time banking presentation

TIME FOR A NEW KIND OF BANK:Towards establishing time banking in Ireland

Michael Daly: Trinity College Dublin

contact: [email protected]

What is time banking?

A network of people using time as currency to exchange services

Person A does something for Person B, B pays A using time credits and Person A can spend these time credits on recruiting the services of Person B or any other person using the time bank

How does it work?

Interested people join the time bank and list the kinds of skills or help they can offer others

The services people are offering can be seen by all time bank members

As part of the time bank everyone can then earn time credits by helping someone and spend time credits by having someone else help them

How does it work?

As a rule every hour spent helping someone is worth 1 time credit

Paper time currency is exchange for offline systems or and an automated system is used for online banks

Why do we need time banks? We no longer know our

neighbours as well as we have done in the past (e.g. Putnam, 1996)

We have a fundamental need to belong to groups, communities, and to grow our social networks

Giving, receiving, reciprocating, and using our skills to help others are positive experiences

Why do it?

Personal benefits:- Exchange useful services- DIY (e.g. gardening, painting, flooring etc.),

music & art lessons, crafts, sports tuition, childcare, school & college grinds, software & web design, family finances..

Feel-good-factor: “Neighbour helping neighbour”, make a difference, give back, make use of abilities, be part of a community of people with the common goal of helping each other

Why do it?

Societal benefits: - Builds trust, altruism, cooperation (social

capital), strengthens social networks, engages

people of the margins, provides an outlet for

proactive people, can create a continuous stream of community activity

Why now?

New gaps in time, well-being, pockets (!) Rich stock of good will (e.g. recent surge in

volunteering, volunteer.ie cites 100%+ increase nationwide)

Recent trends in media coverage indicate people are interested in time banking

Redefining volunteering

The person you help needs to help someone else in turn

A way to pay the debt of time forward

Ripple effect propagates helping throughout a community. Because I've received help I now am obliged to help someone else in order to stay in the system.

Origin and supporters

Edgar Cahn (1992) – ‘Time Dollars: The New Currency That Enables Americans to Turn Their Hidden Resource-Time-Into Personal Security and Community Renewal’

New Economics Foundations London (2008, November) – ‘The new wealth of time: How timebanking helps people build better public services’ and featured in ‘From the ashes of the crash; 20 first steps from new economics to rebuild a better economy’

Time banking: In the news

Time banking: Google trends

Time banking: From the Ideas Campaign

A survey of the output from the ideas campaign

Social and Voluntary Services- 217 ideas posted

Main themes: Promote volunteering (12%) Developing community (23%) Focus on keeping the skills of the

unemployed in use (14%)

“Barter skills.” “Bartering of

ideas.” “Childcare co-op.” “Community LETS

schemes, where one can barter skills.”

“Create a system based on tokens instead of money.”

“Create a web tool to facilitate volunteering and community involvement.”

“Golden Day Skills Bank”

“Mutual volunteering system.”

“Unemployed give back to the community.”

“Volunteers sharing their skills.”

Time banking: From the Ideas Campaign

What time banks already exist?

US - Community weaver commercial software, used by 100+ time banks

UK – Offline coordination, several dozen time banks

listed on centralized website, publicity videos

A profile of UK time bank users vs. conventional volunteers “58% from low income households (volunteering =

16%)

20% are disabled or have long term illness (volunteering = 3%)

72% not in formal employment (volunteering = 40%)

42% are retired people (volunteering = 19%)”

From Time Bank UK. “Getting to the heart of communities”. Powerpoint presentation. Wolverhampton: April 2005.

Existing online time banking services

Spain - Free service, heavy advertising, users across Spain

Northern Ireland - Free service, no advertising, users across Belfast

Developing a time bank community (offline)

Based in small communities Non-reliance on familiarity with

ICT/web-search tools Target users: Aged 40 + with

tradable typically non-market skills (e.g. DIY (e.g. gardening, painting, flooring etc.), lifts in car, music & art lessons, crafts, needlework, company, childcare, school grinds..)

Needed: A core group of enthusiastic and committed people

Membership coordinator and others find skill/need matches amongst members

Trades are made by simply using printed time currency notes (e.g. 1 hour = 1 time note, can be named locally- ‘1 Cuidigh’ – meaning assistance)


When the Community Time Bank is formed you will need to allocate team roles

Time Banks last longer and are more robust when they are staffed by more than one person (One person with heaps of enthusiasm and vision is still one person at the end of the day!)

Time Banking is about team leadership and creating a Time Bank where all members have 'bought in' and are engaged in its management is crucial to its success


6 key roles are recommended:

Officer I Time Bank Ambassador - New Member Recruitment

Officer II. Membership Coordinator - Initial Member Welcome/Orientation, Touch base, Making matches based on member needs

Officer III. Events Coordinator - Coordinates group activities of the Time Bank


Officer IV. Admin and Liaison – Manages registration of new members. Responsible for advertising the group (local notice boards, newspapers, community webpage).

Officer V. Time Bank Accountant – Responsible for keeping track of the number of hours traded (gross levels to estimate time bank usage). Responsible for distributing the time bank currency notes.

Officer VI. Team Leader - Ensures that everybody is happily taking responsibility for their position.

Adapted from: Time Bank USA Member-Lead Manual


An online national network providing a centralised platform from where time banking can grow (Target group: aged 15 - 40 offering widely sought services)

The national network will provide access to contacts both in local areas and across broad geographic distances (people are mobile and many trades can be made without physically meeting people (e.g. editing documents, websites, providing advice over the phone etc.).

Developing a time bank community (online)

Developing a time bank community (online) The most important component of the

website is a search facility with sufficient features and functions to allow people to efficiently find a person to match their specific unmet need.

The national network needs to be integrated into existing structures to ensure awareness, efficiency and success.


Components of an online time bank: Register (username, email, picture,

location, offered skills) Rules (hour for an hour, pay after service is provided, need to

provide services) The seller bills you and you ‘pay’

for the service by crediting the sellers account which automatically debits your account.

Developing a time bank community (online) Example of a trade - You need to put up new shelves - Look up the offerings listing to see is anyone offering shelving/carpentry services and/or advertise your need for assistance - Click on the persons name to obtain contact details. Contact the person to arrange the time.


Transaction as it appears online:- The seller debits the buyer who

must accept the transaction for it to be

processed

Developing a time bank community (online)Additional components: Homepage with instructions and website

news

Individual profile page

Time account balance and transaction history

Inbox for receiving requests/replies

Developing a time bank community (online)Additional components (cont’d) Invite friend tool where people can

request that their friends take part

Online system friends (similar to social network or linked to Facebook group page) to enhance trust

Leave feedback on services option

Visual representation mapping members and transactions

People have tradable skills, unmet needs, spare time. Many want to help others, build their network of contacts.

Time banking in one slide..

Where to now?: Experienced advice How to enable the time banking vision of long

term change and mutual support to become a reality?

Q: What do people say who have grown their own time banks?

- Building a new network is rewarding but challenging

- There are some key ingredients “communication, trust, and celebration” are key – Sarah Burns (founder of a community time bank in the UK)

- “the most important aspect of developing a network is having a strong focus on personal networking, this includes time and resources”

- “to minimize barriers to participation positive steps should be taken to include stakeholders in development discussion”

– Claire Navaie (founder of a community time bank in the UK)

Where to now? : Experienced advice

Where to now? Finding a partner to promote time banking A business partner interested in adding their

brand to the time bank network Existing community groups and networks can

use time banking to grow their base and incentivize people to help each other

- Like who? The national volunteer centre network, local community groups, charitable organizations, community focused web organisations

Awareness of an online time bank could be generated through a media campaign coupled with a national postal survey to sign-up interested people

Strengthening time banking

A national network of time banks: Can be used to share information and resources amongst people who champion time banking in their local areas

A national network would allow for training and workshop days to be formalised to demonstrate how to set up and run a time bank

Regular community events and an annual awards ceremony for those who drive time banks

forward in their local communities

Key online resources

http://www.timebanking.org/resources.html

http://www.timebanking.org.uk/key_role1.asp

http://www.timebanks.org/ http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/m2_i

7_timebanks.aspx http://www.kroonos.com/ http://justxchange.org/ http://www.feasta.org/

time banking presentation

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