To mark our 10th anniversary year, Partners for a New Economy commissioned Fertile Ground – the most comprehensive mapping and analysis of Europe’s new economy ecosystem to date.
Authored by Metabolic, the report identifies 735 organisations across 35 countries that are actively working to transform our economic system to meet the needs of people and planet. It distils ten insights and recommendations that reveal the ecosystem’s strengths, gaps, and opportunities. The study also introduces a typology of activities and themes to make the diversity of new economy actors easier to navigate — laying the groundwork for a living directory of organisations which is in ‘beta’ testing and will be fully launched in 2026.
In the Foreword to the publication, P4NE’s Director, Jo Swinson, reflects on what we can learn from this new publication and how it can inform the field:
“Ten years ago Partners for a New Economy was created by a group of visionary funders who wanted to tackle the economic root causes of environmental destruction. A decade and $35M of grant-making on, we have seen early seeds of alternatives blossom into a vibrant and growing network of organisations.
We commissioned this study because it can be difficult, day to day, to understand what is shifting across the landscape. To know whether hunches about growing momentum or challenges are borne out by the data. To see patterns across the dozens of countries and cultures that are summed up by the single word, Europe. To tell a story about the emergence of new economic ideas and practices, especially when the work ranges across many subject domains, and there aren’t neat boxes about what constitutes a new economy.
This analysis is offered in a spirit of discovery and curiosity to fellow funders and all those working to cultivate a new economy. Naturally, it is not intended to be the last word on describing the field. By sketching the shape of the evolving ecosystem of new economy work, we hope it will help people to get their heads around it more easily, spark healthy debate, and inform decision-making.
This report builds on 2022’s landscape review, “Turning the Tide” by Demos Helsinki (supported by Laudes Foundation in collaboration with P4NE), and links to forthcoming research by The Hour Is Late on philanthropic funding flows for the new economy.
The typology will also be the basis for a self-populated online directory of new economy actors across Europe. I encourage you to use this tool for connection and collaboration, finding fellow travellers working in a similar or complementary track, whether in the same country or elsewhere in Europe. Do please share the insights with friends and colleagues. Most importantly, please take 5 minutes to add your organisation to the directory, creating a more powerful resource for the whole field.
Neoliberal economic assumptions are so embedded it can be hard to imagine that alternatives are possible. There isn’t a single, simple linear path to change. This review showcases just some of the rich tapestry of innovative thinking and pioneering practice that show a better economy is possible. Like snowdrops poking through frozen ground, hinting at the potential of spring, what ultimately flowers will depend both on what seeds were planted and what has been successfully nurtured by the soil.
The economic system has changed before, and it can – and must – change again. We are excited to see new economics emerging from fertile ground.”
Metabolic’s mapping of 735 organisations across 35 countries
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