Schumacher Center For A New Economics

EDUCATION - TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT AN ECONOMICS THAT SUPPORTS BOTH PEOPLE AND THE PLANET.

LOCAL CURRENCY PROJECT - THE SCHUMACHER CENTER FOR A NEW ECONOMICS PROVIDED RESEARCH ASSISTANCE, DEVELOPMENT, AND ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT FOR BERKSHARES, A LOCAL CURRENCY DESIGNED TO EDUCATE CITIZENS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF VIBRANT, SELF-SUFFICIENT, REGIONAL ECONOMIES. THE CENTER CREATED EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL FOR PRINT AND ONLINE; DEVELOPED SYSTEMS FOR INTEGRATING WITH BANK OPERATIONS; HOSTED MEDIA, AND REPRESENTATIVES OF COMMUNITIES IN OTHER REGIONS WHO ARE STUDYING THE PROGRAM. BERKSHARES IS COLLABORATED WITH A BLOCKCHAIN DEVELOPER TO BUILD A DIGITAL COMPONENT OF THE CURRENCY. THE BETA VERSION LAUNCHED IN MARCH OF 2022. ALL DIGITAL B IN CIRCULATION WERE BACKED ONE TO ONE WITH FEDERAL DOLLARS HELD ON DEPOSIT AT TWO LOCAL BANKS. 600 DIGITAL ACCOUNTS WERE OPENED INCLUDING 125 BUSINESSES. THE BERKSHARES PROGRAM SERVES 10,000 PERSONS REGIONALLY AND THROUGH MEDIA AND INTERNET REACHES OVER 50,000 PERSONS NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY.

THE REINVENTING THE COMMONS PROGRAM CONDUCTS RESEARCH INTO THE COMMONS AS A PARADIGM OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGE, AND SHARES IT WITH SCHOLARS, POLICY EXPERTS AND THE PUBLIC. IN 2022 THIS WORK WAS PRESENTED IN MANY FORMS. THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR PARTICIPATED IN ONLINE VIDEO INTERVIEWS(3), PODCAST INTERVIEWS(7), WEBINARS(17), RESEARCH WORKSHOPS(2), WROTE ESSAYS IN PRINT AND WEB MAGAZINES(3), AND GAVE CONSULTATIONS WITH ACTIVISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS (60+). IN ADDITION, THE PROGRAM SOLD MORE THAN 500 ADDITIONAL COPIES OF A BOOK SOLD IN 2021 AND MAINTAINED EIGHT WEBSITES ON DIFFERENT BOOKS AND PROJECTS RELATED TO THE COMMONS, WHICH HAD A COMBINED VISITORSHIP OF MORE THAN 15,000 PEOPLE. THE PROGRAM ALSO OVERSAW TWO NEW FOREIGN TRANSLATIONS OF AN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE BOOK ON THE COMMONS AND PRODUCED A MONTHLY PODCAST SERIES THAT HAD MORE THAN 15,000 DOWNLOADS FOR THE YEAR.

THE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST PROGRAM IS PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE ROLE OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES IN A NEW ECONOMIC SYSTEM. WORKING WITH THE BERKSHIRE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, THE SCHUMACHER CENTER HELPED FOUND AND PROMOTE THE HARRY CONKLIN FUND FOR FARMSTEADS AS A WAY TO SUPPORT SECURE ACCESS TO FARMLAND AND HOUSING FOR THE MANY SMALL FARMERS PROVIDING FOOD FOR THE REGION. STORIES ABOUT THE HCFUND FOR FARMSTEADS APPEARED IN LOCAL AND REGIONAL PRINT,ONLINE,RADIO AND TV MEDIA REACHING OVER 30,000 PEOPLE. DOCUMENTS FOR THE FUND ARE ON THE SCHUMACHER CENTER'S WEBSITE WHERE THEY ARE ACCESSED BY GROUPS REPRESENTING FARMERS FACING SIMILAR LAND INSECURITY ISSUES. SEVERAL DONATIONS OF FARMSTEADS ARE IN PROCESS AT THE END OF 2022.

LIBRARY OPERATIONS - THE SCHUMACHER CENTER'S VALUABLE COLLECTION OF BOOKS AND PAPERS, INCLUDING FRITZ SCHUMACHER'S PERSONAL BOOKS AND PAPERS AND THOSE OF OTHER DECENTRALIST AUTHORS AND ACTIVISTS ARE ALL CATALOGUED AND THAT CATALOGUE IS SEARCHABLE ONLINE. RESEACHERS SEARCHED THE ONLINE CATALOGUE TO LEARN WHAT THE SUBJECTS OF THE COLLECTIONS WERE READING. HISTORIANS ARE ONLY NOW REALIZING THE CONTRIBUTION OF THINKERS IN THE PERIOD OF 1950-1970S ON CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL ACTIVISM. THE SCHUMACHER CENTER'S LIBRARY HAS FOCUSED ON COLLECTIONS FROM THIS PERIOD AND HAS PROVEN AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE FOR HISTORIANS. NEW COLLECTIONS RECEIVED IN 2022 INCLUDE THE BOOKS AND PAPERS OF ELIZABETH HENDERSON WHO IS KNOWN FOR HER EXTENSIVE WORK PROMOTING COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE(CSA)FARMS. AND THE COLLECTION OF GRACE GERSHUNY, WHO WRITES ON REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE ISSUES AND LAND ACCESS FOR FARMERS. LIBRARIANS COMPLETED CATALOGUING THE JOHN DAVIS COLLECTION ON THE HISTORY AND IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS. LECTURES & EDUCATIONAL EVENTS - A CONTINUING CONSEQUENCE OF COVID 19, THE SCHUMACHER CENTER'S LECTURE PROGRAMS, PREVIOUSLY CONDUCTED IN-PERSON, ALL MOVED ONLINE. THE RESULT WAS AN ENORMOUS INCREASE IN ATTENDANCE. THE FORTY-SECOND ANNUAL E.F. SCHUMACHER LECTURE WAS GIVEN BY KATE RAWORTH, A BRITISH ECONOMIST WHO COINED THE TERM "DOUGHNUT ECONOMICS." THE TALK WAS VIDEOED AND PLACED ON THE CENTER'S WEBSITE AND PUT IN PODCAST FORM. THERE WERE 1,479 ATTENDING THE EVENT VIRTUALLY AND ANOTHER 4,500 HAVE DOWNLOADED THE TALK SINCE THEN. THE SCHUMACHER CENTER MAINTAINS A PUBLICATION PROGRAM BOTH IN PRINT AND ONLINE. THE PUBLICATIONS INCLUDE SCHUMACHER LECTURES, BUT ALSO INCLUDE THE LEGAL AND OPERATIONAL DOCUMENTS FOR THE ORGANIZATION'S LOCAL CURRENCY, COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, AND SHARE MICRO-CREDIT PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS BACKGROUND TEXTS TO THESE PROGRAMS. THE SCHUMACHER CENTER MAINTAINS A WEBSITE OF THE 40 YEAR'S PUBLICATION OF MANAS, A JOURNAL OF INDEPENDENT INQUIRY, CONCERNED WITH THE STUDY OF PRINCIPLES WHICH MOVE THE WORLD ON ITS PRESENT COURSE. THE SCHUMACHER CENTER DIGITALIZED ALL OF THE TAPES FROM THE LINDISFARNE ASSOCIATION, A COLLECTION OF CONVERSATIONS ON CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND TECHNOLOGY. THESE ARE ALL ONLINE AT THE CENTER'S ARCHIVE.ORG SITE. THERE WERE 4,198 DOWNLOADS OF THE PODCASTS OF THE LINDISFARNE TAPES IN 2022. ADDITIONALY, THE SCHUMACHER CENTER PUBLISHES ITS AUDIO LECTURES AS PODCASTS, WITH 9,320 DOWNLOADS IN 2022, AND THE FRONTIERS IN COMMONNING PODCAST, WITH 20,091 DOWNLOADS IN 2022. SOCIAL MEDIA STATISTICS (2022) TWITTER - NEW FOLLOWERS IN 2022: 522 NUMBER OF PROFILE VISITS: 45,574 TWEET IMPRESSIONS TOTAL 2022: 200,400 TOTAL FOLLOWERS END OF 2022: 5,584 INSTAGRAM - NEW FOLLOWERS 2022: 572 TOTAL FOLLOWERS END OF 2022: 1,722 FACEBOOK - NEW PAGE LIKES IN 2022: 526 TOTAL REACH (THE NUMBER OF TIMES USERS SAW POSTS FROM OUR PAGE ENTER THEIR FEED): 20,634 TOTAL PAGE LIKES AT THE END OF 2022: 4,551 LINKEDIN - NEW FOLLOWERS IN 2022: 502 IMPRESSION 2022: 35,460 TOTAL FOLLOWERS END OF 2022: 1,569 SCHUMACHER PODCASTS (SIMPLECAST) - THE SCHUMACHER CENTER PUBLISHES LECTURES AS PODCASTS AND MAINTAINS DIGITIZED RECORDINGS OF THE LINDISFARNE ASSOCIATION - TAPES OF CONVERSATIONS ON CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND TECHNOLOGY. THESE AUDIO FILES ARE ALL ONLINE AT THE CENTER'S ARCHIVE.ORG SITE AND AS PODCASTS, WHICH WERE DOWNLOADED A TOTAL OF 33,609 TIMES IN 2022.