We Make Places Cic

What We Make Places Cic does

We Make Places CIC is a Liverpool-based Community Interest Company founded in 2014 that delivers community engagement and creative placemaking projects for local communities, local authorities, and housing associations. Its work centres on participatory design and build programmes that help communities develop their identities through land- and building-based projects while transferring practical skills to participants.

The organization's core product portfolio includes Urban Workbench (a nomadic learning hub and CNC manufacturing project delivering maker skills), the Flyover Takeover cultural programme that temporarily repurposed the Churchill Way flyover, The Maverick City symposium bringing together grassroots placemakers, the WikiHouse self-build affordable housing project, the Social Emergency Plan (developed during COVID-19), and Community Build workshops. Underlying technology is process-based — design workshops, participation methodologies, and CNC manufacturing — rather than software or AI-driven.

Commercially, We Make Places operates as a non-profit social enterprise funded primarily through grants and commissioned projects from public bodies and charitable foundations including Arts Council England, People's Postcode Lottery, Granada Foundation, and the European Cultural Foundation. Its customers include ForHousing, Cheshire West & Chester Council, West Everton Community Council, and Sustrans. As a CIC, any surplus is reinvested in community benefit rather than distributed, and the organization employs 1–10 staff led by co-founders Kate Stewart (CEO), Steve Threlfall, and Toria Buzza (Chair).

Name

We Make Places Cic

Legal name

We Make Places CIC

Website

https://wemakeplaces.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Engagement and Placemaking Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Arts, Culture & Creative Placemaking Enterprises (BPAGALAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG, Place-Based Initiatives) (BPAIANAE), Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services (BPAIACAI), Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Community engagement services
• Creative placemaking
• Participatory design workshops
• Community build programmes
• Social enterprise consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Liverpool

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding and Social Enterprise Contracts: As a Community Interest Company and social enterprise, We Make Places operates primarily through grant funding and commissioned projects from local authorities, housing associations, and charitable foundations. Their Flyover Takeover 2016 programme was produced with support from Arts Council England, Granada Foundation and People's Postcode Lottery.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

We Make Places delivers community engagement services and creative placemaking projects for local authorities, housing associations, and community organizations. Through a portfolio of programmes including Urban Workbench (CNC manufacturing and maker skills training), Flyover Takeover (cultural programming on urban infrastructure), Community Build (hands-on construction workshops), WikiHouse (self-build housing), and the Maverick City symposium, the company helps communities develop identity, gain transferrable skills, and reimagine underused public spaces.

Product overview

We Make Places is a Community Interest Company offering community engagement services through creative, land, and building-based projects. The core product portfolio includes Urban Workbench (a nomadic CNC manufacturing and learning hub delivering maker skills to communities), the Social Emergency Plan (programmes combating social isolation through street activities), Flyover Takeover (cultural programming on transformed urban infrastructure), The Maverick City Symposium (annual gathering of grassroots change-makers), WikiHouse (self-build affordable housing), and Community Build workshops. These offerings work together to develop community identity, deliver transferrable skills, and create sustainable community spaces through participatory design processes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Urban Workbench: Nomadic learning hub and CNC manufacturing project that delivers joinery learning programmes and creative maker skills to communities.
• The Maverick City
• Flyover Takeover

Products and services

• Urban Workbench A nomadic learning hub and CNC manufacturing project that delivers practical maker skills to communities and individuals through workshops, joinery learning programmes, and community construction training using digital manufacture tools.
• Social Emergency Plan A programme developed in response to COVID-19 to support communities by delivering social activities including street bingo, haiku sharing, and community lending libraries to combat social isolation and anxiety.
• Flyover Takeover A cultural programme featuring regular Sunday road closures of Churchill Way Flyover for community events, performances, workshops, and cultural activities transforming the space into a community venue.
• The Maverick City Symposium An annual cultural symposium bringing together artists, designers, and activists delivering grassroots projects and provocations in communities, exploring themes of sharing, democratisation, and public space.
• WikiHouse Project A flat-pack self-build timber house project enabling communities to build affordably and quickly without developers or contractors, with houses costing under £50,000 and erected watertight within 10 days.
• Community Build Programme Hands-on community construction workshops where participants learn DIY skills, collaborative building techniques, and create furniture and structures for community spaces.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 volunteer hours contributed through community partnerships
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, core and minor.

• SustranssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsorship of Takeover events including July 31st event. Brought volunteers and experts to demonstrate innovative bike powered smoothie machines, pocket park design and ran workshops in the Breckfield Centre.
• West Everton Community CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing community organization partnership. We Make Places opened a workshop to support their Urban Workbench project and conducted community build days together. WECC is a resident led organisation that advocates for residents to ensure they have a voice.
• Treehouse CICsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization in Liverpool that has contributed over 1,000 volunteer hours to Newsham Park improvements. We Make Places team member Toria Buzza has been actively involved.
• Brookside Primary SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlanned expansion of social history project from Sutton Way into the school before COVID-19 pandemic disrupted plans.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Groundwork: UK federation of community-led environmental regeneration charities that deliver place-based projects with local authorities and housing associations. Directly comparable to We Make Places' social-enterprise model delivering tangible community-built outcomes in the North West and beyond.
• Architecture Foundation: UK charity using architecture and design to engage communities with the built environment. Comparable to We Make Places' participatory design and creative-placemaking practice, with a stronger emphasis on architectural programming.
• Common Ground: UK charity that has long championed local distinctiveness, community engagement with place and creative placemaking. Shares We Make Places' values around community identity, public space and creative participation, though with a longer heritage and broader national scope.
• The Young Foundation: UK social-innovation organisation that develops and tests community-led interventions across housing, place and public services. Shares We Make Places' social-enterprise ethos and commissioning relationships with local authorities and foundations.

Broad incumbents

• Project for Public Spaces: Global thought leader in placemaking founded by Fred Kent. PPS trains communities, cities and organisations on placemaking methodology that closely mirrors We Make Places' community-led design and activation approach, but operates at a much larger international scale.
• Social Enterprise UK: UK trade body representing social enterprises, including community interest companies like We Make Places CIC. Indirect peer operating as an umbrella and advocacy organisation rather than a delivery body.
• Locality: UK membership body supporting community organisations and social enterprises with place-based programmes. Highly comparable to We Make Places' community-led model, operating at a national federation scale rather than single-city delivery.

Regional players

• Keep Britain Tidy: UK environmental charity mobilising community volunteer action for cleaner, greener neighbourhoods. Comparable to We Make Places' community-engagement and volunteer-mobilisation approach, but focused on environmental cleanliness rather than creative placemaking.

Emerging players

• Centre for Thriving Places: UK organisation developing frameworks and tools for measuring and improving community wellbeing in place-based programmes. Adjacent to We Make Places' participatory-placemaking work but with a research and metrics focus rather than direct delivery.
• Civic (formerly Code for America) initiatives: Emerging civic-design and community-engagement organisations applying participatory methods to public-realm and place-based projects. Comparable to We Make Places in approach but more digitally focused and not active in Liverpool.

Market position

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/wemakeplaces
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/we-make-places-cic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about We Make Places Cic