Communities speaking up: reclaiming their rights and building the future
The systems of power across the world are clearly in a state of flux. Institutions, those in government and leading are working to reimagine themselves in an age where gaining trust from those they represent is hard won, however we’re seeing communities step into the gaps where figures of authority haven’t yet risen to the challenge.
Communities, from local grassroots movements to volunteers and community leaders are also driving their own change. People are taking charge of their futures, demanding recognition, and seeking to affect the social, political, and economic structures that affect their lives both at a local and a national level.
A concept that the Institute for Global Prosperity has long since advocated for, in the knowledge that meaningful change isn’t something imposed from the top down but built in partnership with communities.
We established the Citizen Science Academy, to empower individuals in the community to lead research and listening efforts that tell the stories of local people and their view of what prosperity looks like for them. This has built a movement of community champions, who are certified social scientists across London and beyond.
Working together with Compost London, LBN and the Institute for Global Prosperity, the We are Newham Network recently secured £1m to upskill marginalised communities and shape better-informed policy. The project aims to support marginalised groups to identify and address their own research needs, shifting power to the community, and reversing traditional research dynamics. Building capacity for grassroots research and action in East London is just one example of how we can help communities to find their voices again.
The Citizen Science Academy is leading research gathering social and environmental insights at a local level but also across the UK and internationally. To mark World Water Monitoring Day, volunteers across the UK use pre-built testing kits to collect local data on water quality.
In Newham, citizen scientists have worked directly with developers creating new housing to inform plans and ensure the works planned contribute to the community for local people and factor in their needs. In a longer term sense, the 10-year longitudinal study tracing the effects of urban regeneration on local communities in east London, citizen scientists are building a picture of what Prosperity in East London looks like between 2021-2031.
Various projects born from the Citizen Science Academy, often imagined and led by citizen scientists themselves involve individuals not only speaking up about issues but moving outcomes too - bringing real change on core societal issues.
Thankfully, communities and individuals who want a say in their local area have better opportunities to be involved in policy change, local plans and their future. More needs to be done but the truth is that in many places if communities aren’t invited into conversations with those in ‘power’, they are building their own tables, their own platforms, and their own institutions. This shift is not only about empowering marginalised voices but also ensuring that change is more sustainable, grounded in lived experiences, and accountable to those it aims to serve.
As these examples illustrate, a transformation in the way power operates in society is possible. There is hope for change, a change that we can all be part of building. Communities are no longer passive recipients of change—they are the architects of their own destinies.