The New Economics Foundation is pioneering Neighbourhood Think Tanks with the Gorbals Initiative, a local development company in Glasgow. ‘We all need to get away from the idea of top-down approaches for generating good ideas on social and economic policy,’ says Perry Walker, the Foundation’s Director of the Centre for Participation. ‘Too often think tanks in the UK work in isolation from the realities of people’s lives. We want to create Neighbour-hood Think Tanks in the hearts of communities that have never even heard of a think tank.’

Less than a mile from the centre of Glasgow, the Gorbals is an area with a rich and varied history which is most often remembered for bad housing, social problems and unemployment. ‘To many, the Gorbals is still a no go’ area but the reality is remarkably different,’ says Stuart Callison, a Director of the Gorbals Initiative. ‘We have been working informally with the New Economics Foundation over the last two years and have successfully adopted some of their schemes like the Time Bank, Social Franchising and their Participation Game which is designed to encourage 16–21 year olds to take part in personal development and job preparation.

‘We wanted to see what an area applying local economic principles would look like and the Foundation’s commitment to economics with a human face sits well with our own focus. We welcome the opportunity for a truly two-way exchange of ideas and best practice.‘
FURTHER INFORMATION : New Economics Foundation Cinnamon House, 6–8 Cole Street, London, SE1 4YH. Tel: 020 7089 2856 The Gorbals Initiative Adelphi Centre, 12 Commercial Road, Glasgow G5 0PQ, Scotland. Tel: 0141 429 6314 Fax: +44 0141 429 2649
WEB SITE : http://​www​.neweconomics​.org