A Big Local Basic Income: Proposal for a locally led basic income pilot

This report outlines a proposal for a basic income micro-pilot. This proposal is the result of two years of community consultation in Central Jarrow and the Grange area of East Finchley.

Grange Big Local in East Finchley and Big Local Central Jarrow have led two years of community consultation to design a basic income pilot in their areas.

Community consultation, supported by Basic Income Conversation and Northumbria University, found substantial support for basic income pilots. A combination of door-knocking, workshops, roundtables and surveys found that the majority of respondents felt both that it was a good idea in principle and that it would be good to run pilots in their local areas.

The pilot would also recruit a control group. This group would not receive basic income payments but would do questionnaires, focus groups and interviews as part of the pilot evaluation to understand the difference in experience between people receiving a basic income and people not. The people in this group would be paid for their time.

Validated evaluation measures for the pilot would be drawn from the Northumbria University team’s existing protocol resource. This process would involve co-production with communities. We therefore do not propose a specific research protocol for evaluation of impacts of the basic income pilots at this stage, but the existing protocol resource provides clear indications of robust methods. A mix of quantitative and qualitative research methods that have been validated and received ethical approval at universities is recommended.

All outputs should be produced in consultation with community members, with reports designed to be as accessible as possible. It may be advisable to include design costs for easy-read versions of reports. Coauthorship should be offered to community members providing substantive input. All formal community involvement should be remunerated at Northumbria University research assistance rates (currently £17.19 per hour though in equivalent vouchers where appropriate for DWP purposes) or on the basis of in-kind support.