Our economies depend on healthy ecosystems, thriving communities and resilient infrastructure. Yet many of the economic models and institutions we rely on struggle to protect and sustain them.

At Promoting Economic Pluralism (PEP), we believe that different ways of thinking about economics can help us develop better ways of organising economic activity. We are moving beyond challenging conventional economic thinking to demonstrating how new approaches can work in practice.

Our current focus is on developing innovative models of economic collaboration, governance and funding to support landscape regeneration and resilient local food economies.

Much conventional economic thinking focuses on competition, individual incentives and markets as the main ways of coordinating economic activity. These approaches have their place, but they are often poorly suited to challenges that depend on cooperation between many organisations and people over long periods.

Restoring a river catchment, for example, can benefit farmers, water companies, infrastructure operators, communities and wildlife. But these benefits are spread across different organisations, each with its own responsibilities, priorities and budgets. No single organisation has sufficient incentive or resources to deliver the changes needed.

Similarly, a thriving local food economy depends on growers, processors, distributors, retailers and customers working together. Yet conventional market relationships can leave small enterprises competing for survival rather than benefiting from cooperation.

The challenge is not simply to find more funding. It is to develop better economic arrangements that enable people and organisations to work together for shared benefit.

A different economic toolkit

Economic pluralism means drawing on a diversity of economic perspectives to understand problems and develop solutions, rather than relying on any single theory.

PEP is particularly interested in the practical application of ecological, institutional, cooperative and complexity economics.

These approaches help us recognise that:

• Economies are embedded in nature and society. Economic activity depends on functioning ecosystems and social relationships, not simply financial transactions.
• Collaboration can create value. Organisations can achieve more by pooling resources, sharing risks and coordinating investment than by acting independently.
• Institutions matter. The rules, relationships and governance structures through which people work together shape economic outcomes.
• Value is more than money. Healthy ecosystems, resilient communities, secure livelihoods and reduced risks create benefits that conventional markets often fail to recognise.
• Economic systems are complex and changing. Effective arrangements need to support learning, adaptation and long-term stewardship rather than assume predictable outcomes.

Our work translates these insights into practical economic models, including multi-stakeholder cooperatives, buyers’ clubs, shared investment arrangements, complementary currencies and new approaches to allocating costs and benefits.

Where we are putting new economics into practice

Landscape regeneration

Collaborating to restore landscapes and build resilience

Healthy landscapes provide essential services, including clean water, flood protection, biodiversity and resilience to climate change. Yet conventional approaches to funding environmental recovery are often fragmented and dependent on short-term grants or transactions in nature credits.

PEP is exploring a different approach: bringing together the organisations that depend on healthy landscapes to jointly fund and govern their regeneration.

Through models such as catchment-based nature clubs and buyers’ clubs, we are developing ways to share costs and benefits, coordinate funding of nature-based solutions and support long-term stewardship.

Explore our work on Landscape Regeneration

Local food economies

Building resilient food systems through economic collaboration

Local food systems have the potential to deliver healthier diets, fairer livelihoods, stronger communities and more sustainable farming. But small growers and local food enterprises often struggle with volatile demand, low margins and a lack of shared infrastructure.

PEP is developing new economic approaches that enable growers, businesses, communities and public institutions to collaborate as part of a connected local food economy.

These include food system clubs, cooperative structures, shared investment, subscriptions, loyalty schemes, complementary currencies and solidarity mechanisms to widen access to healthy food.

Our aim is to help local food economies become more financially viable, inclusive and resilient.

Explore our work on Local Food Economies

Learning by doing

There is no single blueprint for a better economy. Different places face different challenges and opportunities, and new economic arrangements need to be developed with the people and organisations who will use them.

PEP works with partners to explore practical opportunities, design collaborative institutions, test economic approaches and share learning.

By bringing economic thinking together with practical experience, we aim to develop models that can be adapted and applied elsewhere.

Our ambition is to show that new economics is not simply about understanding the world differently, but about organising economic activity differently.

Work with us

We are interested in collaborating with organisations seeking new approaches to landscape regeneration, local food systems and place-based economic resilience.

Whether you are a public body, infrastructure provider, land manager, community organisation, researcher or funder, we welcome opportunities to explore how new economic thinking can support practical change.

Get in touch