Fruit

Content and Expression

We know that picking people to work with is an important decision. So, we thought it might be a good idea to share some of the things we have done, in order to help you decide if we are for you. Here you will find a selection of writing, talks, dialogues and projects. These should give you a sense of the array of things Spaces of Hope can offer you.

Coproducing a new vision and strategy for Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services (LCVS):

During 2023 LCVS is examining their role in the challenge to eradicate poverty in Liverpool, and we would like the local organisations that they work with to share their views. They have a clear purpose, but now it requires nuance, guiding principles, and clearly delineated areas for practice. They have commissioned Dr. Matthew Barber-Rowell (Founder of Spaces of Hope, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Liverpool Hope University, and a resident of Liverpool) to take us through the process of engagement with our stakeholders so that the resulting movement for change is rooted in views and experiences from across LCVS and its partners.

Hope by name, and Hope by Nature? Throughout April and May 2023, there will be a series of dialogues taking place across Liverpool Hope University offering a chance for people to reflect on whether the University is both Hope by name, and hope by nature? The series of dialogues is being supported by the Hope Ecumenical Network (HEN), which connects the University with Christian institutions around the world. Dr Wendy Bignold, Associate Dean (International), who is a Co-Director for HEN said: “The Spaces of Hope dialogues are a great opportunity for you to tell your story and share your experiences of hope, at Hope! It will be interesting to see how these dialogues relate to Hope’s own mission and values.” Following the Spaces of Hope dialogues, a report of the findings will be shared with the University’s Mission and Values Committee.

Rebuilding the Public Square. Religious Engagement and the Temple Tradition in Post-Pandemic Britain - Conference at Blackburn Cathedral hosted by William Temple Foundation, Liverpool Hope University and Blackburn Cathedral - December 2022

Matthew delivered a paper exploring Curating Spaces of Hope as a cutting edge example of, what Temple would call, intermediate groupings, but in a 21st Century context.

Others who contributed to the conference included Rowan Williams, Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald, Prof Simon Lee, Prof Chris Baker and Dr Tim Winter.

'Global Collaborative Leadership' Dialogue Network - November and December 2022 - Matthew was engaged by Julie Guegan, a Senior Advisor to the European Innovation Council, to convene a dialogue network exploring the theme of Global Collaborative Leadership. The dialogues engaged with an international group with participants from France, Portugal, Belgium, Austria, England and Pakistan. The group explored the principles for leadership offered by Spaces of Hope which allowed those gathered to begin to unearth the values and practices that might underpin a citizen movement that could drive global collaborative leadership. The series included 3 dialogues, which fed into a movement now called 'it's your Europe', driven by the recently launched 'Global Collaboration Lab'. The very best of luck to those who continue the movement on.

Gramsci Society UK Dialogue - November 2022 - Matthew was invited to join Gramsci Society UK to share Spaces of Hope and to develop dialogue around shared themes across different worldviews. he video of the paper I gave is included here. The dialogue that followed (not included) linked with Gramscian ideas of the organic intellectual, experiences of alienation, and the question was posed as to whether or not Spaces of Hope might lend itself as a Modern Prince (in Gramscian terms) or a means of forming new political revolutionary or citizen led parties or organisms? This is an open question that will be returned to.

SCM Press Book Deal - September 2022 - It has been agreed that Dr Barber-Rowell will take up a contract with SCM Press, to produce his first monograph exploring Spaces of Hope and what it means for political theology in society today. This is an exciting move beyond the doctoral research Matthew completed at Goldsmiths College, and applied it in the contexts of the post-pandemic city. His work will consider the role that dialogue, leadership and shared values can play in shaping partnerships and what this means for a political theology of leadership in uncertain times.

Liverpool Hope University Postdoctoral Fellowships - July 2022 - It has been agreed that Dr Barber-Rowell will take up a postdoctoral fellowship at Liverpool Hope University. The post is honorary and will run until July 2024. This post will offer scope for Dr Barber-Rowell to research applications of the Spaces of Hope approach within Higher Education settings, and the city of Liverpool.

Catholic Social Activists Dialogue in Liverpool - July 2022 - Matthew worked with the church of St Vincent Du Paul, in the Baltic Triangle, to convene a dialogue exploring how we might be Good Samaritans in the city post-pandemic. The dialogue referred to the encyclical letter Fratelli Tutti written by Pope Francis, and explored the call for all people to serve one another. The dialogue explored themes of hope and fear and consider how we might overcome these barriers.

Fellows Dialogue in Liverpool - June 2022 - Matthew worked with the RSA Northern Manager to gather RSA Fellows to host a dialogue exploring how Spaces of Hope might enable the rebuilding of relationships in the city after the pandemic. The dialogue explored themes of disconnection, hybrid living and the anxiety of returning to life IRL (in real life) post-pandemic. The dialogue questioned whether similar such dialogues might take place in the future. A blog to accompany the gathering on the theme of leadership can be found here

Dialogue Society Volunteers Digital Dialogue - May 2022 - Using the Spaces of Hope approach to dialogue, set out in the Journal of Dialogue Studies in 2021, Dr Matthew Barber-Rowell led a conversation which mapped the Spaces of Hope from the pandemic and identified the barriers faced too. Following this mapping, we coproduced a compass to guide us forward, to help shape our journey on through uncertainty, post-pandemic. This dialogue was aimed at people who have an interest in dialogue between those who share community and those with different worldviews from our own, who are living and working in the North West of England and live or work in the city of Liverpool.

Interdisciplinary Academic Conferences - Spring / Summer 2022 - Matthew was invited o speak at a conferences covering disciplines of public theology, sociology of religion and social policy, where he shared Spaces of Hope research and ideas that shape the paradigm. these papers offered opportunity to test the paradigm with other scholars in the respective fields. These papers where all picked up for journal publication due in 2023.

Temple Fellowship - Feb 2022 - July 2022 - It has been announced by the William Temple Foundation that "Dr Matthew Barber-Rowell FRSA is the first recipient of a William Temple Foundation Fellows’ Award. This award is for early career academics who demonstrate significant impact through their PhD research ... The Fellows’ Award has been developed using a legacy from Len Collinson, former Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside, Honorary Professor of the University of Central Lancashire, and business leader in northwest England. Collinson recognised that enterprise and interdisciplinary partnerships were central tenets of a flourishing society". Chair of the William Temple Foundation Prof Simon Lee said, "A core part of the Foundation’s work has been supporting William Temple Scholars as they pursue their doctoral studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. Trustees have now committed to encouraging Scholars, once they have been awarded their PhD, to apply their research in society. Congratulations to Matthew on leading the way".

Hitch, Behaviour Insights Unit - Feb 2022 - May 2022 - Matthew was engaged as Consultant to offer qualitative and quantitative research and analysis, guiding policy recommendations for a varied portfolio of commissioned work for local authorities in the North West of England offering, analysis (including COM-B motivations analysis within LSOAs) and recommendations for responding to COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy, and thematic and sectoral analysis of ‘Living with Covid’.

Shared Lives Plus - October 2021 to Feb 2022 - Matthew was engaged as a Strategic Advice Consultant to help the development of the Strategic Advice offer by Shared Lives Plus; a membership organisation supporting carers and schemes nationwide to deliver the cheapest and most effective form of social care (according to the CQC). This work included conducting scheme reviews with social care schemes across England, including stakeholder engagement, carer and stakeholder Interviews, reporting and editing, and strategic insight and reflection on service design and development.

Dialogue Society Conference - June 2021 - Curating Spaces of Hope: exploring the potential for faith based organisations and intra-communities dialogue in post-pandemic society - Matthew was invited to speak at this conference as part of a panel exploring dialogue spaces and communities in a post-pandemic context. The video of the full panel is included here and Matthew's paper is on second, at 17min 42 seconds.

Climate Emergency Response - St Helen's - May 2021 - May 2022 - Matthew was commissioned to work with a group of churches who new they had to respond to the climate challenge, but were unsure how. The brief was to design and deliver funding and project strategy for combatting climate crisis across multiple sites in the town, which offered holistic solutions to both the climate challenge and issues of food poverty, poor mental health and other ills in communities in the top 1% of MID. The project successfully delivered 400%+ ROI, sustainable heating solutions across multiple sites, and stronger relationships with local officials.

Doctoral award confirmed - April 2021 - Dr Barber-Rowell was officially awarded his PhD from Goldsmiths College, University of London. The thesis is titled 'Curating Spaces of Hope: towards a liminal, rhizomatic, and productive paradigm of faith baed organisation'. The supervisor for this thesis was Prof Chris Baker (Goldsmiths College, University of London and William Temple Foundation). The examiners of the thesis were Prof Peter Scott (Lincoln Theological Institute, University of Manchester) and Dr Sara Silvestri (City College, University of London).

Climate Emergency Strategy - Diocese of Liverpool - October 2020 to Feb 2021 - Matthew was commissioned to conduct a Feasibility Study for the Diocese of Liverpool, which explored what the response to the Climate Emergency might look like, across the area. This covered the technical and prophetic challenges facing faith groups and set out what was needed to tackle these challenges in the decade ahead.

Government commissioned research - 12th November 2020 - Dr Barber-Rowell, was one of a team from the Faith and Civil Societies Unit at Goldsmiths University of London, and William Temple Foundation who conducted research on behalf of the APPG for Faith and Society mapping responses by faith groups and local authorities to the Pandemic. This research took place following lockdown 1 of the pandemic and covered the United Kingdom. The report, launch at Parliament, can be found here. Following the release of the report, it was subject to a Debate at Parliament on 11th Feb 2021. Link to the Hansard record of the debate is included here

William Temple Foundation blog Matthew Barber-Rowell examines how the practice of mask-wearing might reveal precisely the sort of attitudes we need to shape society for the better over the coming years.

"...to wear a mask is to consider others, to express values which are rooted in relationship, and to recognise that we have a shared existence and responsibility for the common good..."

Read the full article here

Lockdown, Liminality and Local Leadership - June 2020 A recent blog by Matthew for William Temple Foundation about the way local leadership shapes the emergence of spaces of hopeful possibilities, including 1) a brief study from work that has been ongoing for a long time in the Parish of St Andrew's Clubmoor, 2) data from last years Spaces of Hope gathering looking at leadership in a liminal age, 3) how we might move forward. Find the Blog Here

Magnet Magazine Article in February 2020 Edition: Spaces of Hope has been featured in the February edition of Magnet Magazine, which focuses on the theme of 'Time: A season for everything'. The article, written by Matthew, reflects on the development of Spaces of Hope in the North West from 2016 to 2019 and uses it as a catalyst for reflection on the subject of 'What is unseen is eternal'. In the article Matthew discusses the Sermon on the Mount, which can be found in the Gospel of Matthew Chapter's 5-7 and considers the relevance of Jesus' radical approach, for us today. To read the article and to get more information about Magnet Magazine, follow the link here

Church of England, Social Responsibility Network (SRN) Annual Conference: In November 2019, the Diocese of Chester hosted the SRN Annual conference. This conference attracted delegates from across the Church of England and the Church in Wales for a 3 day gathering. The focus of the conference was 'Church on the High Street' and was interested in how the flows of people across places characterised by our changing economies, are understood and engaged with, by the Church. Spaces of Hope designed and delivered the substantive content of the day, providing an immersive 'field trip' to different sits across Stockport, which helped delegates to reflect on the theme of the conference. This gathering helped those interested in social responsibility in their own contexts, to understand more about where the spaces of hope might be and how they might access them.

Curating Spaces of Hope: Exploring the Movement from Root to Fruit - 23rd October 2019. This gathering will explore the last three and a half years of Spaces of Hope in Stockport, considering both the idea itself, through reflection on its progress, and its potential for development. This symposium will explore the curation of personal narrative, professional practice and research led innovation, as a means of drawing through the beliefs and values at the root of who we are, so that they produce good fruit through what we do. This gathering will begin by asking attendees to reflect on what Spaces of Hope means to them, before engaging with the Spaces of Hope dialogues, gatherings and networks that have formed, and finally engaging with critical questions that will shape the growth of the movement.

For the full write up of this event, go to the William Temple Foundation News Pages, here

Grassroot Movements and Partnerships of Hope - 16th October 2019 - Matthew joined a panel convened by the Faith and Civil Societies Unit at Goldsmiths College, University of London, to discuss the growth of Spaces of Hope in the Northwest, alongside interfaith projects from elsewhere in the country. This event is free to attend and you can register here

World Mental Health Day Service at Manchester Cathedral - 10th October 2019 - Matthew has helped to steer the development of this inaugural service, hosted by the Mental Health Chaplaincy in Greater Manchester. Matthew will be sharing a story of hope as part of the service and helping to develop understanding of interfaith engagement with mental health and wellbeing.

William Temple Scholarship announced - June 2019 - Matthew has been awarded a William Temple Foundation scholarship to enable him to complete his doctoral research at Goldsmiths, University of London. Commenting on the new appointment, Director of Research Professor Chris Baker says: ‘We’re delighted that Matthew has become our latest scholar. The creative and ground-breaking work that Spaces of Hope is generating around partnerships and policy formation is something that William Temple Foundation is proud to endorse and support.’ Read the full announcement here

Winning Hearts and Minds and Curators of Change - September 2018 to April 2020 A project run by Manchester City Council, Manchester health and Care Commissioning, The Manchester Primary Care Partnership and Greater Manchester Mental Health Foundation Trust. For more on the 'Winning Hearts and Minds' project itself, click here. Spaces of Hope has been utilised by consultant 'Curators of Change', to use our qualitative expertise to construct Grounded Theories for communities in North Manchester, in a way that is sensitive to cultural and religious nuance, power structures and spatiality, and can inform the development of new health based interventions. You can read more about the project here as well as in the pilot project report (left)

The Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society in England - August 2018 - Spaces of Hope was included as one of four interfaith case studies, given as exemplars from across the UK of 'Bridge Building and Peace Brokering'. The research looked for examples of work that was 'below the radar' and offered opportunities to reshape the ecosystem that they were in. Spaces of Hope stood out as one such example. This research reflected on broader themes of Power, Assets and Accountability, Collaboration and Connection, Transformation and Trust. This comprised what the Inquiry referred to as the PACT analysis, so named as it should for the basis for the relationship with society and the surrounding institutions.

Stockport Spaces of Hope Hubs Network - Across 2018 - commissioned by Stockport Council in 2018. Between 2016 and 2019, Spaces of Hope has grown in the Stockport through a movement engaging 167 people through 9 community gatherings and thousands more through a social media campaign, who have contributed to the co-design of Spaces of Hope itself and coproduced content for delivering healthier, more hopeful and connected communities. The report for this work can be read in full, below:

Our first 30 Gatherings between October 2016 and January 2019 This is a Map of the gatherings that have taken place since the first Spaces of Hope public event in September 2016. This map provides details of the location of the events and the nature of the content and expression of each of the gatherings. We have been excited to see the ideas of Spaces of Hope planted across the North West in 2016 and 2017, with links into Leeds and Birmingham by the end of 2018. The combination of personal stories, beliefs and values informing how we work and how we relate to and connect with others is a powerful one.