Sharing our learning from past and present work to support the ongoing evolvement of more equitable, democratic and justice led approaches to social change.
Our work in this area exists to evolve participatory and power sharing practice, taking a reflective learning approach and sharing this insight widely with the sector.
Our aim is to support the sector in shifting organisation and institutional cultures to transformational change. By analysing existing systems and working towards deeper systemic shifts, we are aiming for equitable and democratised progress.
There's a growing desire within civil society to move towards inclusive, democratic, and power-sharing approaches. This involves treating marginalised groups as equal partners and active agents of change, rather than passive beneficiaries.
JRF is open to collaboration and eager to connect with others who are also experimenting with new approaches to social change, fostering a community of shared learning and innovation.
Founded in 2020, JRF’s Grassroots Poverty Action Group (GPAG) is made up of 14 people with direct experience of poverty from across the UK. Members of the group include people who are most at risk of poverty, including people from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds, lone parents, Universal Credit claimants, disabled people and unpaid carers.
The group meets monthly and works alongside JRF staff, and sometimes external partners, on a variety of projects spanning research and policy, insight infrastructure development and campaigning. Group members bring their experience of living on a low-income but also the skills, knowledge, and experience they may have from employment, voluntary work, caring responsibilities, and community activism.
Learn more about the realities of facing the injustices of poverty over the last 20 years in GPAG members own words.
Insights from JRF's Grassroots Poverty Action Group (GPAG) on the 2026 UK Poverty report — the real stories and struggles behind the headline poverty statistics.
Over the past 3 years, JRF has been on a learning journey, working with community groups across the UK, to develop a more ethical, representative approach to our visual storytelling, with co-creation at the centre.
