Engaging citizens is an essential responsibility of local government, but reaching new people, and building more connected relationships with residents, has always been a challenge.
Over 15 years, Abundance has used the power of investment as an engagement tool – helping people invest in things they care about. We have seen how becoming active stakeholders in the projects their money has funded can create far deeper engagement between people and their money.
Our municipal investments take that idea further by allowing anyone to become an investor in their place. They have the potential to reach a wide audience – indeed, half of respondents in a representative survey of UK adults (OnePoll, 2025) said that they would be interested in investing in councils, including those who are not regular savers.
That latent demand presents a significant opportunity for councils to engage more residents, and we are seeing this play out. Over the past six years, more than 3,000 people have invested from all walks of life – creating a group of engaged citizens who have a real stake in delivering local projects.
We are also seeing that, when people become investors in their place, they become more connected and engaged with how that place works. As one investor in Hammersmith & Fulham's £5m green investment programme put it: ‘It's changed how I see the council. It's not just something in the background – it feels like a partnership.'
We are also seeing these investment programmes reach people from across the community. Analysis of our citizen investor base shows a higher proportion coming from lower IMD deciles (3–5) than would be expected, underscoring this broad appeal.
Municipal investment won't replace traditional engagement methods, but it offers a practical way to build new connections that also shine a light on the essential work of councils that often goes unseen. In that sense, enabling residents to ‘invest in those who are investing in them' is one of the most powerful options you have to deepen civic engagement.
Karl Harder is co-founder and joint managing director, Abundance Investment
