Research

This paper considers the theoretical and academic background to our ideas for City Pay from a systemic and behavioural economics perspective, and looks in detail at our learnings from nearly a decade of operating the Bristol Pound.

Read the paper here

This report, commissioned by Bristol Pound and undertaken by Mark Thurstain-Goodwin of Geofutures Ltd, analysed the digital transaction data for Bristol Pound from its inception to July 2019, a year before the end of the digital currency. It looks at whether there is evidence of a localised trading network through usage of the currency, and how this network developed over time.

Read the report here

 
 

This report presents the findings of a research project with the purpose of evaluating what services and features the Bristol Pound might offer its business members in order to encourage and expand its business membership and the active engagement of this membership with the £B. The research was funded by the ESRC and took place between January and June 2019. It was comprised of 26 semi-structured interviews with £B business members and non-members. It represents a collaboration between the Inclusive Economy Institute at the University of Bristol and the £B. It was conducted by Dr Thomas Sealy and overseen by Professor Martin Parker.

 
 

On 31/10/18 Bristol Pound CIC hosted a ‘Roundtable’ to explore the future of local currencies with a small group, including people working on future economy issues, academics and representatives from other exchange schemes.

The purpose of the Roundtable was to explore what contribution local currencies have and could make towards a fairer, more resilient and sustainable economic system that serves society and works for all.

Read the report here.

 
 

In April 2018, Adam Marshall and Daniel O'Neill published research (in Ecological Economics) looking at Bristol Pound's role in encouraging economic localisation.

 
 

In June 2017, Susan Johnson and Helen Harvey-Wilson of the University of Bath published their final report on their research in 2016 using in-depth interviews with Bristol Pound members. The research is based on the understanding of a theory of change in terms of user adoption and use:  that for impact to be achieved, people must first join, then use and increase their use of the currency in order to achieve impacts.  It uses the approach of realist evaluation to give a much deeper insight into the reasoning that they give for their use (or non-use) of the B£.
 
 

In January 2017 Bristol Pound CIC conducted a members' survey asking the membership questions about Bristol Pound use (non-business).
 
 
 

From 2014, Dr. Jennifer Ferreira and Dr. Mark Perry of Brunel University London present some highlights generated by their research so far. The findings are based on the online Bristol Pound member survey and the member interviews. Details of each method are attached in the appendix. What follows are insights into the Bristol Pound community of users how they use the currency and their experiences as part of the community.
 

Further Reading

Research

Framing The Economy - How to win the case for a better system.

Report by NEON, NEF, Frameworks Institute and PIRC

Published in 2018

What is the story of the economy in Britain? Who gets to shape public opinion about what it's for, how it's broken and how it can be fixed. These are the questions the Framing the Economy project set out to answer - in order to help civil society communicate and organise more effectively, to help bring about the changes needed to move to a sustainable, equitable and democratic economy.
 
You can download the full report, for free HERE
Research

People Powered Money - Designing, Developing and Delivering Community Currencies

Community Currencies in Action (CCIA)

Published in 2015

Money holds many mysteries. Where does it come from? How did it evolve? Who creates it and controls it? Why do we never seem to have enough? People Powered Money helps to unravel the mysteries behind our every-day understanding of money to provide practitioners and policy-makers alike with the currency innovation advice and tools needed to successfully re-engineer money.
 
You can download it in full, for free HERE
Research
Energising Money 

Report by NEF

Published in 2013

The world is facing an ecological crisis. Our economic system fails to properly account for the natural resources on which human prosperity depends. But attempts to remedy the problem, for example through environmental taxation, fail to address an elephant lurking in the room: the monetary system. Energy-related money offers a means to improve the qualities of the monetary system, while also stimulating the low-carbon energy transition we urgently need.
 
You can download the full report, for free HERE
Research
Plugging the leaks  

Bernie Ward and Julie Lewis

Published in 2002

This handbook is a guide to a new approach to revitalising local econonomies. It can be used as a basic introduction to economics, as well as the starting point for a new involvement with your local area.
Since there is no such thing as a ‘standard’ community, this handbook has been written in a way to be applicable to almost any location. The writers tried to make it appropriate to a very wide range of community organisations, including public sector bodies, voluntary organisations, business networks, regeneration bodies, religious groups and so on.
 
You can download the full guide, for free HERE
Research
The Money Trail  

Justin Sacks

Published in 2002

LM3 has been tried and tested across the UK, from agriculture to social enterprise to local government procurement, to determine how money coming into your community is then spent and re-spent. The Money Trail shows you how to use LM3 to find out what’s really happening in your local economy, and how you can make it better.
 
You can download the full report, for free HERE

Resources

 
In 2018, Sustainable Learning created free resources for primary school teachers to teach their students about sustainability and green issues. This resource includes lesson plans for teachers on Community Currencies, all based on the Bristol Pound. You can find a fantastic video Bristol Pound CIC helped them make in summer 2017, with children leading the way:
 
 

Community Currency Knowledge Gateway - found at community-currency.info - is a gateway to online resources, literature and general knowledge on community and complementary currencies. It is launched by the Community Currencies in Action (CCIA) EU Interreg project in 2014 and maintained by international partners and volunteer contributors.