Mark is an economic sociologist at the University of Leeds. Mark’s research evaluates the potential of alternative finance to build a fairer economy and led to the co-creation with UK local authorities of the new Community Municipal Investment (CMI) product to finance green and social infrastructure projects in local economies. Mark was Co-I on a large EC Horizon 2020 project to test business models and innovative finance options at the European level through the PROSEU project (2018-2021), which evaluated prosumerism as a means to promote the active participation of citizens in supporting the continent’s green energy transition. Active in a number of policy and civil society spaces, Mark has worked as an Advisor to the Council of Europe and is an Expert Reviewer of applications to the European Commission and Friends Provident Foundation. Mark’s new book, Crowdfunding and the Democratization of Finance (co-authored with Bruce Davis), will be published by Bristol University Press in November 2021.
A green light
Mark Davis introduces a local investment vehicle that he says could help local communities achieve Net Zero. Two-thirds of UK councils have declared a Climate Emergency. They have set ambitious