Community Wealth Building

Wednesday 13 October, 1-2pm 

This online talk explores Community Wealth Building as a strategy for inclusive economic development with Preston Model keynote speaker: Dr Julian Manley, University of Central Lancashire, UK, followed by panel discussion. The "Preston Model" is a term applied to how the council, its anchor institutions and other partners are implementing the principles of Community Wealth Building within Preston and the wider Lancashire area.

Community Wealth Building (CWB) is a development strategy that seeks to increase local procurement by public sector organisations, such as universities and hospitals.  Where there are gaps in the local supply chain, the establishment of worker-owned co-operatives is supported.  Community Wealth Building has been trialled successfully in the city of Preston.    

The event aims to stimulate debate about the potential, opportunities and challenges for implementing a Community Wealth Building strategy for Cork.  Cork networks and agencies are particularly encouraged to attend and connect with us to explore oppoetunities to collaborate around a possible future action research project. 

About the Speaker:

Dr Julian Manley is Social Innovation Manager at the University of Central Lancashire, UK.  Julian researches human relations and social innovation from a psychosocial perspective. His work supports the work of the Centre for SME Development through connecting the university’s civic mission and the work of the Preston Model and community wealth building, in Preston and beyond. His research has developed social dreaming and the visual matrix as research methods. He is recognised as a world leading expert in social dreaming and for his work on the Preston Model.  His book on the Preston Model and Community Wealth Building (co-edited with Philip B. Whyman) was recently published by Routledge.

Panel Discussion: 

The keynote address will be followed by a panel discussion. Confirmed panellists include:

• Kevin Curran, Head of Enterprise at the Local Enterprise Office (North & West Cork); 
• J.J. O’Connell, Director of the Northside For Business Campus, Cork; and 
• Bridget Carroll, Lecturer, Centre for Co-operative Studies and Cork University Business School.

Together with and for Community

Co-Operative & Social Enterprise: Dr Carol Power is Academic Director of the MSc in Co-operative & Social Enterprise.  At postgraduate level, she teaches on the MSc in Co-operatives, Agri-Food and Sustainable Development, the online MSc in Co-operative and Social Enterprise, and the Executive MBA. Carol’s current research interests are focused on co-operative and community-based responses to social and economic needs at local and regional levels, and on sustainable development, with a particular emphasis on the relationship between business and sustainability.  She is a member of the UCC Centre for Co-operative Studies and the UCC-based interdisciplinary Institute for Social Sciences in the 21^st Century (ISS21).  

UCC Community Week: This event is part of UCC Community Week 2021. During Community Week, staff and students across the university come together with community and public sector partners to host community focussed events and activities. The week long programme of events celebrates UCC as a civically engaged university.