We are springing into action now to begin our long-awaited research project because of a visit to Japan towards the end of September by Malcolm and Balbir Currie of South Birmingham LETS and the West Midlands LETS Registry. LETSlink UK, now based in London, has hosted a series of visits from Japanese delegations over the last five years, and recommended them also to visit other centres in the forefront of the LETS scene in the UK, including the West Midlands. Partly as a result of such visits by Japanese researchers, many different kinds of LETS initiatives are flourishing in Japan, supported by local government and industry.

Malcolm Currie attended the Kuriyama Conference on Community Currencies in August 2002 which he reported on at our conference “LETS Co-operate” last November, and on this return visit has been asked by the conference organisers at Kobe University for a report on the state of LETS in the UK. Malcolm asked us for an update which we were able to supply anecdotally but alas not statistically!! Hence our decision, not before time, to begin the survey we have been planning for ages. Malcolm would like to see some results before he leaves. So we are making the questions few and straightforward so that you can answer instantly on the basis of fact or estimate. The contact details will also be used eventually to speed up our referrals system (phone numbers only to be given out). Malcolm’s report will be published to those who participate, including copies of material obtained from Kuriyama 2002, updated following this visit.

TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY click here

NB. LETSlink UK is setting up a special web-screen displaying the results of the questions so that Malcolm Currie will be able to access it in Japan and draw from the most recent version of the data generated by your replies, in making his presentation at the Conference. We are aware that it will take some time before all groups, especially those for whom we do not yet have an email address, to be aware of and respond to the survey, so the initial replies will be treated as a poll indicating the state of LETS in the UK. As more replies come in we will develop a clearer picture of the needs of LETS organisers.