The Room To Grow programme was a free collaborative programme for any and all residents, organisations or businesses in Barking & Dagenham; and aimed to build capacity by sharing knowledge & tools, learning new skills, and connecting with others to enable local collaboration.

The programme was delivered in collaboration with other experts and organisations (i.e OneRoomLive/ Nordens/ Principlesix) to help get ideas and projects onto the next stage.

Business support is not a new or revolutionary concept. However, through the Room To Grow programme, the priority was to design and create a series of business support workshops that could be accessible to as many and as wide a variety of people as possible - while also centring participation theory at the core. By creating networks, learning new skills and developing projects and businesses that are regenerative and distributive, together we can create a neighbourhood that works well for everyone.

With ambitious regeneration plans starting to be realised in Barking & Dagenham, including the building of London’s largest film and television production centre, Eastbrook Studios; the move of London’s oldest food wholesale markets to Dagenham, and the opportunity to harness the potential of the green economy - the local ecosystem felt rich and held plenty of room for local residents to grow into.