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Agora

Partnership information

Description

Background 

In ancient Greece, the agora, or marketplace, was the lively focal point for the town/city's commercial, political and social activities. Historically, British towns and cities have followed the same model, with market places and high-streets offering commercial space, taverns and parks offering social space and town halls offering opportunities for political debate. In spite of this, many of today’s town centres bear more resemblance to 'ghost towns' (New Economics Foundation, 2003) than bustling agoras. Nearly 60 per cent of towns and cities in Britain are in decline (Experian, 2002) in spite of their importance to many disadvantaged groups (low-income, non-car owning, disabled, the elderly) ,and to many of the UK's 300,000 small shops (source: DTI).

Aims

Agora is a GB-wide partnership of organisations, including Manchester Metropolitan University and the Association of Town Centre Management that through joint working aims to empower local communities, in predominantly deprived areas, to manage their town/district centres as sustainable social enterprises, thereby reversing economic decline through using local human resources and ensuring town/district centres are run to the benefit of the community.  This community-led approach ensures that local people have a vital input into the regeneration of local retail districts by building on the experience of existing town centre management schemes while creating innovative models adapted from the social economy sector.

Objectives
  • To create an AGORA observatory that measures and evaluates the role of social entrepreneurship-based models of town centre management in terms of their impact on various stakeholders such as local residents, disadvantaged groups and small/medium-sized enterprises.
  • To facilitate the development of alternative models of town centre or district management for 8 AGORA communities whose profits are reinvested into the improvement of the area’s quality of life and the creation/facilitation of enterprises considered vital to the sustainability of those communities such as local food supply chains and community services.
  • To create a sustainable ‘Town Centre Management Academy’ so that local stakeholders (including existing town centre managers) can gain the skills and knowledge necessary to make improvements to their districts both now and in the future. This includes the development of a knowledge transfer service so that relevant information can be accessed by AGORA communities through local access points (e.g. libraries).
  • To network people and places across Europe who have a passion to improve their localities through the principles of social entrepreneurship.
 Target Groups

8 AGORA communities in a variety of disadvantaged areas: Havant, Longsight and Rusholme, Ludlow, Mexbrough, Middlewich, Saltburn-by-the-sea, South Shields and Stockport.

 

Round

2

Round 1 to Round 2

Agora existed in Round One as the Retail Enterprise Network (REN). AGORA is a broadening of the original brief.

Transnational partnerships

Contact

Cathy Parker, Manchester Metropolitan University,

End-dates

Action 2: 31 March 2008
Action 3: 31 December 2007

Equal theme

Social economy

Origins

The Retail Enterprise Network has grown out of the increasing recognition of the scale of the problems facing the small retail sector and the importance of the sector in the regeneration and vibrancy of town centres. REN is a partnership of around 40 domestic and international organisations dedicated to supporting the small retail sector by integrating and directing the energy of those willing to help. Manchester Metropolitan University is one of the core partners in REN, which established both Equal projects with the aim of protecting and promoting the small retail sector.

Beneficiaries

Employed in SMEs, People from disadvantaged areas (top 10% most deprived wards), Rural communities
Total beneficiaries: 60

Intended impact/ sustainability

Places will be run for the needs of all local stakeholders in order to reverse economic decline in local areas. The AGORA pilots will have brought the principles of social enterprise into town management. Embedding these principles into how places are managed will ensure that the good practice, systems etc will be sustained beyond life of AGORA.

Scatter plot

Process X
Practice X X
Product X
Policy X X
City Local Regional National European

Process/National

Partnership to develop and support 8 AGORA towns across the country

Practice/National

Partnership to develop and support 8 AGORA towns across the country

Practice/European

Partnership to construct a pan-European network, linking policy and practitioner audiences interested in social, economic and environmental health of towns and cities

Product/National

Partnership to develop and support 8 AGORA towns across the country

Policy/National

Partnership to develop and support 8 AGORA towns across the country

Policy/European

Partnership to construct a pan-European network, linking policy and practitioner audiences interested in social, economic and environmental health of towns and cities

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Connections

Connections

Activities and products