Norwich Sharing City is a collective of citizens and local organisations campaigning for Norwich to be recognised as the UK's leading sharing city by 2020. We want to join a global alliance of connected cities that are embracing the rise of the collaborative economy.

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The story so far

Norwich Sharing City launched in December 2017 with an event organised by Hot Source. Around 50 local residents joined us at NUA's Ideas Factory to discuss the positive change they want to see in the city over the coming years.

This was followed by a sell-out event at Hawthorn in March 2018, which brought together local groups and residents to discuss solutions and ideas for reducing food waste in Norwich.

The following month, we partnered with Norfolk Network to deliver an event focused on the dockless bike sharing company Ofo. You can read more about this event via Norfolk Network and the Eastern Daily Press.

What is the collaborative economy?

The collaborative economy (sometimes called the sharing or platform economy) refers to the use of digital technologies to access knowledge, goods, services and money from any kind of people-powered networks. Some well-known examples include Airbnb, Deliveroo, Ofo and Uber.

While these are the platforms that often feature in the news, the sharing movement is bigger and bolder than Silicon Valley. In fact, it’s already active in grassroots communities all over the world, including here in Norwich. By working together, we can solve problems and create new opportunities that benefit everyone.

We believe that cross-border collaboration with other cities can help us use technology for social good, find and exchange solutions to practical everyday problems, and develop a strong local economy that empowers people to share as much or as little as they want to.

What is a sharing city?

Cities all over the world are declaring themselves “sharing cities” and making a commitment to embrace the opportunities of the collaborative economy. This means working to ensure that sharing platforms are delivering value for citizens in the local context and encouraging the creation of new solutions that help communities make better use of resources for everybody’s benefit. While the specifics of a sharing city vary from place to place, an open-minded approach to digital innovation and the ambition to learn from the experience of other cities is at the heart of the global sharing cities movement. For more information, please visit the Sharing Cities Alliance website.

Get involved

If you’d like to get involved with Norwich Sharing City, we recommend joining our mailing list and connecting with us on Twitter, Facebook or Slack. We use these platforms to issue updates and requests, discuss and exchange ideas, and share relevant articles and other coverage.

If you have a skill you’d like to offer or an idea you’d like to discuss, you can email us on [email protected].

Of course, the other way you can get involved is by becoming a backer and making either a monthly or one-off donation. Even a small contribution will go a long way to helping us achieve our goals.

Why we need your support

Norwich Sharing City is run by volunteers and currently relies on goodwill and one-off sponsorship to fund any costs associated with our work (e.g. venue hire, food and drink, promotional materials). However, we think it’s important for us to become financially sustainable, which is why we’re asking for your help.

By donating a small amount each month, you can help us deliver more ambitious events, publish high-quality local content, and raise the profile of Norwich across the globe. You’ll be able to see exactly how this money is spent because we publish our income and expenditure right here on our website.

Questions or concerns? Feel free to email us on [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.