Last month (March 2026), we came together to celebrate the end of a remarkable three-year partnership between Carnegie UK and the Poverty Truth Network — and to look ahead with hope to what comes next.
From 2023 to 2026, this collaboration brought together people who have experienced poverty and community leaders in the spirit of genuine curiosity and deep listening. Not to fix, not to advise, but to learn together. The result was something that can’t easily be captured in a report or a set of recommendations — it was a shift in understanding, in relationship, and in what feels possible.
Across residentials in Manchester, Coatbridge and Swansea, we explored what a wellbeing economy really means, what a democracy that truly listens could look like, and what a new social contract between individuals, communities and the state might be. Each year built on the last — not as a neat plan, but as a slow roast rather than a microwave meal. Relationships deepened. Friendships formed, and wisdom emerged that no survey alone could have surfaced.
Some of the most powerful moments of the partnership came in people’s own words — a Poverty Truth Maiden Speech written collectively and addressed to decision-makers; a poem about what a good society looks, sounds and feels like; post-it notes and shoes held up to in Zoom rooms, full of hope and honesty.
At our celebration event, we reflected on highlights from three years of work and shared memories; and asked each other: what will we carry with us?
The answer, for many of us, was this: that lasting change starts in moments of trust. In the spaces between us. In the belief that every voice has something to offer — especially the voices most often left out of the room.
This partnership may be ending but the work continues. Over the next two years, the Economics for All project will carry forward the spirit and the learning of everything we have built together . We are grateful to everyone who gave their time, their wisdom and their hope to this work over the past three years.
A good society feels like home. We’re still building it, together.