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Government must invest in new wealth of time as recession begins to bite, says nef
With the impact of the financial crisis yet to play out in full, government should invest now in timebanking to enable us to exchange the skills, knowledge and resources that we all have. This recession-proof means of exchange should be embedded at the heart of all public services, says a new report from think-tank nef (the new economics foundation)
The New Wealth of Time: how timebanking helps people build better public services, is published to mark the tenth anniversary of timebanking in the UK.
From small beginnings in Rushey Green in South East London, and Gloucestershire, the network has grown to over 109 active time banks at the heart of communities across the UK where 600,000 hours or 71 years of time have been mutually exchanged.
Now, as the effectiveness of reliance on market-based approaches is increasingly brought into question, it is time to realise the full potential of timebanking, particularly in public services. Time could be the new currency that knits communities together, promotes well-being and reduces financial pressures on public services, the report says. Timebanking is a practical tool for bringing people together to share their skills and for enabling people to be involved in shaping and producing public services. Based on principles of co-production, it could revitalise schools, hospitals, public housing and even the youth justice system.
Unlike the money economy, timebanking values everyone’s contribution equally: 1 hour of time is equal to 1 time credit, whether you are a surgeon or an unemployed single mother. Timebanking recognises that everyone, even those defined as ‘disadvantaged’ or ‘vulnerable’, has something worthwhile to contribute
Anna Coote, Head of Public Sector Policy at nef says: “Successful timebanks show that valuable resources already exist within public services like schools and hospitals. These resources are often untapped as people aren’t asked to give back or become involved. Co-production, in this case in the form of timebanking, is a way of involving people directly – individually and in groups – in identifying and meeting social needs. It gives people more control, helps to prevent ill-being and thereby safeguards resources for meeting needs that cannot be avoided. The challenge now is to turn the exception into the rule, to build resilience locally and to promote sustainable well-being”.
Case studies in the report show how different models of timebanking are already:
- improving mental ill health
- regenerating disadvantaged communities
- reducing isolation
- improving the health of older people
- improving the wellbeing of young people
- creating a more effective criminal justice system.
The New Wealth of Time recommends that national and local government, funders and the third sector should value time as an alternative means of exchange. It should be embedded into public services to increase individual and community resilience and reduce demand on hard-pressed resources. To do this, the report recommends:
- embedding timebanking in services through doctors’ surgeries, hospitals, schools, housing estates and other public organisations
- funding to prioritise programmes that reward and embed reciprocity, and replaces ‘output’ targets with broader measures of well being and what matters to people
- policy makers to give higher priority to timebanking and other measures that build resilience and focus on people’s strengths as part of the solution to problems rather than their weaknesses
- involving service users in shaping and co-producing services
- regulators and auditors to encourage public services that are co-produced and ensure that regulations support systems of mutual care and support
“By actively promoting timebanking, public service workers can transform themselves into an inspirational force for social change and show that they really believe in the possibility of community empowerment,” says Martin Simon, Chief Executive of Timebanking UK. “In return, they will be able to bank on the co-operation, local knowledge, skills and experience of their service users, their families, friends and wider community. Time banking provides a new framework and a range of incentives for people to reach out to others and to get involved, to use their time for the common good.”
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