Today we are talking about the mammoth topic of Payment for Involvement, part of our Payment for Involvement podcast series that we’ve been running over the past couple of months since the launch of the payment for Involvement playbook.

In the previous episode, we explored why it’s so important for organisations to recognise and value lived experience and to pay people for their involvement.

In this episode we’re joined by three, absolutely brilliant guests from Bristol City Council.

They share their journey of creating and implementing a payment for involvement policy in a local authority and discuss the practicalities of how you actually pay people as well.This episode is really jam packed with insightful learnings from their first hand experience. So whether you’re from a local authority, a nonprofit, or really just any organisation that’s looking to engage more equitably and fairly with the communities that you’re serving, you won’t want to miss it.


Want help designing a fair and equitable payment for involvement policy for your organisation? Get in touch to find out how we can help.




Hosts: Saoirse Barry, The Social Change Nest
Guests: Robyn Taylor, Megan Belcher and Ellie Stevens from Bristol City Council

Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

What happens when you compensate people for their involvement, but doing so negatively impacts their eligibility for government benefits?  

Together, we'll unpack why paying people for their lived experience is the right thing to do, but also explore the challenges of doing this effectively without disrupting people's benefits.  

This is something we've been grappling with as an organisation for the last six months, and over the course of this three part mini-series we'll be sharing everything we've learned along the way.  

p.s. Keep a look out for the launch of our free 'Payment for Involvement Playbook'. Designed to help you create a fair payment for involvement policy for your organisation.

Hosts: Julia Fausing and Rachel Krengel, The Social Change Agency

Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

Are you a renegade anarchist who loves rules, compliance and risk management? We're looking for a new Non-Executive Director to join The Social Change Nest board.

In this episode Pete Treganna (Non-Executive Director) and Sapna Patel (Operations Director) discuss what the role involves and why we'd love for you to apply!

Interested in being on the board of The Social Change Nest?

Find out more and apply at https://thesocialchangeagency.org/vacancies/


Host: Pete Treganna and Sapna Patel, The Social Change Agency

Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

Tactics employed by social movements are evolving, strikes are enjoying unprecedented levels of public support, and communities are increasingly taking matters into their own hands.

Anya Stern and Aggie Taylor discuss some of the movement trends they've been observing in 2023.

What trends have you been noticing? Share your thoughts by tagging us on Twitter @SocialChangeAg


Host: Anya Stern and Aggie Taylor, The Social Change Agency

Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

Esther Foreman and Rachel Krengel from The Social Change Agency meet up with James Ozden, Director at Social Change Lab to explore what it takes to build an effective protest movement.

Topics covered include:
- why some protest movements flourish (and some don't)
- whether disruptive tactics work
- the importance of shared identity and collaboration
- the need for more funding to be directed to towards social movements
- how to avoid volunteer burn out
- and much, much more!

You can find out more about Social Change Lab at socialchangelab.org and find James Ozden on Twitter at @JamesOzden.

Visit us at thesocialchangeagency.org
Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAg

Host: Esther Foreman and Rachel Krengel, The Social Change Agency
Guests: James Ozden, Social Change Labe

Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

Today we're speaking with the Head of Grants at the British Science Association, Chris Manion.

We'll be discussing The Ideas Fund, an innovative public engagement program that provides grants for community groups and researchers who have new ideas for addressing local challenges related to mental health and wellbeing. We'll also be looking at the role funders play in bringing about social change, the power imbalances that accompany grant giving and what funders can do to ensure they address this imbalance.

You can find out more about The Ideas Fund at www.theideasfund.org

If you are a funder and you would like to meet with other funders to discuss the challenges, ideas, and opportunities relating to grant making, then head over to www.losingcontrol.org


Visit us at thesocialchangeagency.org
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Host: Maisie Palmer
Guests: Chris Manion, British Science Association

Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this episode, we chat to Alice Sachrajda and Marzena Zukowska, authors of New Brave World: The power, opportunities and potential of pop culture for social change in the UK.

We explore the opportunities for leveraging pop culture for social change and share examples of where pop culture has already proven to be a powerful driver of social change.

You can read the full 'New Brave World' report at: unboundphilanthropy.org/new-brave-world

Visit us at thesocialchangeagency.org
Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAg

Host: Kate Edwards
Guests: Alice Sachrajda and Marzena Zukowska

Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

We check in with Hannah Paterson on the latest developments in participatory grantmaking and the Shift The Power movement. Plus, we discuss Hannah's new role as Senior Portfolio Manager – Innovation, Policy and Practice at the National Lottery Community Fund.

This episode is a conversation between our consultant Rachel Krengel and Michael Parsons, Portfolio Manager at Guy’s and St Thomas' Charity, which is a foundation dedicated to addressing health inequalities in urban areas.

We’ve been working with them on a project to support 20 communities in Southwark and Lambeth during the Covid-19 emergency and beyond. We are piloting ways to get direct financial support into these communities, this has including working mutual aid groups, tenants and residents associations (TRAs) and other community groups.

They discuss how to effectively work closely with communities and how they avoided certain common pitfalls. They talk about how to get money to communities in a way that’s flexible and built on trust, while also complying with traditional regulatory requirements. Plus, they look to the role community groups can play in providing social infrastructure at a time when many charities and councils are struggling.

In this episode, our consultant Rachel Krengel speaks to Lindon Rankin, who is an organiser at the African ‘n’ Caribbean Wellbeing Group based in Southwark. Lindon’s is one of the many community groups we at SCA support.

In this podcast, Rachel talks to Lindon about his journey into community organising, his experiences of organising during the pandemic and how he believes grassroots groups can structure and govern themselves for maximum impact.

In this podcast, speak to Amy Hulme, Senior Consultancy Manager at The Social Change Agency and fair pay campaigner, who reflects on her time campaigning for the Living Wage.

She shares her journey into activism and discusses how to build a successful strategy, movement-building misconceptions and dealing with the slow pace of corporate behaviour change as a campaigner.

In this podcast, speak to Mita Desai, programme manager for the Young Trustees Movement.

She shares her journey into activism and discusses how to build a successful strategy, movement-building misconceptions and balancing the need to lead with the need to let go of control.

This is part 2 of a two-part interview featuring Brian Young, the Executive Director of Action Network in conversation with Betsy, our principal director.

Action Network is a non-profit dedicated to providing cutting edge technology to the progressive movement.

As we record this, we’re facing the corona pandemic induced lockdown and Betsy and Brian reflect on ways technology can bring communities together, asking how to foster connections between people when contact is off the cards. And how to make the brilliant work of community groups responding to the Covid-19 pandemic easier?

Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.org
Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAg

Hosts: Betsy Dillner and Kate Edwards
Guest: Brian Young
Producer: Maria Mancuso
Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

This is part 1 of a two-part interview featuring Brian Young, the Executive Director of Action Network in conversation with Betsy, our principal director.

Action Network is a non-profit dedicated to providing cutting edge technology to the progressive movement.

Brian discusses how to build power between people, rather than their online profiles.

Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.org
Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAg

Hosts: Betsy Dillner and Kate Edwards
Guest: Brian Young
Producer: Maria Mancuso
Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this episode, we're sitting down with Hannah Paterson a Churchill Fellow exploring participatory grant-making.

Participatory grant-making (PGM) is a means of putting funding decisions into the hands of those affected by the decisions. Done right, it can fundamentally shift power blurring the traditional roles of ‘funder’ and ‘grantee’.

Hannah will be running a session on PGM at our ‘Losing Control in funding and commissioning event’ on the 4th March 2020. It will be a day of honest conversations with funders, grantmakers and grantees looking at how we should be innovating to better address the social challenges we face today.

Find out more here: https://www.losingcontrol.org/programme-funding-commissioning-2020/

Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.org
Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAg

Host: Kate Edwards
Guest: Hannah Paterson
Producer: Maria Mancuso
Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this episode, we chat with Uma Mishra-Newbery, Executive Director of Women’s March Global, to talk through some of the challenges inherent in the funding sector and the opportunities that lie in changing the traditional approach.

Uma is running a session at our ‘Losing Control in funding and commissioning event’ on the 4th March 2020. It will be a day of honest conversations with funders, grantmakers and grantees looking at how we should be innovating to better address the social challenges we face today.

Uma’s session is on ‘Funding movements and networks, not people and projects'. Find out more here: https://www.losingcontrol.org/losing-control-in-funding-commissioning/

Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.org
Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAg

Host: Esther Foreman
Guest: Uma Mishra-Newbery
Producer: Maria Mancuso
Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this episode, we chat to Jason Foo, CEO of BBD Perfect Storm, a ‘brand and cultural transformation agency’ who have put purpose at the heart of the work they do.

Foo talks about appetite for social change in the business sector and the scope for social impact.

Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.org
Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAg

Host: Kate Edwards
Guest: Jason Foo
Producer: Maria Mancuso
Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this episode, we caught up with Jo Wells, director of the Blagrave Trust and founding funder of the Young Trustees Movement, which brings together a number of organisations with the aim of doubling the number of young people serving on charity sector boards over the next five years.

Jo talks to us about her decision to get behind The Young Trustees Movement, why it is so necessary for the future of charity governance and what it means to take a systemic approach that puts young people at the heart of driving change.

Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.org
Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAg

Host: Mita Desai
Guest: Jo Wells
Producer: Maria Mancuso
Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this episode, we speak with Tor Evans, the senior external relations manager for the Roundhouse who also sits on the Young Trustees Movement advisory board.

The Roundhouse has been a leading voice in the push to recruit young trustees. They are trailblazers who have had young trustees for over a decade and even created a guide to youth governance in collaboration with the Arts Council.

Tor shares some practical tips for how organisations can recruit young trustees in a meaningful way.

Download a copy of the Roundhouse Youth Governance Guide here: https://www.roundhouse.org.uk/about-us/our-work-with-young-people/youth-governance/

Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.org
Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAg

Host: Mita Desai
Guest: Tor Evans
Producer: Maria Mancuso
Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music

In this podcast Pete Burden introduces sociocracy, a consent-based decision making approach to organising. Pete is an organisational strategist, coach and facilitator with over 30 years’ experience working with purpose-driven businesses and organisations.

In the second part of this episode, ‘Art of Hosting’ practitioner Jose Barco talks us through acting with purpose and the Art of Hosting approach to harnessing a groups collective wisdom and self-organizing capacity.

Visit us at www.thesocialchangeagency.org
Follow us on Twitter at @SocialChangeAg

Host: Kate Edwards
Guests: Pete Burden and Jose Barco
Producer: Maria Mancuso
Theme music by Loyalty Freak Music