Local Action Network is designed to help inspire, train, connect and support a new generation of community and social entrepreneurs.
Local Action Network is designed to help inspire, train, connect and support a new generation of community and social entrepreneurs.

Introduction from Liam Byrne

Thu, 18/03/2010 - 12:29am

 
The Local Action Network aims to inspire, train, connect and support a new generation   of progressive activists and social entrepreneurs who want to bring change to streets and communities where they live and work, helping turn ideas into action. It works by acting as a forum to air ideas, and connect to advice or help or inspiration or people who have done it before.
 

Town First and Visit Huddersfield

Thu, 18/03/2010 - 2:26am

Town First was initially a campaign group which was set up by a group of Green and Labour party activists in Huddersfield, including small local businesses, community groups and concerned citizens who opposed the development of a local hypermarket in 2008. However very soon it developed another purpose. The local businesses felt threatened by the expansion of multinationals’ supermarket branches in their town and so they kicked off their own fundraising drive for the group.
 

Social Capital Huddersfield

Thu, 18/03/2010 - 2:02am

Social Capital Huddersfield emerged when a small group of young Labour party supporters left a branch meeting feeling that they wanted to do something more dynamic than campaigning in the normal way. They wanted to reach out to younger people who were politically minded, and even progressive but not necessarily Labour party members.
 

Community Energy

Fri, 12/03/2010 - 5:25pm

Community Energy is voluntary website which serves as an information portal on sustainability and a forum for debate and discussion.

In 2005, a group of Labour Party and Green Party activists as well as non-party political campaigners from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth came together to set up the website.

One of the founders spoke to his neighbour who was a web designer who advised him on how to develop the concept, including the suggestion to embed a blog into the website to promote discussion.

Car Park Cricket

Fri, 12/03/2010 - 5:18pm

Paddock Cricket Club in Huddersfield has just been nominated for a national award for their ground-breaking community initiative, Car Park Cricket.

The club exists in a deprived area of Huddersfield and it has only continued to exist because of the dedication of its members and it frequently being active in the local community.

Stella Creasy - Putting the Social Back into Socialism: The Progressive Case for Street Parties

Thu, 29/10/2009 - 12:17pm - Author: site editor

As we head towards the next election everyone is seeking big ideas. But sometimes the micro can be as progressive as much as the macro.

The argument of this article can be summed up as social justice would be well served if we did more to support street parties. Street parties? Admittedly not in the same league as the NHS or a universal minimum wage. However, the left overlooks the importance of strengthening everyday communal life at its peril.

Brentford Farmers' Market

Mon, 31/08/2009 - 4:58pm

The idea of a farmers market in Brentford developed from a campaign for the Greater London Assembly. Seema Malhotra and Matt Harmer among others, while campaigning on the Borough’s doorsteps noticed a growing problem that residents did not have access to good quality food. Those who lived in social housing in the Borough did not have access to places where they could buy fresh food at low cost. The organisers considered that a local marketplace could also provide a community focus which was until then absent.

Friends of Boston Manor

Mon, 31/08/2009 - 2:31pm

As I sat and waited at a table in the cafe, Linda Massey served customers at the counter. She runs the cafe single-handedly with a group of dedicated volunteers. While the cafe is in a small single-storied pavilion in the park no bigger than a kitchen, it has become a focal point for the community around Brentford’s Boston Manor Park. Yet the Pavilion Cafe is only peripheral to the main purpose of her story, or rather that of the Friends of Boston Manor.

Cabinet Office Launches Funding Central

Wed, 05/08/2009 - 6:47pm

The Funding Central website was launched on 17th June 2009 as a joint project of the Cabinet Office’s Office of the Third Sector and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO). The website acts as a comprehensive guide to government and EU funding for charities. The website contains information on funding for the whole voluntary and community sector, including social entrepreneurship, including 4000 available grants and opportunities.

The Evolution Centre - Basharat Dadd

Wed, 05/08/2009 - 5:39pm

The open window and sleek shop-front to the evolution centre are a fitting place to meet Basharat Dadd the community activist, youth worker and social entrepreneur behind the multitude of projects that make up the work of The Evolution Centre in Washwood Heath, Birmingham.

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