Democracia84
 | |
| Type | UK Think Tank and Research Lab |
|---|---|
| Focus | Working-class and youth representation in UK policy |
| Headquarters | Worcester, England |
Area served | United Kingdom (excluding London) |
| Methods | Participatory research; strategic foresight; community engagement; creative campaigning; policy development |
| Website | demo84.com |
Democracia84 CIC (stylised as Democracia84 and Demo84) is a United Kingdom-based community interest company and think tank focused on working-class and youth representation in public policy. The organisation, headquartered in Worcester, England, describes itself as a "people-first think tank and engagement lab" that combines participatory research, strategic foresight and creative campaigning to inform policy debates outside Westminster.[1][2]
History
Democracia84 CIC was incorporated on 28 April 2025. In November 2025, Worcester News reported the launch of Democracia84 as a new Worcester-based think tank aiming to reshape who participates in UK policy debates. The report stated that the organisation planned to use participatory research to respond to levels of economic inactivity and pressure on social care in the city, and it launched with support from local Green Party and Labour councillors.[3][4]
Name and inspiration
Democracia84 has stated that its name is inspired by the Brazilian footballer Sócrates and the Democracia Corinthiana ("Corinthians Democracy") movement at Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in the early 1980s, in which Sócrates and his team-mates introduced internal voting on club matters and used football as a platform to call for the return of direct elections in Brazil.[5][6][7] According to the organisation, the "84" in its name refers specifically to the mass Diretas Já ("Direct Elections Now") rally held in São Paulo in April 1984, at which Sócrates spoke in front of a crowd estimated in the millions in support of constitutional change for direct presidential elections.[5][8] The organisation presents this reference as aligning its work with experiments in democratic self-management and broader struggles against authoritarianism, while applying those ideas to contemporary debates on policy, civic participation and culture.[5]
Mission and activities
According to its own description, Democracia84's stated mission is to act as "a vehicle for true working class and youth representation in UK policy", working with groups it characterises as unheard or excluded from conventional policy processes.[1] The organisation presents contemporary democratic disengagement as a consequence of austerity, neoliberal economic policy, large technology platforms and what it calls "extractive" capitalism, which it collectively describes as an "architecture" of disconnection between communities and political power.[1]
Within this framework, Democracia84 highlights a set of structural issues that it sees as falling disproportionately on young and working-class people. Its materials refer to big-tech monopolies, "extractive tech" and the rise of artificial intelligence and its impacts on everyday life, alongside what it terms "digital, environmental and health penalties" such as platform-based or gig work, gaps in access to broadband and devices, and living in areas affected by pollution, flood risk or poorly insulated housing.[1][9] Biographical information on its research staff also highlights experience with climate change, climate justice and environmental and social progress, linking the organisation's work to wider debates on environmental and climate justice.[10] Democracia84 uses participatory research and strategic foresight to explore how policy might respond to these long-term issues over time, rather than treating them as short-term shocks.[1]
Democracia84 situates its headquarters in Worcester rather than London and states that it operates across the United Kingdom except in the capital, positioning this distance from Westminster as a way to avoid policy and lobbying "echo chambers".[10] The organisation describes its work as beginning "in communities, not boardrooms", with a focus on the working class, young people and others it identifies as often excluded from political debate.[10]
Democracia84 outlines a three-stage model for its projects: "Research", "Campaign" and "Policy". In the research phase it undertakes participatory fieldwork and strategic foresight with selected communities; in the campaign phase it develops creative campaigns intended to feed back findings and build civic engagement; and in the policy phase it co-produces policy briefings with participants and shares them with policymakers, local authorities and other stakeholders.[1]
Conceptual framework
Democracia84 publishes a working definition of "working class" that emphasises how low or insecure income and wealth, weak bargaining power at work (including gig or informal work), limited access to elite educational and professional networks, and increased exposure to digital, environmental and health-related harms can constrain life chances. The definition links these conditions to austerity measures, neoliberal policy and the structure of large technology platforms.[9]
The organisation treats "working class" as both a background and a current experience, and internally distinguishes between "Working-Class Origin" (WCO) and "Working-Class Experience" (WCE).[9]
- Working-Class Origin (WCO)
- Democracia84 uses "Working-Class Origin" (WCO) to refer to a person's background. Examples include growing up in a low-income or low-wealth household; having a parent or carer in routine, semi-routine or insecure work; being first-generation into higher education; being eligible for free school meals or means-tested benefits; living in social housing or care; and having few family networks in professional or managerial jobs.[9]
- Working-Class Experience (WCE)
- "Working-Class Experience" (WCE) is used for a person's current situation. Democracia84 marks WCE when two or more of the following apply:[9]
- Economic security: low or volatile income or wealth; reliance on means-tested support; housing insecurity or poor-quality housing.
- Work and precarity: temporary, agency, zero-hours, gig or informal work; limited bargaining power or union coverage.
- Education and credentials: first-generation into higher education; no degree by age 25; attendance at a non-selective state school.
- Social capital and belonging: few family or professional networks in professional roles; frequently feeling "out of place" in professionalised spaces.
- Digital penalty: no or patchy broadband or devices; platform-only livelihoods; digital skills gaps that limit access to services or work.
- Environmental and health penalty: living in high-pollution, flood-risk or cold, energy-inefficient housing; long-term health conditions or disability that restrict opportunity.
For its projects, Democracia84 defines "youth" primarily as the age range 15–29. It notes that some work may also include people slightly younger or older than this range where it considers them to face similar structural barriers in areas such as work, housing and education.[9]
Organisation and governance
Democracia84 CIC is incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee without share capital and registered as a community interest company (company number 16411973).[2] Business data providers classify the company as a micro-entity with fewer than ten employees and turnover under £1 million.[11]
As of 2025, Companies House lists British national Sam Narr as a director and person with significant control of Democracia84 CIC.[12][13] The organisation's own site names him as its founder and creative director, using the name Sam Narr, and describes him as having a background in campaigning, creative strategy and community engagement.[10]
The same source lists other core team members, including a lead futurist, research lead, strategy and policy director, development director, head of cultural
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Democracia84 – Always With Democracy". Democracia84. Democracia84 CIC. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "DEMOCRACIA84 CIC – Overview". Companies House. UK Government. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ "New Worcester-based think tank aims to reshape UK policy debate". Worcester News. Worcester. November 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ "New Worcester-Based Think Tank Aims to Reshape UK Policy Debate". Ground News. November 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "About Democracia84". Democracia84. Democracia84 CIC. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ "The finest political hour of Sócrates, one of the most unique footballers Brazil ever produced". El País. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ "Sócrates and Democracia Corinthiana". sportanddev.org. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ "Win or lose, but always with democracy". Common Goal. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 "Definitions". Democracia84. Democracia84 CIC. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameddemo84-team - ↑ "Democracia84 CIC". Endole. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ "DEMOCRACIA84 CIC – Officers". Companies House. UK Government. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ "DEMOCRACIA84 CIC – Persons with significant control". Companies House. UK Government. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
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