New Perspectives on Growth and Social Change - An Evaluation by Dr Meg Peterson
Belfast Agents Leona and Brogan invited community members to reflect on the questions: “What makes you feel big? What makes you feel small?” for the project Rewritten Narratives.
“Human existence, because it came into being through asking questions, is at the root of change in the world. There is a radical element to existence, which is the radical act of asking questions... At root human existence involves surprise, questioning and risk. And because of all this, it involves actions and change. ”
There is no question that our world is going through a significant change and transformation at this moment in history. The rapid growth of AI, the impact of major events such as the pandemic and global powers are shifting in a way that has not been seen for centuries.
Growth in an economic sense (i.e. an increase in production and consumption over time) was once thought of as ‘a rising tide that lifts all the boats’ meaning that with overall economic growth for some, all will benefit. However, this just doesn’t work in practice. As our current levels of wealth inequality demonstrate, economic growth ‘does not automatically translate to increasing prosperity (i.e. human and ecological flourishing)’ [1]. With the climate crisis looming and global conflict in what seems like an all-time high, the pressures facing us all, but particularly young people and their futures feels increasingly uncertain. We urgently need alternative solutions to the issues facing us all. This uncertainty stems from a multitude of factors- from economic instability to the pervasiveness of social media and the job market changing rapidly. Meanwhile, the world’s richest are the richest they have ever been, with wealth inequality growing throughout most of the world, and growth therefore taking place in unsustainable ways. It’s not the most uplifting picture when we look at the world through this lens, but there are ways forward. We need new mechanisms, methodologies and modes to deal with these global issues in new and innovative ways. We all want growth and prosperity but a few benefitting at the expense of others and the environment cannot continue in that direction. We need to rethink what growth means and how we can grow in a way that makes sense for us and the planet.
As a potential way forward, there are businesses and organisations who centre their work around what has been termed post-growth or shifting the ‘narrow focus on [economic] growth with a wider attention to human and ecological flourishing’ [1]. One particular aspect of post-growth, degrowth, invites us to rethink the concept of growth - how it can be better for ourselves, our environment and our communities. Degrowth in practice involves, ‘deviating from profit maximisation, transforming social relationships within business, and between business and communities, transforming structures of both production and consumption, and changing business’s relationship with nature and non-humans’ [2]. To achieve this, we need more deeply understand these concepts to allow us to actually implement these concepts as well as educational tools that can serve as pillars to embed some of this knowledge.
The Agency, a creative entrepreneurship programme for young people that has now affected change with thousands of young people and their communities around the world, is one of these tools- new, innovative approaches to training young entrepreneurs to think differently about impact, community development and sustainable futures. In The Agency, young people develop social change projects that address a need they have identified in their communities, using an asset-based approach to community development. The Agency is an example of a social innovation, or ’any initiative, product, programme, platform or design that challenges, and over time changes, the defining routines, resource and authority flows, or beliefs of the social system in which the innovation occurs’ [3]. Through the programme which targets young people from underserved communities in areas around the UK, The Agency disrupts the more formal education structures such as school, providing an alternative space where young people they can express themselves and their ideas more freely (routines); challenges traditional conceptions about where resource should come from focusing on building resource from inside rather than bringing resource solely from the outside using an asset based approach (resource); and puts young people in the lead of change in their local areas, opposing the more hierarchical structures of who makes decisions in communities and who does not. It is through social innovation where systems change and to change in a sustainable way, degrowth strategies need to be adopted.
To further expand upon these ideas, the following concepts of degrowth [2, 4] will be explored in relation to The Agency:
Deviating from profit maximisation through scaling differently
Transforming social relationships within business, and between business and communities
Rethinking structures of both production and consumption
Focusing on proximity
First, examining entrepreneurship concepts in a bit more detail.
Entrepreneurship, the foundation of The Agency, can be an essential catalyst for economic growth but is an often misunderstood concept. While economic growth for some of the world’s richest who are also entrepreneurs has taken place at an astronomical scale, in the early days of entrepreneurship when the term was coined in medieval France, however, it was simply associated with ‘getting things done’ [5]. Economist Joseph Schumpeter, also known by some as the ‘father of entrepreneurship’, saw entrepreneurship as a disruptive force through one of his key theories, ‘creative destruction’, in it implying that when things are not working and systems are not serving people as they should, this is fertile ground for entrepreneurship and disruptive innovation to thrive. This is incorrectly interpreted by many as a key pillar of capitalism- when something is not working, let’s replace it with something new, something better, more efficient, rather than focusing on societal and economic change inherent in his ideas around creative destruction. While the entrepreneur’s contribution to economic growth as one aspect of capitalism, it is not the sole aspect as it is often framed to be. It’s time to reframe who an entrepreneur is and the change they are capable of having, especially when creating value that is not directly connected to profit and making money such as social, cultural, public or community value that is prioritised by these types of entrepreneurs. The entrepreneur can therefore be reimagined as a changemaker, a disruptor, someone leading the way in applying creativity in new and innovative ways. In this re-envisioned position, ‘private companies and entrepreneurship would have their place, but they need to be reoriented to serve the public good and further human rights, human dignity, social cohesion, sustainability, and democracy’ [4], leading to a world where accumulating profits is not the driving force of how we think about growth.
Now, to examine aspects of degrowth and The Agency methodology:
Deviating from profit maximisation through scaling differently
In more traditional notions of entrepreneurship, scaling is a necessary part of any part of growth, or’ an increase in the resources’ [..] ‘maximising the amount of money’ to be made ‘from an idea or business concept’. These perspectives about growth are often exploitative, perhaps not at first, but a focus on profit maximisation ends up moving more and more in this direction as businesses grow. On a planet with finite resources and economic growth that often benefits a select few larger corporations at the expense of smaller ones, we need new ways of thinking about growth and entrepreneurship’s role in that. As a programme, The Agency in the UK was adapted from the Brazilian programme, Agência de Redes para a Juventude, that was successful in changing the lives of young people across favelas in Rio de Janiero. The programme came to London and Manchester initially, before being replicated to other areas of the UK such as Southampton, Chester, Cardiff and Belfast. This is known as a ‘scaling out’ of social innovations, taking the programme’s key elements and adapting it to fit that particular location, to ‘affect more people and covering a larger geographic area through replication and diffusion’ [6]. This was done through a concerted effort to distill and articulate the bare bones of The Agency methodology to then be able to understand what the non-negotiables were in each location and which elements could be adapted by each organisation, with structured support for each organisation to feel confident in achieving this.
To take it one step further, the projects that young people develop also scale out, with the aim of impacting more people in a meaningful way through the ideas being implemented in communities. In The Agency methodology, young people are taken through an intensive creative process over the course of 10 weeks that helps them to develop entrepreneurial ideas based on needs they have identified in their own communities. They then pitch to a panel to receive seed funding to test their ideas in a further 18-week, facilitated process that focuses on delivery and turning an idea into reality. Following that, the aim is for them to get to a place where their ideas can scale but not scale in the sense of profit maximisation but scaling in the sense of increasing impact. They are by no means discouraged from making money and uncovering revenue streams associated to their ideas, but the social impact and social change come first and foremost, with the hopes of scaling out to affect wider change.
London Agent Magnus pitching at The Agency panel.
2. Transforming social relationships between businesses, organisations and communities
The community is the starting point for social innovation in The Agency, connecting young people directly to networks within the community through local leaders, businesses and charities, that serve as crucial support for young people’s ideas for change. This not only helps the young people to realise their ideas but also changes the dynamics and perceptions of young people in the community. They are seen as forces for change and the source of innovation rather than as a source of deviance, apathy and disruption. This impact on cultural values and beliefs in a particular area is also known as ‘scaling deep’, a method to ‘either to address emerging needs at the local level or tackle the same needs from multiple angles’ [6] and influence hearts and minds. One key element of this is that though the process of helping the young people to develop their ideas is creative, the product or idea they come up with does not have to be, meaning their ideas do not have to fit neatly into ‘the arts’ or ‘creative industries’. The networks that young people build to deliver their ideas therefore do not have to be arts-based organisations or businesses, diversifying the networks of those who support the young people across sectors rather than just within sectors, which can be especially effective for impactful collaboration and systems change.
From an organisational perspective, this also allows the organisation hosting The Agency to build networks they would not normally build through their strictly arts-based activities, opening up possibilities for further collaborations and impact. For example, if one of the young people finds out through the creative process of idea generation from the first Cycle of the Agency that there is a need in their community for a girl’s boxing club, the organisation then has to build networks with local gyms and boxing coaches to support that young person with their idea. This can then have long-term implications for organisational growth through these types of relationships. A boxing gym might have the mission of working with young people to improve their mental health or to have a more positive outlet, while an arts organisation in the same community will have programming to do the same. So, in an ideal world, these relationships will help these organisations solve the same problem but from a different angle, with the diversity of the activities they offer presenting a variety of options for young people in that local area. This will also help them to see the problem from different angles, deepening their understanding of the issues they are trying to foster an impact in with their work.
3. Rethinking structures of production and consumption
Our modern world is characterised by overproduction, overconsumption, competition and exploitation, generally speaking [2]. For this to happen in our traditional capitalist structures, people and the environment are exploited in order to maximise efficiency to allow for and breed a high level of consumption. Rather than have policies or initiatives to refine things that are already existing, we create new things and the culture of competition between companies and brands ensures that there will be a surplus of production, with the marketing strategies to then lead to a high level of consumption following that. Additionally, decisions about what is being produced and who it is for ultimately is decided by larger companies, making products we don’t need exciting and accessible at lower prices because of their exploitative practices. This is not sustainable in the long-term and does not lead to an equitable society that those dedicated to social innovation and social change want to live in. While it might seem overwhelming to shift these embedded systems and ways of doing things, change takes place by focusing attention on actions that can counter these less desirable attributes to production and consumption such as collaboration, empathy, justice, kindness and self-transcendence [2].
The Agency encourages these types of practices, leading with collaboration, compassion and high levels of empathy. In order for young people to come up with their ideas, they have to pinpoint a need they have identified in their community that is based either their own experience of something in their lives or seen in others around them backed up by research they gather on the ground speaking to members of the public about their idea. This helps them to have a deep understanding of the needs they are trying to address through their projects, therefore making a case for the production of the idea alongside the knowledge that there is a need and therefore a likely group of people who will consume or take part in these ideas. In many cases, production and consumption are combined, with young people utilising a co-created approach to co-design their solutions with those who will benefit from their ideas.
Panel Discussion at ‘Protected Prototypes’ Magazine Launch Event. The magazine is led by Agent Larochelle, and co-created with young creatives in North Manchester.
4. Focus on Proximity
In terms of the source of the solutions to some of the social issues facing communities where The Agency takes place, because these solutions come from inside the community from the young people themselves rather than from outside in an asset-based approach, this is more sustainable long-term. When ideas are developed locally for the needs of people in that area, these solutions are more targeted, and solutions are more sustainable. The Agency employs the concept of bricolage, or ‘making do with what’s at hand’ [7], focusing on the resources and needs within the local area as a starting point for young people’s ideas. This is done first through mapping of important parts of the local area as well as mapping the social relationships that each young person has who can help them to realise their ideas. They do build new networks but are often still within the local area or are pre-existing networks of the lead organisation implementing the programme.
By involving young people in a transformative education process such as the education, even if young people go on to do other things, that legacy of embedded knowledge and skills within the community will have long lasting impacts. This has been evident in young people who were awarded funding for their Agency project, delivered it, but then went on to do something else, often taking their knowledge to collaborate with different organisations to create a social impact. When it comes to social innovation, collaboration between diverse actors in a local area such as companies, charities and local authorities can maximise the use of resources, providing a more sustainable and better use of resources. In times where resources are more and more constrained in many ways, using this more sustainable, bricolage-led approach is essential for achieving social innovation.
Conclusion
When it comes to scaling, some argue that the most effective way to enact change is through scaling up, or ‘impacting higher levels of institutions through policy change’, working with policymakers to implement new or change pre-existing positions to allow for a more equitable, just and sustainable society [6]. In reality, we need all three or one of the three, but we just need to start. The Agency did not begin as an educational programme to teach degrowth strategies and scale in many ways. It began as an idea led by passion in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro in direct response to the violence, unemployment and lack of social mobility of many people, particularly young people, in those communities. We just need to start, start small keeping these ideals in mind, changing how we view growth to mean prosperity and development for everyone, not just an elite few. Success through this lens might look different, but it can mean a lot of things and will be unique to every one of us, applying our own unique sets of skills and talents to re-envision the world in new ways. With this in mind, what are the changes you want to see? How can you contribute to this change? Degrowth offers a new perspective on change but as a new concept, the way that it manifests itself in the world is up to us.
We’d love to hear from other organisations interested in these ideas or doing similar things.
References:
1. Colombo, L. A., Bailey, A. R., & Gomes, M. V. (2024). Scaling in a post-growth era: Learning from Social Agricultural Cooperatives. Organization, 31(6), 907-928. ]
2. Nesterova, I., Buch-Hansen, H., Suter, M., Rennstam, J., & Froese, T. (2025). Degrowth and business: Towards a holistic research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 145614.
3. Westley, F., & Antadze, N. (2010). Making a difference: Strategies for scaling social innovation for greater impact. Innovation Journal, 15(2).
4. Felber, C. (2023). Economy for the Common Good: A holistic model for sustainable development. Beyond Growth, 87-105.
5. Kibler, E., & Laine, L. (2024). Counternarrating entrepreneurship. Business History, 66(2), 437-454.
6. Moore, M. L., Riddell, D., & Vocisano, D. (2015). Scaling Out, Scaling Up, Scaling Deep*: Strategies of Non-profits in Advancing Systemic Social Innovation. In Large Systems Change: An Emerging Field of Transformation and Transitions (pp. 67-84). Routledge.
7. Baker, T., & Nelson, R. E. (2005). Creating something from nothing: Resource construction through entrepreneurial bricolage. Administrative science quarterly, 50(3), 329-366.
About Dr Meg Peterson
Dr Meg Peterson is a scholar, artist, cultural leader, educator, and activist whose work has taken her around the globe to use art and creativity as a means of connecting people and communities. She is the Founder of 21 Artists, a creative consultancy focused on fostering, documenting, and evaluating creative social change through projects and programmes with universities, NGOs, charities, artists, and community groups. Projects utilise inclusive, feminist, democratic and participatory methodologies to develop research and evaluation frameworks with UK-based organisations as well as collaborations with organisations in the US, Brazil, Ghana, Greece, Somalia, Italy, Chile, Uganda, Morocco, and Palestine. Meg is also a Senior Lecturer in Creativity & Entrepreneurship and Pro-Vice Dean (Postgraduate Education) at King’s College London, pioneering research and teaching focusing on cultural entrepreneurship, cultural policy, creativity, and creative social change.
Enjoyed this read? This is the First evaluation piece for 2024-2025. Read the previous evaluation here and keep an eye out for more!