Taylor writes about the shifting narrative people are creating for Grimsby through a network of interconnected initiatives.
17 March 2023
Building Our Future - notes from 27th Feb Gathering
Notes from the Our Future model workshop and social event held at Grimsby Town Football Club.
27 February 2023
Reasons to be Cheerful
Emily Bolton features on the penultimate Reasons to be Cheerful Podcast talking about Our Future and the change underway in Grimsby and NE Lincs.
6 November 2023
Our Future in UCL Policy Lab Magazine
UCL Policy Lab came to visit us in Grimsby to discuss the work underway across the town.
2 October 2023
