Inclusive Growth in action

Report

Towns and cities across the UK and the world have in recent years shown real enthusiasm for inclusive growth, against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and persistent inequality.

The RSA Inclusive Growth Commission set out a vision for a new type of economy. The challenge has been to translate the interest in inclusive growth into tangible and practical change on the ground.

This report sets out a new account of inclusive growth based on four key dimensions: Livelihoods, Wealth, Voice and Futures.

We present eight global examples of initiatives that are applying these dimensions in a practical and systematic way.

The case studies include:

  • WorkAdvance: A highly effective labour market programme for getting those on low incomes into good quality work
  • Community Solutions: A new model for delivering local public services that focuses on prevention and early action, including economic inclusion
  • Economic Gardening: An approach to local economic development that eschews the ‘hunting’ strategies of the past (wooing corporates with incentives) and focuses instead on growing from within
  • Community Wealth Building: Addressing structural inequalities and the ‘extraction’ of wealth by creating local institutions that ensure wealth that is generated in a place is regenerative
  • Decidim Barcelona: A platform for mass citizen participation in city decision making, as part of a broader democratisiation of Barcelona’s infrastructure
  • Envision Utah: A cross-sector, participatory vehicle for promoting ‘quality’ growth and ensuring that citizens’ values shape the type of economy that is created
  • Promise of Seoul: An approach to economic development and sustainability that integrates action on climate change with the need to create opportunities for those at the margins of an economy
  • Public wealth funds: Managing public assets – from real estate and utilities to publicly owned companies - to unlock long term social and economic value. 

Download the report: Inclusive Growth in Action (pdf, 1.2MB)

Contributors

Picture of Atif Shafique
Associate Director, Public Services and Communities (Sabbatical)

Picture of Becca Antink
Becca Antink
Former Researcher, Public Services and Communities

Picture of Alexa Clay
RSA US Director

Picture of Ed Cox
Ed Cox

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