Pathfinders
A vital part of our work is supporting a group of inspiring organisations through investment, power-building and platforming. We call this group ‘Pathfinders’.
Imagination infrastructures
Collective imagination gives us the freedom to dream and rewild, breaking out of cycles of despair to move towards a more hope-filled future.
Our mission
Imagination forms part of the Emerging Futures programme and is a vital part of our mission to speed up the transition to a more equitable future for people and the planet.
In this work we aim to:
- deepen collective imagination practices
- build hope (highlighting new possibilities for the future)
- use impactful storytelling to tackle the fatalistic narratives that dominate the public and media
- run experiments in collective imagination with young people and in communities
- explore approaches to bridging work between the 3 horizons (now, the near future and the far future.)
To achieve these aims we’re embarking on a series of experiments in:
- placed-based imagination (supporting local communities to future-build together)
- imagination infrastructures (physical and digital spaces designed for people to share imagination practice)
- growing the field of practice (supporting an ecosystem of practitioners who are using imagination as a necessary tool for social change.)
Building new systems together
One of the greatest challenges we face is the way we’ve come to see our current economic and social models as fixed, even as they are failing us and the planet. We’re living through times of hardship and anguish, with many feeling a sense of hopelessness when thinking about the future.
If we want to speed up the transition to a more just and equitable society, then we’ll need to grow our collective capacity to imagine that future. We want to spread the message that it doesn’t have to be this way. That we’re all active agents of social change, and together can build new systems and ways of being that help us to heal and restore hope for a better tomorrow.
Our ambition is that over time, with continued investment and learning, more communities and organisations will feel equipped to use collective imagination practice and unleash its power.
Collective Imagination
Collective imagination is central to JRF’s work and aligns with the 3 strands of our Emerging Futures programme:
- Reimagining Wealth and Philanthropy explores collective wealth and new economic approaches.
- Pathfinders supports organisations redesigning the future they want.
- Visionaries fosters radical public scholarship, eg Bayo Akomolafe’s insights on truth, Shayda Kafai’s Crip Kinship on collective liberation, and Vanessa Andreotti’s Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures.
Imagination also informs our policy work, helping organisations find innovative ways to tackle structural and societal challenges.
Collective Imagination Practice Community
A diverse network is exploring alternative futures, shaping systems that prioritise joy, hope, and freedom to dream. Our Collective Imagination Practice Community facilitates peer-led learning huddles, delving into topics like:
- reimagining local democracy
- realistic optimism in climate uncertainty
- the transformative potential of loss.
These huddles use imagination to inspire fresh perspectives and collaborative approaches to building better futures.
The Collective Imagination Community Fund and Practice
To meet growing interest, JRF launched a £100,000 practitioners fund, boosted by £50,000 from Arising Quo. Delivered with Canopy, Huddlecraft, and Centre for Public Impact, this initiative fosters idea exchange and practice development.
The network has expanded rapidly and now connects 500 members, enabling a collective capacity to reimagine the future.
Discover more about imagination infrastructures
From love to landrights: What will it take to grow an imagination infrastructure?
Some reflections on Imagination Infrastructure 002: A World between Worlds by Keri Facer
Reflection
Imagination infrastructures
Social imagination goes hand in hand with personal responsibility
When we think that problems are too huge and impenetrable to change, we defer our problem-solving. Now is the time to zoom in and ask ourselves how the systemic plays out within us on a personal scale.
Comment
Imagination infrastructures
Imagining the world our hearts know is possible
Feeling overwhelmed by big problems society faces, whether that be poverty or the environment, is normal. But rather than being shut down by those feelings, we can use them to open our imagination.
Reflection
Imagination infrastructures
Who gets to imagine the future?
Sophia Parker outlines a new programme of work that JRF is exploring. We are interested in how we can grow our collective ability to imagine a future free from poverty, in order to reshape the economic and social models that are driving inequality.
Explainer
Imagination infrastructures
