Grassroots Innovations food research is a ‘Classic Paper’
Research on local organic food systems by 3S’s Dr Gill Seyfang (Reader in Sustainable Consumption) is a ‘Classic Paper’ in the field of Sustainable Development. Dr Seyfang’s work is the […]
Category Archives: News
3S launch Key Insights to Making Sustainability Social
This week the 3S research group are launching our seven key insights resulting from our work on societal engagement with sustainability over the last five years. We believe these insights […]
Community Energy postcards – giveaway!
Can you help us distribute the last of our Community Energy research highlight postcards? Our colourful and easily-digestible set of postcards distil 3 years of our research into 10 key findings, […]
Alternative technology niches – some reflections
Twelve years ago I wrote an article that set my first, tentative bearings for embarking upon research into the actual and potential roles innovative grassroots activity might play in sustainable developments. The article has […]
New book: Grassroots innovation movements
Our new book, Grassroots Innovation Movements, will be published in August 2016. You can download the Open Access Introductory chapter here. Innovation is increasingly invoked by policy elites and business […]
Makerspaces making sustainable developments …
Back in October we organised a workshop at the Machines Room makerspace in London, where participants addressed the question, how can makerspaces help cultivate sustainable developments. The results of the […]
CfP:Digital fabrications amongst hackers, makers and manufacturers: whose ‘industrial revolution’?
We invite abstracts for a track we are organising on the theme of digital fabrications amongst hackers, makers and manufacturers, and which will take place in Barcelona over August 31 to September […]
Event: How can makerspaces, fablabs and hackerspaces help cultivate sustainable developments?
The aim of this event on Monday 26 October at the Machines Room in London is to bring together people involved or interested in sustainability activities to share, discuss, and […]
New article: Making the most of community energies – three perspectives on grassroots innovation
The final, synthesis article from the CISE research project is published in the journal Environment & Planning A. The Open Access article (pdf) argues for a refocusing around the critical edges that […]
Restart Party and searching for the roots of grassroots innovation
On 11th June 2015, Adrian Smith was interviewed by Dave Pickering, who produces podcasts for the Restart Party. Dave wanted to learn Adrian’s views on Restart activities, as well as […]
Unleashing Grassroots Innovations for Sustainability
The quest for sustainability’s holy grail will be the subject of a keynote presentation by Gill Seyfang (3S, UEA) at the European Society for Ecological Economics 2015 conference. (also presented in GI […]
Tooling up: civic visions, fablabs and grassroots activism
What happens when public authorities take an interest in makerspaces? Who gets empowered by initiatives to give tools to the people, and what kinds of citizenship are envisaged? In this […]
Green transformations from below? The politics of grassroots innovation
“Throughout the history of both modern environmentalism and development there has existed an insistent undercurrent of practical, grassroots initiatives seeking socially just and environmentally sustainable forms of production and consumption”. […]
Innovación ciudadana en Siglo 21
On 26th January 2105, Adrian Smith featured on Spanish national radio’s Siglo 21 programme, where he talked about grassroots innovation. Siglo 21 is a daily show on RNE3 that covers […]
How can citizen laboratories and maker culture contribute to sustainable development?
On Tuesday 18th November I participated in a debate organised by the Centro de Innovación y Tecnología para Desarrollo Humano at MediaLab-Prado on the topic, How can citizen laboratories and […]
Article: Technology Networks for Socially Useful Production
Though largely forgotten now, Technology Networks were community-based prototyping workshops supported by the Greater London Council from 1983 until 1986. This article in the Journal of Peer Production provides a […]
Blog: Recordando el Plan de Lucas y el movimiento para producción socialmente util
An edited Spanish version is now online of Adrian Smith’s blog about the Lucas Plan and movement for socially useful production originally posted in English on the Guardian newspaper site. […]
Opening of the ‘A Sense of Energy’ exhibition
The ‘A Sense of Energy’ exhibition opened its doors to the on 26th June at The White Building in London. The exhibition will move to the Senedd in Cardiff from […]
Postcards from Community Energy
Community energy is growing and making a difference. All around the country, more and more people are getting involved in projects that develop sustainable energy in their communities. Through awareness-raising […]
Research Briefing 23: Grassroots fabrication in makerspaces – report from a world café
On Thursday 10th April 2014 we organised a half-day World Café workshop in Copenhagen on the topic of grassroots fabrication in makerspaces. It formed one session within a wider conference […]
Grassroots Innovations 