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Thank you 2022. Onwards and Upwards 🚀

As 2022 draws to a close we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the highlights of Footwork’s enterprising first year as a charity, the leaps and bounds of which have only really become coherent with the benefit of hindsight.


What’s exciting is that in this short time we’ve managed to carve out a clear role for ourselves, which is deliberately distinct from - and complimentary to - other organisations making headway in socially-driven funding and sustainable placemaking. We’ve made strides in distilling five years of experience as ‘ftwork’ - as a ‘disruptor’ and innovator - into an effective springboard to greater things.



In January, we ...

  • moved into Footwork’s new ‘home’ - the Factory in Clerkenwell - as a wonderful space to bring people together for conversations and to exchange ideas


Through the Spring, we ...

  • deliberated over our ‘why’ and our ‘what’ to find a clearer sense of purpose

  • defined a new focus - to identify and support local social innovators ‘to turn their bold ideas into positive change for people and places’

  • launched our handmade website to the world


In the heat of Summer, we ...

  • hosted our first event at the Factory “What does it take to bring about change in a place?”

  • opened the People and Place Fund

  • recruited 14 local young people for the pilot in Finsbury Park of our initiative My Place, in collaboration with London Development Trust.


In the Autumn, we ...

  • travelled the UK meeting and learning from local social innovators in their place - from Bradford to Cardiff, Wolverton to Tower Hamlets

  • committed £85k in flexible funding across ten place-strengthening initiatives via Idea-into-Action to Action-into-Impact grants


As Winter closed in, we ...


We have also worked alongside others on a range of research and advocacy, all of which are working towards ensuring that local knowledge and wishes are valued and drive decision-making : with Take Note, including their Collaboration Guidebook; with Collective Collaborative Action (CCA), in the writing of London Plan guidance; with Creative Wick, in support of their innovative Living Lab; with Urban Design London on the report of their Urban Challenge; with Shelter From the Storm on their Impact Report.


As the year draws to a close we wanted to say a huge thank you to all our curious collaborators, critical friends, visionary partners & inspirational social innovators. We take so much energy, insight and hope from you as we look ahead to continuing to empower people to create resilient places.

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