Collaboration for Change (CfC) is a pan-Ireland network which enables grassroots activists to work together under a shared vision for a caring and resilient world that is good for people and planet. We open the space for mutual support, shared learning and collaborative action because we believe that when we work together, we can be more effective in bringing about change. This report summaries our work in from October 2024 to October 2025.
Mapping
The mapping project has been part of CfC from its inception. The rationale behind the mapping project is to make existing progressive movements across Ireland more visible and connected. Marian Farrell and Pascal McCulla, in collaboration with Caoimhín O’Flannagáin (who was part of setting up the initial online map and co-planning and facilitating CfC’s Nurturing the Groundswell workshop), met to focus on developing the existing mapping project. Their discussions resulted in a report outlining the options available for moving the mapping project forward.
The need for better infrastructure to allow collaboration to grow was particularly obvious from feedback at the ‘Future’s Already Here’ event organised by several cooperative groups in NI in November 2024. This event brought together a wide range of people and there were several conversations with the organisers exploring the scope for follow-up. Out of these conversations, CfC proposed ‘creating a different story’ (see below). The ‘Future’s Already Here’ workshop was funded by the British-based Transition Together which facilitates the VIVE social media for activist’s platform. CfC has made a commitment to share information on VIVE and to inform others about its existence.
Pascal developed links with a group from Transition Together who are developing online maps. He also attended two other collaboration events: a) a conference on collaboration held in Birmingham in November 2024 and organised by CTRL-Shift who support and connect activists; b) Collaboration & Transformation conference held in Dublin in February 2025 and run by Development Trusts Northern Ireland (DTNI).
‘Creating a different story’
Marian Farrell kicked off the ‘creating a different story’ initiative, using it as a way to gather ideas from activists about their vision for a future better world. This initiative is a follow-up to the ‘Future’s Already Here’ (see above). The first ‘creating a different story’ workshop is planned to take place in November 2025. While the organisers of the ‘Future’s Already Here’ are not directly involved in organising this first workshop, they are going to attend and may get involved in planning future events.
Initially, the idea was for the workshop to be an open, sharing conversation. However, it was decided that a key and pressing issue is offering support to the migrant community who are increasingly being attacked. The workshop will instead focus on exploring how different groups, with their expertise and own work, can cooperate in offering support to groups already working with migrants, and take steps towards greater collaboration generally. The workshop will be held in Ballymena, one of the towns where much of the hate and racist crimes has occurred. After thinking about the issues involved we decided to make the workshop by invitation only.
Working Economics
Starting in June, Stevie Downes took the lead on a series of webinars as a follow-up to CfC’s screening of the film ‘Finding the Money’ at the Imagine Festival (see below). The series was given the title, ‘Working Economics’ to imply that we have an economic system that is not working. In each session, Stevie presents his extensive research on a given economic topic and then facilitates a discussion drawing on participants’ experience and views. The first session focused on a comment that “everyone knows what money is” to show that perhaps we don’t. The second session was on how free market economics contributed to the undermining of international agreements and law. Since the summer break, weekly webinars have been led by Stevie on the following topics:
- Prices as a key and a con.
- The illusion of perfect competition and its implications.
- Trade tariffs, interest rates, dollar dominance, and how they interact.
- UK debt and ‘living beyond our means’ when our means are insufficient to live beyond.
- Setting up a business, and endogenous conflict at the heart of the enterprise.
- Banks, booms, and slumps: their part in our downfall.
- ‘The state we’re in’: what state and how did we get here?
- The rise of the right and how orthodox economics is taking us there.
- Alternative Economics: taming capitalism, technology, and Modern Monetary Theory.
- Alternative Economics: untamed capitalism and its uncharted replacement.
The intention in holding these talks is to provide an opportunity to observe what is going on in our economy using a different economic lens; and in observing, to confirm that there is another valid storyline out there that we can both share and contribute to. In these turbulent times, there is a struggle for narrative that is dominated by might, arrogance and righteous fundamentalism. It is vital to grab space to challenge that, and there is an audience who wants to hear that challenge; it’s a question of reaching them. That’s the aim of these sessions and CfC is working towards it.
Other economic projects:
- Positive Money: Several CfC members are part of the Positive Money movement. Positive Money local groups meet up quarterly to liaise about areas on which to focus and to share news of activities. Regular attenders are Southampton, London, and Edinburgh. Positive Money itself has had various campaigns during 2024/25, amongst which was ‘Tax the Banks’. They have also been scrutinising Labour’s economic policies, and they have placed emphasis on the challenge to the dollar in its dominance in trade exchange and new forms of money Central Bank Digital Currencies. Their short videos are worth their digital weight, for example, here. In their website under ‘Our Work’ they have many categories including Racial Economic Justice, Green Finance, and Participatory Democracy. Always worth a visit.
- Bank of England (BoE): The BoE is the only central bank globally to engage in citizens’ panels, and periodically it ventures out from behind its Threadneedle columns and arches to engage with the public. This September, one of their panels was in Belfast and Stevie attended. The discussion was about the cost of living and the local labour market. Huw Pill, BoE’s chief economist, was in attendance so they don’t just send out their back staff. Stevie even got to discuss some Positive Money points with him, and he has a full report of the meeting.
CfC at Imagine! 2025
CfC hosted two events at the 2025 Imagine! Festival of Politics and Ideas in Belfast. We also supported CfC member Mary Mc Manus’s Living Wage event in Clifton House.
We packed Queens Film Theatre on Friday 28 March for a screening of Lesley Riddoch’s documentary ‘Denmark’ which was followed by a lively panel discussion with Lesley, Claire Mitchell, and Fearghal Mac Bhloscaidh on lessons we can learn from the Nordic countries, the ‘pint-sized democracies’ where people try things out and get them done rather than waiting on experts. It was interesting to find out how underrepresented we are in terms of elected politicians.
We also screened the documentary ‘Finding the Money’ on Wednesday 26 March which was hosted by John Barry from Queens University Belfast. This film tells the story of US economist Stephanie Kelton and colleagues as they learn about money creation and set out to change the narrative around government debt and deficits. Takeaway: governments have the power to create money!
