We are a think tank, a campaigning and advocacy organisation, a news service, a network of local groups and more. We are also a philosophy of a different kind of Scotland and how we can achieve it.
Our goal is to achieve a Scotland of social and economic equality and environmental sustainability with a vibrant community and cultural life, widespread democratic participation, a high quality of life and cooperative working. We believe there are a series of key ideas which can explain how we achieve that kind of Scotland. These are all linked to a vision of what a better Scotland could be.
Common Weal is a non-profit company with a Board drawn from Scotland's leading activists and campaigners. It emerged during the Scottish independence referendum campaign and began operating as an independent organisation in October 2014.
Common Weal has a small staff team that works on a number of different areas of work. Common Weal Policy develop research-based policy proposals, and through our policy channel engages a wide community in policy discussions and seeks to make policy engaging and easy to understand. Through our campaigns officer, Common Weal organises campaigns and advocacy work around priority issues and builds campaigning coalitions with other like-minded people and organisations. The Common Weal Local team support and coordinate a series of local Common Weal groups. Each is autonomous and pursues its own priorities but all share the Common Weal philosophy and seek to make it a reality in their own communities. CommonSpace is a news service and social media hub which seeks to bring people together, help them to organise and provide them with the news they want to read.
Common Weal is entirely funded through lots of small regular donations from our supporters, and from some merchandising and events income. Every penny is used to support all the activities above, overwhelmingly by enabling us to employ our staff.
