Time to Trade? »

Time to Trade?

What makes a country, a city or a community wealthy? Behind the statistics about Gross Domestic Product and the balance of trade, rates of unemployment and inflation are… people. People who, for example, care for their loved ones. If you place an economic value on the care people provide – for free – in England, it dwarfs the budget for the NHS or the value added by Tesco and the big banks. Underlying the cash economy, then is a core economy. And its currency…. is time. But what infrastructure do we have for sharing use of time? Does the idea of ‘trading time’ help? Will communities, cities and countries with a developed time economy be wealthier, and healthier, than ones without?

May 2, 2012 | Posted in Featured,News | Read More »

Localism Session in West Bromwich 15 February »

Localism Session in West Bromwich 15 February

Chamberlain Forum is working with Sandwell Council of Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) to organise an information session on the Localism Act and what it means for the voluntary sector in Sandwell.  The session will be on Wednesday 15 February 2012 at SCVO offices in West Bromwich from 11am – 1pm. It will cover:- An introduction to [...]

January 16, 2012 | Posted in Events,Featured,Gallery,Pictures | Read More »

Time, health and community »

Time, health and community

‘The part can never be well unless the whole is well’ – Plato Timebanks take various forms, but it is arguable that all timebanks take a coproduction approach, intentionally or otherwise. They facilitate the efficient transfer of resources – time, skills, physical assets like meeting spaces, etc. – with the ultimate goal of producing positive [...]

February 1, 2011 | Posted in Claire Spencer | Read More »

What We Do

Chamberlain Forum helps civil society and local authorities to coproduce better places to live. We are non-profit, politically independent and proudly based in Birmingham.
We organise Chamberlain Lectures featuring speakers including Prime Minister David Cameron. We also organise Resident University - a peer and shared learning programme for people who live and work in neighbourhoods.
We promote and develop community networks as social capital builders, including by supporting Community Network 4 Birmingham
We support action to strengthen local civil society including through: community asset transfers; neighbourhood websites; mediation and facilitation; training and business planning.
We organise action research into aspects of coproduction and are delivering an 18 month programme, Communities Managing Change, funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust.
Chamberlain Forum Limited acts as a consultancy delivering a wide range of 'thinking and doing' services for clients including local authorities, housing associations, development trusts, health and social care bodies, local strategic partnerships and voluntary and community groups.

Big Ideas

3rd Sector Asset Transfer Big Society Birmingham Citizenship Citizenship Model Disability civil society co-production Cohesion Community Community Anchor Community Assets Community Dialogue Community Empowerment community first community networks Connecting Communities Culture Democracy faith future cities Health Local Government Localism Neighbourhood Forums neighbourhood management ni4 Participatory Budgeting Regeneration research Resident University riots Sandwell Self-help Social Enterprise Social Media Story Telling Sustainable Communities Timebanking Transforming Local Infrastructure unemployment Volunteering welfare West Bromwich Youth Empowerment

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