Blog

Makespace Oxford x Stir to Action

Wide format view of four people sat on stage at the end of a large hall with seated audience on either side

Earlier this month our friends at Stir to Action hosted their debut festival The ABCs of the New Economy at the Arts Mansion in Bristol. We were delighted to be a part of it. This two-day interactive event centred around the theme ‘Battling for the Ownership of the UK’s New Social Infrastructure’ and brought together hundreds of […]

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Unlocking Space for an Inclusive Economy

Lessons from the ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…’programme Last month we dipped our fingers into our first ever session at this year’s Marmalade Festival – a week of events centred on social change and collaboration. It was an opportunity to invite those that shared and supported our journey through the ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…‘ programme, as well as those wanting […]

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Launching the ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…’ Impact Report

This month we are excited to share a deep-dive into the impact and insights of ’Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…‘, £1.9m programme launched in 2021 in partnership with Oxford City Council. With funding secured by OxLEP from the central government’s Getting Building Fund, the programme was developed to transform underused space, support local communities and diversify our urban centres. […]

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RELEASE: OSEP collaborates with Aspire Oxfordshire, Co-op Futures, and CAG Oxfordshire to secure UKSPF grant to boost social economy growth in Oxford city

OSEP, a local Social Enterprise supporting social impact organisations in Oxfordshire, is proud to announce a groundbreaking collaboration with Aspire Oxfordshire, Co-operative Futures, and Community Action Groups (CAG) Oxfordshire, securing a £35k grant from Oxford City Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the […]

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EEDI: An update

It has been six months since the (re)launch of our EEDI commitments and we remain committed to embedding these throughout our organisation and community. Transparency is key as this work evolves, so we want to share our workings and key learnings, as we strengthen connections across all five strands, and also to highlight areas that are yet [...]
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2023 unwrapped: 12 Days of Impact

As 2023 to a close, we’ve taken a trip down memory lane to highlight twelve memorable moments from the last twelve months. It has been a year of firsts, with fresh projects, places and partnerships, and we are so grateful to all those who have been a part of the journey: Here’s cheers to 2023, and to […]

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Release: ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…’ helps 100 organisations to find affordable business space and creates 200 new jobs for local people  

Oxford City Council and Makespace Oxford are pleased to announce 100 organisations have been housed and 200 jobs created or supported through the ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…’ programme since launch. ‘Meanwhile in Oxfordshire…’ launched in February 2021 and was designed to revitalise high streets following the COVID-19 pandemic. By re-purposing otherwise vacant units into independent shops, cultural venues, […]

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Glimpses of a Possible Future

Today Makespace launches its first mini podcast series, celebrating a range of local place-based projects across Oxford. You can find out more and dive into the recordings here, or read on to hear more about who we spoke to and what we learned… The impulse As part of Makespace’s 5th Birthday celebrations back in September we were […]

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Makespace Oxford x George Street

Makespace is thrilled to announce its first ever long-term space in Oxfordshire.  We can’t wait to co-create a space for the community, on the ground floor of the redevelopment project at the current Odeon site, 38-40 George Street, facing onto Gloucester Green.  We want to offer a flexible, multi-purpose, accessible and affordable space for local community groups […]

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Celebrating 5 years of Makespace Oxford & Aristotle Lane

On Saturday 16th September Makespace residents, collaborators, neighbours and our team gathered to celebrate 5 years at Aristotle Lane. In the summer of 2018 Makespace and its founding partners flung open the doors of the building formerly known as Aristotle House, bringing it back to life after being empty for 4 years. We began with a two-year […]

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