In 2024 we were commissioned as a community anchor research organisation by Birmingham City Council to work on a community-led collaborative action learning report.
Artwork by Sarah Taylor Silverwood, Commissioned by Grand Union, 2024.
This work was designed to help build a strategy for the ‘Levelling Up’ funding for East Birmingham Regeneration. Through consulting with our many communities and collaborators, we are working together for transformative social, economic and environmental justice aims. We believe that the Ready to Level Programme should listen and address the needs of the most vulnerable in our community.
Over summer, we held four community research meetings using both one-to-one and group interview style conversations. We listened to the experiences and adversities of many people who are affected by lack of access to housing, experiencing substance misuse/recovery and mental health unwellness, and young care leavers.
We then collated the research and commissioned Grand Union studio artist Sarah Taylor Silverwood to work with the community to design a ‘Visual “community voice” Action Plan’ to make visible the voices that are not usually heard in city planning for community support decisions. Our longer term aims are to highlight these needs and hopes to assist with future funding finding its way to programmes that address people’s needs.