Welcome to
Local Alchemy

In every community, whatever the level of economic disadvantage, there exists the key elements for transformation. What has
been lacking, is a way to release them.

Local Alchemy was created to support people in communities to take a different approach to regeneration, one that can have a more positive, and
sustainable impact on their local economies than traditional regeneration initiatives.

Local Alchemy goes further than simply getting more money into the local economy through tourism, inward investment or funding, by regenerating the local economy from within, and by recognising and making use of the resources that a community already possesses.

Local Alchemy supports:

  • Individuals and groups in a community to take action to reinvent their local economy so that it delivers increased well-being and environmental sustainability rather than just having, and consuming more things.
  • Institutions and agencies to think differently about communities experiencing economic disadvantage. Challenging them to become responsive and solution orientated - focused on removing the barriers facing entrepreneurs and enterprise in areas experiencing economic disadvantage, and supporting them to use their procurement budgets to strengthen local economies.
  • Policy makers to rethink regeneration practice, and to put enterprise in its broadest sense, at the heart of regeneration.

Elizabeth Cox, nef, 3 Jonathan Street,
London, SE11 5NH t: 020 7820 6300

Local Alchemy News

Sustainable Local Economies: The Future? A Local Alchemy conference was held at the Peepul Centre in Leicester on 6 February 2008.

Speakers including Professor Edgar Cahn, Time Dollar Youth Courts and Founder Time Banks US and Stan Thekaekara, visiting Fellow, Skoll Centre for Entrepreneurship, discussed what we really mean by a 'triple-bottom line' approach to regeneration, against the backdrop of a warming world.

Download the Sustainable Local Economics
Flyer and Agenda:

  Sustainable Local Economics Flyer (PDF 286 KB)

  Sustainable Local Economies Agenda (Doc 93 KB)

Who is behind Local Alchemy

Local Alchemy is a programme developed and piloted by nef (the new economics foundation), supported by the East Midlands Development Agency.