Sharing our learning from past and present work to support the ongoing evolvement of more equitable, democratic and justice led approaches to social change.
Our work in this area exists to continually evolve participatory and power sharing practice, taking a reflective learning approach and sharing this insight widely with the sector.
Our aim is to support the sector in shifting organisation and institutional cultures to transformational change. By analysing existing systems and working towards deeper systemic shifts, we are aiming for equitable and democratised progress.
JRF aims to support this shift by experimenting with internal changes, adopting a humble and inquisitive approach, and actively sharing learning and insights.
In recent decades, civil society has shifted its view of how social change is made, from one that is driven mainly by professionals to taking a broader view, seeing itself as a connected network that includes everyone in society. Traditional ways of thinking viewed social change as a technical issue that only experts could address and neglected the involvement of those directly affected by the issues.
There's a growing desire within civil society to move towards inclusive, democratic, and power-sharing approaches. This involves treating marginalised groups as equal partners and active agents of change, rather than passive beneficiaries.
JRF is open to collaboration and eager to connect with others who are also experimenting with new approaches to social change, fostering a community of shared learning and innovation.
This report documents learning from JRF’s work alongside organisations led by people in poverty over the past five years, on what funders can do to build power and support transformative change at a grassroots level.
Heather Coady, a member of the Stigma Free Futures Design team, reflects on the importance of power sharing and knowledge equity approaches in social change projects.
