THE GIVING LAB
A COMMUNITY-LED FUND, CO-DESIGNED WITH THE WEST-SOUTHWARK COMMUNITY
The Giving Lab is an innovative funding model ecosystem where communities have reimagined grantmaking led by and for communities. Set up in partnership with our funders Impact on Urban Health, Wellcome Trust, and the local community, the Giving Lab brings together people, organisations and businesses in Southwark to share, develop and fund ideas for improving community health.
FOUR YEARS OF COMMUNITY-LED FUNDING
From time-consuming application processes and reporting to the requirement of a host of policies - the funding landscape is hard to access by the communities that need it most. In order to drive positive social change, the sector must rethink existing funding practices, and co-design funds in collaboration with the communities they exist to support.
We believe that funding is most effective when people’s lived expertise is embedded in the process. During the initial pilot phase, we were able to capture insights that have helped shape The Giving Lab into its current form, and our real-time feedback model ensures our learnings will continue to deliver a funding model that works for all stakeholders involved.
4 KEY INSIGHTS FROM THE GIVING LAB PILOT PHASE
We’ve been capturing our learnings from the pilot phase of the Giving Lab over the past few years. Four of our key insights are summarised below, but if you’re curious to learn more, we’ve got an entire page dedicated to our insights and findings. Head over to our Impact & Learning page, or feel free to get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!
THE team BEHIND THE GIVING LAB
Participatory approaches of co-production and co-design are embedded into the model at every level. Our Community Leadership Team, community connectors and facilitators bring lived experience to lead and shape the service and reach underserved communities, and our staff bring expertise in user-centred co-design, learning partnerships, asset-based community development approaches, user-led governance models and participatory funding.
“The Giving Lab is an amazing opportunity that somebody like me has been looking for for such a long time.”