Building 'common' wealth through just transitions: the role of anchor institutions in supporting community-led decarbonisation in Canada and the UK

This proposal will advance new research on Community Wealth Building (CWB) and just transitions via a novel UK-Canada partnership, bringing together the Universities of Sussex & Saskatchewan, key CWB & local energy actors and local governments. Over 2 years, we will provide the first in-depth international comparative analysis for using CWB to support green economies in the UK and Canada, whilst bringing together just transitions (humanities) and CWB and energy transitions (social sciences/policy) theory in a uniquely interdisciplinary research project.

Using literature reviews, research briefs, policy analysis, deliberative workshops, research visits and interviews with experts in the UK & Canada, we will explore how ‘anchor institutions’ – large public organisations rooted in local economies - can support decarbonisation that builds community wealth. The research will produce an original multi-author book, high-impact journal publications, facilitate international knowledge exchange & develop cutting-edge transferable toolkits for using CWB to support just transitions.

Principal Investigator: Dr Max Lacey-Barnacle, University of Sussex