Keep the momentum moving

The first quarter of 2026 has been about keeping the momentum that was built in 2025, moving: showing up, bringing people together, and quietly building what comes next.

Last year, more people connected through Scunthorpe Tomorrow than ever before. More ideas were tested. Word spread and positivity grew. But perhaps most importantly, what made last year so special was that activity remained volunteer-powered, rooted in pride in place, and driven by the belief that change happens when people come together and choose to act.

Here’s a quick update on what we’ve been up to so far this year, and last, and what’s coming next.

What we delivered in 2025

Three large-scale public events: Three major events brought people together across February, June and October, at the Attis Arena, University Campus North Lincolnshire and Heslam Park.

A new partnership bringing independent expertise and wider reach: Our unique partnership with Professor Sir Paul Collier and the Blavatnik School at the University of Oxford brought an independent, expert perspective to our work, access to an intern who worked with us last year and a stronger platform to convene the local business and economy community. Some of this work was profiled in *The New Yorker* magazine.

Two squads, new projects, and growing momentum for young people: Two squads launched, a showcase of local people working together to drive action for start-ups and on skills. Early initiatives include a Melting Pot event hosted with The Cookie People, bringing together existing and aspiring entrepreneurs to spark learning and innovation.

Bringing local voices to the funding table: Scunthorpe Tomorrow was pleased to work with North Lincolnshire Council and the Neighbourhood Board to design and deliver a programme of community engagement that informed the development of Scunthorpe’s 10-year vision for the £20m Pride in Place funding coming to our area. Our involvement in the Pride in Place programme ended in November 2025 – any questions about the funding should be referred to North Lincolnshire Council.

Q1 highlights: where we’ve been, and what’s in motion

Showing up in the community: Alex and Jono represented Scunthorpe Tomorrow at Next Steps 2026, North Lincolnshire Council’s careers event for Year 9 students from across North Lincolnshire, held at North Lindsey College in February. It was a great opportunity for Alex and Jono to share their journeys into entrepreneurship.

More conversations about careers and opportunity: Alex and Jono are also speaking at a University Campus North Lincolnshire (UCNL) event next month, helping open up conversations about what’s possible locally.

Supporting aspiring entrepreneurs: We’re hosting a second Melting Pot event for aspiring entrepreneurs at UCNL on April 22. If you’d like to join, contact Jono today.

Backing the visitor economy: Jono also joined the North Lincolnshire Visitor Economy Group’s recent meeting at Holme Hall Golf Club — a great opportunity to share the work of Scunthorpe Tomorrow, and Jono’s personal motivation to make an impact for our area.

And… We’re backing Scunthorpe’s bid to UK Town of Culture 2028! Ty is representing Scunthorpe Tomorrow on the bid working group, working with other local partners to bring the best of our town to the bid.

Behind the scenes: We’re also working on exciting ways to recognise and support emerging entrepreneurs and start-ups locally, more on that soon.

Stepping back: how is this going?

From early on, three objectives have guided our work. In 2025, progress continued against all three:

1. Building connections: Through events, conversations and convening, we have brought people together across our communities — especially at a time when cultural, economic and political divides can feel more entrenched.
2. Driving action: Through squads and projects, and by starting to embed the idea of individual action, we are helping shift energy into activity.
3. Changing the narrative: This is harder to measure, but there are signs of progress. We’ve seen great examples of people talking up our town, and the Town of Culture bid is an opportunity to shine a light on everything that makes Scunthorpe great. And while not perfect, the New Yorker piece helped to convey an important message: a community is taking steps to shape its own future.

But, there is still work to do.

What we need to strengthen over the next Quarter

While 2025 saw many positive outcomes reached, it also pulled into sharp focus where improvements need to be made. And that starts with some clarity.

Too many people still risk seeing Scunthorpe Tomorrow as something to “provide the answer”, rather than “a space for others to explore the answer”.

Our website is being refreshed and updated to make our role abundantly clear, backed by tangible examples of where the movement has helped create an environment where others feel they can take action.

And we want more of that to happen this year. Action, we mean.

To deliver on our goals for this year, we have identified a few top priorities:

1. Backing our entrepreneurs and young people: Supporting the two squads that launched last year, continuing to bring entrepreneurs together through Melting Pots, and working behind the scenes to ****recognise and support emerging entrepreneurs and start-ups locally and to develop a mentoring offer for young people.
2. Maintaining momentum through events, and comms: A regular cadence of activity and communication, more video content, presence at local events, and maybe the launch of some Scunthorpe Tomorrow merch…
3. Our next PlaceLab (June/July): We’re planning our next PlaceLab for June/July, focused on the online mentoring platform UCNL is developing — connecting young people and people exploring different careers with experienced local mentors.

Inspired by what you’ve read? Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, and if you’d like to get involved — or have an idea worth exploring — please get in touch.

Afterall, why not Scunthorpe?