BD Collective member, Barking & Dagenham Giving share an update on The Disruptive Explorers – a group of local organisations, community groups and residents that want to find new ways to disrupt harmful systems in the borough.
The Disruptive Explorers have three areas of focus:
Learning: We want to equip ourselves and our communities with the knowledge and skills to use power and make change.
Power: We want to disrupt how power is used and try different ways of using power.
Connection: We want to create environments where different voices and perspectives are accommodated.
What happened?
Months of discussion and collaboration led to a a big community event, Feast for Our Future, in October 2025. Participants journeyed through a series of ‘decision chambers’ inspired by local history – eating, chatting, voting and imagining what it means to share power and shape the future together.
Since then, the Disruptive Explorers have moved into a more focused and collaborative phase, with residents who expressed an interest in continuing their involvement.
From January to April 2026, the group focused on building relationships, establishing shared principles to working together, and developing approaches to how a pot of funding could be used in Barking and Dagenham.
Subsequent sessions shifted toward exploring what ‘disruption’ means in practice and how different funding approaches align with the project’s aims. Participants examined who holds power, who benefits, and how inclusive different models might be.
“I enjoy making new connections, building new relationships, as well as building on previous relationships and forming stronger bonds. Seeing and learning how to be disruptive and make disruptive decisions is also very engaging. I have really enjoyed being part of this process and I am looking forward to the outcome.”
Dawn, Disruptive Explorer Member
From late February into March, the group refined its focus to designing processes for decision-making. Through collaborative exercises, participants developed and presented multiple proposals, selecting four to take forward. These included a digital platform to distribute funding to communities, decision-making led by people with lived experience, funding for parks, and youth-centred decision-making.
“Being a part of the DE group has been both fun and challenging, as I’ve been connecting to a community of people from diverse backgrounds so that we develop new ways of working together, and shift the power dynamics in Barking and Dagenham to make sure residents decide how funding is spent… this experience has helped me to become more curious, and to build my community skills and knowledge. I’m excited to see how this journey evolves and discover what impact the group makes in the borough.”
Rosanne, Disruptive Explorer Member
By April 2026, were assessing the feasibility of these options, identifying areas for further research and testing. The focus now is on refining and validating these approaches, with the aim of agreeing a final approach to distributing this funding and action plan by July 2026.
What’s next?
The Disruptive Explorers project are still developing their ideas. The best way to stay up to date with their activities and opportunities to get involved is to read the BD Collective newsletters, which you can sign up to here.
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