Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

Principles met

About the project

Aims of the pilot

Stevenage Borough Council aimed to implement a strengths-based community development model, which included time banking. Time banking is a community-based system where people exchange services using time as currency. Members earn “time credits” by providing services, like tutoring or gardening, and spend those credits on services they need from others. Every hour of service is equal, promoting equality and reciprocity within the community.

The ‘Little Bank of Kindness’ aimed to test the concept of time banking in a small area and assess its feasibility for rolling out to other areas of Stevenage.

This pilot ran from December 2023 until March 2024 and focused on the St Nicholas ward of Stevenage where:

a) Councillor Sandra Barr, Cabinet Member for Co-operative Council and Neighbourhoods, is the elected member,

b) The community is seen as ‘active’,

c) The community centre already has links with partner agencies through the council’s ‘Stevenage Together’ strategic partnership and the ‘Social Inclusion Partnership’ sub-group.

To address the practical challenge of Stevenage Borough Council resourcing the pilot project, Made Open (a leading time banking software provider) were commissioned to deliver a three-month pilot with remote member onboarding support. This was with the understanding that the Community Development team at Stevenage Borough Council would support Made Open with recruitment via local networks and connections.

For further information contact: