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We live in a time of overlapping challenges: concentrated corporate power, rising inequalities, a broken housing system, unaccountable control over our technological futures, creaking public services, a devalued care system, attacks on working people — all unfolding within a deepening climate and nature emergency. We believe these challenges share a common root: ownership.
Common Wealth was founded in 2019 based on the insights that ownership is the structuring force in our economy and that current relations of property and power are social in origin — and therefore can and must be reimagined.
Working at all levels from community and grassroots groups to national and international policymakers, we combine rigorous analysis and research with bold ideas for an economy that works for everyone.
We live in a time of overlapping challenges: concentrated corporate power, rising inequalities, a broken housing market, unaccountable control over our technological futures, creaking public services, a devalued care system, attacks on working people – all unfolding within a deepening climate and nature emergency. We believe these challenges share a common root: ownership.
Common Wealth was founded in 2019 based on the insight that ownership is the structuring force in our economy, and that current relations of property and power are social in origin – and therefore can and must be reimagined.
Working at all levels from community and grassroots groups to national and international policymakers, we combine rigorous analysis and research with bold ideas for an economy that works for everyone.
To realise this vision, we focus on three key transformations:
Mathew is Common Wealth’s Founder and Director. Prior to founding Common Wealth, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, working on their Commission on Economic Justice. He is the co-author of Owning the Future (Verso) and Planet on Fire (Verso).
Sarah is experienced in research and operations leadership. Before joining Common Wealth, she was Assistant Director of Operations at Forensic Architecture, founding Operations Manager and Advisory Board member at Forensis e.V, and a founding Trustee of Equidem. Sarah is a graduate of the University of Toronto (BSc) and the University of Cambridge (MPhil).
Chris is an economist and data analyst. He has previously worked at the OECD, the Institute for the Future of Work and in the private sector as a commercial media analyst. He holds an MSc from the Stockholm School of Economics.
Melanie researches green democratic planning and macrofinance. She lives in the US and supports transatlantic collaboration. Prior to Common Wealth, she researched (global) macrofinance, economic management, and industrial planning policy for decarbonisation at E3G. Before that, she researched democratic ownership and planning at the Democracy Collaborative’s Next System Project. Melanie studied global political economy at Penn State and Columbia, but she’s learned the most from lurking on Twitter.
Adam leads research on the energy system, with a particular focus on electricity. Before joining Common Wealth, he worked as an economist in the UK Civil Service, where he worked primarily on energy policy. He holds an MSc in Economics and Policy of Energy and the Environment from UCL.
Sophie is an experienced data analyst whose work focuses on financial analysis and health systems. They have also worked as a research assistant at the Nuffield Trust, an analyst at NHS England and a policy administrator at Health Education England. Sophie holds a BSc in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of York.
Khem's research focuses on green industrial planning and housing. Before joining Common Wealth, Khem worked on decarbonisation and energy efficiency at E3G and on housing policy at Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Khem holds an MPhil in World History and a BA in History from the University of Cambridge.
Eleanor’s research focuses on democratising corporate governance, developing technology for public good and the need for reparations for historic injustice and damages from climate change. She has an MPhil in Political Theory from the University of Oxford, where she focused on the case for reparations for Caribbean slavery. She is also a historical novelist, writing about the aftermath of slavery and what it means to be free.
Sacha researches regional inequality, work and childcare, with an interest in the intersection between politics, economic change and everyday experience. She recently completed a PhD in Sociology at the LSE. Prior to that, she was a senior researcher at Demos.
Adam’s areas of interest include the housing emergency, democratic ownership and the politics of working time. He has previously worked for the Royal Economic Society, the Progressive Economy Forum and in Parliament, and has written for Tribune, Red Pepper and the Huffington Post.
Amelia is a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of Essex, researching work, critical theory, and feminism. She holds an MA in the history of ideas from the University of London and a BA in History from the University of Cambridge. Amelia is also the author of Lost in Work (Pluto Press).
Helen is experienced in the operational challenges of general management in an SME, and has a particular professional interest in the wider field of employee relations.
Sophie is a designer based in Glasgow with a particular interest in graphic, web, editorial and information design. She also holds a PhD in Modern British History from the University of Brighton.
Before becoming an associate fellow, Adrienne was Common Wealth's Director of Research and led our work on asset manager capitalism. She previously worked on the finance project at InfluenceMap and holds an MSc in Global Governance from UCL. Adrienne is the author of The Value of a Whale (Manchester University Press) and, with Mathew Lawrence, co-author of Owning the Future (Verso).
Divya is the co-founder of the Collective Intelligence Project, a research organisation that advances collective intelligence capabilities for the democratic and effective governance of transformative technologies. She was formerly associate political economist and social technologist at Microsoft, and also holds positions as the Ethics in AI Institute in Oxford and at the Plurality Lab at Harvard’s Safra Center for Ethics.
Ed is Director of LobbyMap at InfluenceMap, an independent non-profit think tank based in London. Ed joined InfluenceMap in 2015, focusing on the development of a pioneering approach to assessing the private sector's climate impact by measuring corporate advocacy and lobbying. Prior to joining InfluenceMap, Ed studied social sciences at the University of Manchester and the London School of Economics.
Emily is a writer, researcher and policy adviser. She currently sits on the board of National Ugly Mugs and has authored two books, The Truth about Modern Slavery (Pluto Press, 2021) and Who Cares: the hidden crisis of caregiving and how we solve it (Hachette, 2023).
Khem is a Senior Researcher at Common Wealth and the employee representative elected to the Executive Board. Khem is also one of two union reps that co-lead Common Wealth's NUJ Chapel.
Miriam is one of the Co-Directors of Future Economy Scotland. She is a Board Member of Green New Deal Rising and a Resesearch Fellow at WEAll Alliance and Democracy Collaborative. She has preiously worked for Bretton Woods Project and Common Wealth, as Director of Research and Advocacy.
Immy is a co-founder and Director of CIVIC SQUARE, a public square, neighbourhood lab, and creative + participatory platform focused on regenerative civic and social infrastructure within neighbourhoods. She was also a founding director of Impact Hub Birmingham (2015-2019).
Aditya is a Guardian columnist and senior economics commentator. He is working on his first book, to be published by Allen Lane/Penguin.
Sahil is a lecturer and researcher in political economy at Goldsmiths, focusing on financialisation, money, managerialism, and the political economy of Britain. He is a founding member of the Warwick Critical Finance Group and an associate member of the Politics of Money Research Network.
