COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work in our communities.

The National Lottery Community Fund has created the Emerging Futures Fund to invest in the creativity of civil society and help amplify the voices of communities through stories, narratives and public imagination projects that can lead to new ideas, questions and visions of the future.

This website is an index of all the projects, and updates about progress along the way.

In September 2020, TNLCF made 52 grants from 1,156 applications

Updates

April & May 2021

It’s been a busy couple of months for projects as we approach the end of the Emerging Future Fund programme, with projects producing amazing films, websites, guidebooks, and hosting events, workshops, and event market stalls to showcase their work.

  • 4MMM - Launched 4M’s Femifesto for Our Post-lockdown Futures. The Femifesto was created in response to the Government’s failings in their response to COVID-19. We spoke together on how we, as women would have different priorities and how we could draw on our experience and expertise, as women living with HIV, as mothers and 4M peer support mentors, to imagine a better response, for all of us. We want to see three things: Health Equity for every individual; Unlimited potential; Compassion and humanity.

  • Amina MWRC - we have a beautiful interactive website as a resource to continue our work. Our first new event is a workshop with Refugee Festival Scotland on June 17th to share the work with a wider audience. This will be led a small group of asylum-experienced women who have decided to create new written pieces for this event which are currently in production.

  • Community Land Scotland - It’s been a quieter period in the run up to the Scottish Parliament elections but we have been getting busier as we prepare to complete the project. The key theme that have come out of our work are demands for more community empowerment and more people involved in the future of community land ownership.

  • The Glimpse Network - Launched our film in the Big Issue (see here). Visited the people we ran online workshops with in person and filmed their speeches at the People’s Podium. The key themes that emerged from the work are that: people want to be included in how we shape our future; they value being heard; they love to listen to others in their community; they want better representation; and people can find hope in their own struggles. 

  • Humber and Wolds Rural Community Council - Community networking meetings have continued, sharing best practice and ideas. Some areas have noticed a huge drop in requests for help and other areas in smaller villages have seen an increase due to bubbles at school having to close and an increase in those having to isolate. The videos have been completed and are now being finalised ready to share and the Good Neighbours Handbook has been revised and simplified based on feedback.

  • Kin - Been developing the backend of our processes (e.g. setting up payroll, working from home policies; organising budget), as well as build internal memory to support growth as two new staff members start next month, including mapping our policies, practices, history, strategy and structure.

  • Lemon Leopard - The Radical Co-production methodology has been taken up by members of the organisation to use in different fields as a way to bring about 'pockets of dissent'.  Groups have emerged and imaginarium events have been hosted online and one in person.  We’ve also decided to invest in an ‘imaginarium Tipi’  that will pop up in various unexpected places that is guided by people. .

  • The New Constellation - Designed and printed the star cards (see here and here) to be easily used as a resource by the crew. Hosted a stall on a boat at the 50th anniversary of Barrow market where the BNC crew introduced the stars to the community and celebrated the hidden gems of Barrow.

  • Save the Children Fund - Been putting in place the listening infrastructure needed for our Future of Childhood project - e.g. working with academics on our organisational ethics committee to ensure activities for children taking part are inclusive and enabled children and parents/carers to make informed decisions about participation. Our activity pack has now launched in schools.

  • Shared Assets - We held a training workshop to present some of the initial material and are working with one of the attendees to use the new narrative to get their story into the mainstream farming press. Our first film - exemplifying the new narrative - is almost ready. We also had the opportunity to share and get feedback our work with colleagues in the Scottish Land Commission. This work has sparked a broader conversation about whether the movement for justice in the land system needs a collaborative vision or theory of change.

  • Sub-Saharan Advisory Panel - We've recently celebrated the creative work of our artist cohort with an online launch and a digital showcase, which drew an audience of 72 and was well received. Click here to explore our online showcase. We’ve also produced a number of short films, including a promotional film showcasing the project and a Making Of the Unify Mural film.

  • The Wild Network - DreamSpace bath launched their online exhibition in April: click here to explore the exhibition. It contains a series of short films, podcast episodes and stories gallery that bring together over 50 stories expressed through poetry, song, spoken word and free form reflection.

  • Wales Council for Voluntary Action - held a showcase event for our project, attended by a wide range of stakeholders from across the voluntary sector in Wales.  Have now finished all of our outputs, including the toolkit which are now available on our website.  Also been talking to various groups including the Wellbeing of Future Generations Commission, PSB's, WCIA, Renew Wales and Scouts Cymru about how they can use futures thinking in their work.

  • YHA (England & Wales) - The perspectives and stories shared by the contributors were so rich and varied that we took the decision to revisit the final output design and create both an e-book with a combination of quotes, narratives, images, poems, reflections and music AND a separate online page for the graphic cartoons. The first draft of the e-book is now ready.

March 2021

Lots of great content being created and events and exhibitions being held, with some projects starting to wrap up their work and celebrate and showcase their projects.

  • 4MMM - Starting to round up their project and preparing for their Exhibition on 30th of April to sharing what we have been working on with our friends, family and stakeholders. Also been exploring product development through developing training programs.

  • Amina MWRC - They launched their exhibition website, and held an online launch event which was attended by 50 people. Their website was built by Code Your Future. They continued to deliver Mental Health process groups to the participants, as well as weekly self-care sessions.

  • B:RAP - worked with schools and community organisations to explore anti-racism and what an anti-racist future might be like. Kin are holding a free online conference on “Anti-Racist Futures” on May 20, 9:30-12:00. Book your place here.

  • Changing Lives / The Cyrenians - Held a sense-making session with people who gave their time to the project, and also listened to staff in our projects about their experiences. Re-started the listening process to including more people from minoritised communities. Planning a webinar on the 25th May and we will be launching their full report on the 11th May.

  • Community Land Scotland - Held a film premiere for the film about the project, interviewed community members and artists that participated in projects, and analysed interview transcripts. See here to watch a panel discussion about their Owning Our Future project and here for an animation made by the artists working one of their communities.

  • Damasq - Made over 10 hours of recordings and are in the final stage of editing their documentary film exploring Syrian refugees experiences and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Frame Collective - been sharing their narratives about with project partners and partners are keen to use the resources with their partners to promote greater empathy and change. Click here to see the collective narratives and vignettes.

  • Kin - Concluded a successful round of recruitment for new Co-Directors at KIN, who start in June, are a preparing the ground for them to start.

  • The New Constellation - Worked with design agency on the first set of designs for the printed star cards. Working closely with the team in Barrow Council to put ideas into action, including conversations about a piece of public art and plans for a town takeover day in the summer. The Stanford Social Innovation Review will be writing a piece on our project.

  • Save the Children Fund - the team held a number of workshops, planning sessions and design sprints. They also created a draft emerging future activity pack for teachers and facilitators to use with children to explore what children want childhood to be like in the future.

  • Wales Council for Voluntary Action - worked on their toolkit, podcasts, vlogs and blogs and also prepared for their showcase event. Held their showcase on April 28th. See here to read a blog explaining more about the methodology used by the project.

February 2021

Busy period with lots of projects collating insights, holdings events and workshops, and producing a range of content and outputs from postcards to animations to reports.

  • 4MMM - Continued to hold mentor sessions throughout Feb, with their last session held on Feb 26th focusing on what it means to be healthy; created ‘Femifestos’ looking towards the future; and in the process of organising an exhibition on April 30th to showcase their work.

  • Association of Camerados - Held a series of online #BitOfCompanyChat broadcasts throughout February, which addressed key themes that came out through conversations with Camerados movement members. They can be watched on their YouTube channel here.

  • Community Land Scotland - Short animation produced by the creative facilitators of one of the communities’ the project works with - about the Viewpark Glen which gained community ownership in 2020 (watch here).

  • Consortium of LGBT Voluntary and Community Organisations - Have now delivered all outputs and outcomes from the project, published their project report (read here) and held their final event..

  • Design Council - Reconnected with the community groups spoken to during the research phase; developed content and planned for three workshops coming up; produced a participant booklet with a full breakdown of each workshop - each participant is getting a physical 'box' of workshop materials and a chocolate!

  • Getaway Girls - Lots of content created for a digital exhibition; postcards and flyers made and distributed in preparation for the launch of their digital storytelling project in March with live performances, young women’s stories, film and the digital exhibition.

  • The Glimpse Network - Signed up participants signed up across Margate, Leicester and Redcar; each person was sent a digital resource pack and small gift in the post; redesigned the workshop format with Leicester based artist Mellow Baku.

  • The New Constellation - worked with the crew in Barrow to share Barrow’s New Constellation with the wider community; meeting with a wide range of influence stakeholders and decision-makers across the town to talk through plans for the town; working council to engage the community.

  • Onion Collective - Community business contributors drafted their chapters; prepared proposal documents for external publishers; held two weeks of imagination workshops with the community from which a 100+ page creative scrapbook of prose and poetry and imaginings written by attendees was created.

  • Save the Children Fund - Developing plans and key activities to deliver the project over coming months, focusing on two areas: 1) hearing from children about their vision for the future of childhood & 2) what the future of childhood will look like if nothing changes.

  • Shared Assets - Developing short films and customisable slide decks; developing concept for ongoing strategic land communications group or community of practice; exploring connections with other work like a roundtable on land justice, and a project looking at the potential of an English Land Commission. 

  • Timewise Foundation - preparing a “Fair flexible futures” series of briefing papers, webinars and case studies to amplify the voices of people who need more control over how much, when and where they work through fairer flexible working.

  • Wales Council for Voluntary Action - received funding from Welsh Government to continue the project for 3 months to engage widely in Wales incl. with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Commission; held a shared learning session which brought the three communities they’ve worked with together; developing a series of vlogs, blogs and podcasts and a toolkit.

January 2021

This month we took a step back to look forward and projects shared what was most important to their communities over the next 2-3 years.

  • 4MMM - Meaningful involvement of women in decision making about HIV & sexual and reproductive health; a gender-informed post-corona response; supportive stigma free HIV health and social services.

  • Amina MWRC - The development of regular culturally sensitive mental health interventions that work with people and communities through creative therapies, self care workshops, embodied practice and space for connection.

  • Association of Camerados - To keep the sense of community created through a common need and the mutuality of looking out for each other, combating isolation and creating ways to connect with others.

  • Changing Lives - A focus on empathic and person-led listening, unencumbered by governance and contractual requirements to have certain types of conversations, access multiple services and be handed over multiple times to meet their needs. 

  • Community Land Scotland - Community landowners to support mental health in their communities; better engagement with public institutions and increasing community involvement in urban areas; and more assets under community ownership that meet the needs of post-COVID communities.

  • Consortium of LGBT Voluntary and Community Organisations - Greater visibility and representation of BAME/PoC LGBTQI+ people, starting with the creation of ‘ambassadors’ from community organisations, business networks, MPs, media and special interest groups, to help deliver this change.

  • The Cultural Engine - focusing on the heritage, culture and 'local distinctiveness' of each town and in bringing in greater local agency to develop ideas for improving towns centres - e.g. High Streets, market squares, open space, heritage sites and creative events. 

  • Design Council - to design a framework that places a greater sense of trust in organisations delivering social movement work and community activism.

  • The Frame Collective - To redesign new, inclusive practices together recognising diverse needs from the offset not as an add-on and noting that organisations often lack the diversity needed to ensure inclusion.  

  • Getaway Girls - Communities having a voice, being listening to and influencing change and recognising and taking action to address inequalities and poverty.

  • The Glimpse Network - The need to be heard, not just by people in their existing communities, but by a wider group of people - especially people who don't think, look or sound like them.

  • Leisure & Learning (Hastings) - Solving the housing crisis and bringing more underused town assets into community use and ownership; regenerating and greening the town centre; and re-engaging with the history of our town.

  • Lemon Leopard - To realise our dream of building a Collaborative Care Community and that we are not dragged back into old ways of working and behaving, which means learning to live, learn, work, and care differently.

  • Kin - Focus on tackling the injustices that black communities experienced during the pandemic and an urgent need to address the fractured relationship between Black communities and the state, in particular the NHS.

  • The New Constellation - That there is hope and belief that a brighter future is possible; the community is listened to in different ways and able to share their experiences; and the community leads the way on new projects and is involved in decision making at every level.

  • New Local / Hilary Cottam - A good local economy where 'no-one is left behind'; communities need to be capitalised in a new way that ties a new relationship between the local state together with a shift in power and ownership.

  • Onion Collective - reconnecting and finding new purpose, alongside keeping those most at risk safe.

  • Positive Carrickfergus - A much more connected community than has been and to revive to town centre, exploring explore how community ownership of assets in the town could have a more positive impact on the town and our lives here.

  • Rosemount and District Heritage Welfare Rights Group - Support for the increasing number of people in the community are experiencing social isolation, mental health problems, poverty and the increase of food banks and  benefit uptake.

  • Save the Children Fund - Primary-age children (and their families) will need to be intensively supported over the next 2-3 years as many pupils will be behind and a lot about families are feeling isolated, which is having an impact on children’s social and emotional development.

  • Shared Assets - A need to change the narrative and way we think about land towards a narrative of land as an active partner that people are in relationship with, as a place where multiple generative things can happen. 

  • Somerset House Trust - Equity, justice and environmental care are at the heart of all the projects the Young Producers are working on.

  • South of Scotland Community Housing - the development of housing that is affordable within a local context, with communities that own their own assets have been able to respond with greater flexibility and often in a more effective manner.  

  • Sub-Saharan Advisory Panel - Raising greater awareness colonial history in the UK, including adding it to the curriculum; greater representation black people in society; developing decolonised ways of speaking about Africa; reconnecting with their heritage; ending racism and challenging negative stereotypes.

  • Timewise Foundation - better access to fair flexible work; more control over how much, when and where they work; more quality flexible and part time jobs; better access to decent wages and career progression.

  • Young Foundation - Addressing isolation in the community; getting back to normal is important and reconnecting on a human level; Ensuring people are better equipped to care for their mental health; building on community pride and ensure Knowsley is known for good things.

  • Wales Council for Voluntary Action - more shared spaces and places to connect; tackling racism and discrimination and breaking down barriers to inclusion; greater engagement with young people and opportunities to learn; and ending practices that are damaging to the environment.

  • W.I.G.S - While not at the point yet, there is a consensus on the need for spaces to connect and for loss and grief to be acknowledged and expressed.

December 2020

Bumpy ride thanks to new lockdown rules for everyone. Lots of online workshops & events happening, billboards going up, “How To Future” event held for cohort…

  • 4MMM - Cameras distributed, first photography session held, peer-support WhatsApp up and running

  • Amina MWRC - 10 workshops in English, Urdu, and Kurdish Sorani, shared lockdown experiences, great feedback received!

  • Association of Camerados - ‘TV Chat Show’ planning, gathering more stories of experiences in the pandemic and published online

  • B:RAP - Partnerships growing across Birmingham, anti-racism sessions starting up, anti-racist futures conference planning

  • Community Land Scotland - Online community meetup held, some rural participants further along process, theme-spotting workshop across communities planned for January

  • Consortium of LGBT Voluntary and Community Organisations - Lots of promotion of “Emerging with Pride”, still gathering stories, published interim report & initial recommendations

  • Disability Wales / Anabledd Cymru - VIdeo-making resources shared with diverse group of disabled folks in their familiar spaces, teaser progress montage made

  • The Frame Collective - Reflecting as a team on personal impact, making and testing formats for vignettes coming from communities

  • Getaway Girls - Continuing photography, zines, and animation workshops with young women for HerStory in the Making resource/exhibition, which is being planned

  • Grapevine - Story of Us workshops complete,10 community storytellers gain new skills making their digital stories, starting city policy development discussions, commissioned epic poem completed

  • The Glimpse Network - The People’s Podium finds new potential locations across UK, online option is needed because COVID, strong focus on big diversity of thought within groups

  • Humber and Wolds Rural Community Council - Hiring bump, visioning with COVID community response and mutual aid groups

  • Institute for the Future of Work - Reflecting on practice, more conscious design processes for groups’ future imagining the future of work, looking beyond EFF to continue the work

  • Leisure & Learning (Hastings) - WONDER GOLF. Map of Ideas, mapping social capital in Hastings, Three Horizons analytical workshops

  • Lemon Leopard - Internal space design for building by arch. students and disabled members, work hit hard by London lockdown, looking to support carers

  • Kin - Opened applications for co-director positions, preparing for January webinar

  • The New Constellation - Dove into experimental process with the crew to find Barrow’s new constellation, invited for long-term future collaboration with city planners, great momentum, response, and press!

  • Positive Carrickfergus - On-the-ground plans scuppered by lockdown, continuing to set up shop space, ran two online events that both happily ran long

  • Rosemount and District Heritage Welfare Rights Group - The Centre opened to local residents, offering therapy and sewing club, Christmas food parcels sent out, door-to-door (safe) hellos for vulnerable folks

  • RSA - Reflecting on 2020 research and analysis, planning for three community sessions coming up: Birmingham, Edinburgh, Norfolk: What’s changed over a year? Selecting visualisation creative partner

  • Save the Children Fund - Excited about the completed People Plan for Q1 2021

  • Somerset House Trust - Young producers are onboard and have gathered at first successful kickoff

  • Sub-Saharan Advisory Panel - 16 creative participants selected and publicised, initial timeline and themes agreed via Zoom

  • The Wild Network - First phase of Dream Space complete, published a story selection online

  • UN Women National Committee UK - Making great progress on Build Back Better project, hackday reimagining corporate workplaces, setup and outreach for workshops complete

  • Wales Council for Voluntary Action - Ran well-attended workshops with each community group involved, dreaming big about a better future!

November 2020

Most projects are now underway. New teams have formed, planning is complete. Conversations are happening. Leases are signed. Here is a selection of updates from across the projects (in alphabetical order)…

  • 4MMM - Building out the team, delivering phones to Mentor Mothers, ran first creative group session, December planning

  • Amina MWRC - January Creative Workshops planned and scheduled, Eventbrite and socials launched, planning for final national tour phase commenced!

  • Association of Camerados - Held five online StorySpoonRooms to share experiences of lockdown, extended to 1:1 sessions, a selection of stories published online

  • Community Land Scotland - Creative practitioners are now bedding in, film-making training is in progress

  • Consortium of LGBT Voluntary and Community Organisations - 15 BAME LGBT+ stories recorded and launched, live Q&A sessions, and Emerging With Pride now online

  • The Cultural Engine - Scaled up digital presence significantly and quickly, getting PR around survey launch, outreach with local groups

  • Design Council - Synthesising interview findings, designing upcoming workshops on community skills/approaches

  • The Frame Collective - Completed conversations, sifting for narrative threads, working on new audio clips

  • Gentle Radical - Volunteers on board, on-foot reacquainting with Riverside, getting new equipment in, designing/planning for January doorstep conversations

  • Getaway Girls - More skills sessions for young women, e.g. photography and creative writing

  • The Glimpse Network - People’s Podium website launched, focus groups with project pilots, lots of promotion

  • Institute for the Future of Work - Community research in Grimsby continues, disseminating peer-to-peer learning methods, studying governance issues

  • Leisure & Learning (Hastings) - Hosted a community data mapping exercise with 20 local orgs, identifying new community connections, planning three Facebook livestreams

  • Lemon Leopard - Envisioning session for a new Mini 3C building for East London

  • MAIA Creatives - Critiquing and convening around pandemic “opportunities”, developing new COVID-safe hip hop, tech, and AR programme for children and young people, launching new YARD community space

  • Midaye Somali Development Network - Project coordinator started, planning for storytelling workshops underway

  • Kin - Catching up and celebrating with 2019 cohort, wrapping up with Black Lives Matter UK

  • The New Constellation - Lots of press, kicked off the program, finalised participant list (includes tug boat operator!), billboards up around Barrovian community

  • Onion Collective - Found weekly rhythm for community discussions, proposals for conducting and recording narratives underway

  • Positive Carrickfergus - Building the brand, researching Carrick data, planning January activities, grateful for community support on supplies for shop

  • RSA - Two national workshops concluded, three local deep dives, developing research framing, looking to emerging national research on pandemic impact

  • Shared Assets - Completed Power In Place report, held three more fascinating workshops, now planning stage two

  • The Social Enterprise - Seven future visioning programmes concluded in six communities, developing a day conference for young people

  • Somerset House Trust - Six new Young Producers recruited, from 70 applications, first sessions held

  • South of Scotland Community Housing - Three interactive Zoom workshops held, reflecting on impact of the pandemic on housing delivery, survey designed and launched, new CIC formed

  • Sub-Saharan Advisory Panel - Recruited new team member, call for artists launched

  • Watershed Arts Trust - Sent invitations to join the planned Future Vision group project, a big milestone

  • YHA (England & Wales) - Working with new illustration collaborator/facilitator, capturing new and less-heard narratives about the outdoors|

  • Young Foundation - Promoting the Knowsley Futures website, commissioned creatives for How To videos, have run storytelling workshops, accepting story submissions

October 2020

Projects are getting up and running. New team members are being hired. Community outreach is happening. Workshop design is coming along. Here is a selection of updates from across the projects (in alphabetical order)…

Projects in the news

Emerging Futures Fund projects have been generating press attention up and down the UK, being featured in places like The Guardian, The Sun and the BBC and in local press from Stornoway to Hastings.

Below is a growing catalogue of EFF projects in the news.