GROUNDWORK BY COMMONGRND — A 6-WEEK PERSONAL CIVIC JOURNEY — PILOT COHORT OPENS THIS SUMMER
Find a form of action
that feels like you
You don't lack motivation. You just haven't found the kind of action that fits your values, who you are, and how you want to show up. Groundwork helps you find it.
For people who care about the world and want to act in a way that feels genuinely true to them.
01 — Who's behind this
Hi, I'm Andy, founder of CommonGrnd.
I spent 14 years building creative things I believed in, most notably co-founding VAULT Festival, one of Europe's largest independent arts festivals. Then my life changed fast, and I had to start again from scratch.
That reset left me with a question I couldn't shake:
Why do so many people care deeply about the world but struggle to do anything meaningful about it?
I'd felt that frustration myself for years. Wanting to make a difference but feeling like I was washing out my yoghurt pots while the world was on fire.
Groundwork is my answer to that question — built on my own research into why people don't act, and what actually helps them start.
It's for people who want their contributions to add up to something bigger. Not grand gestures, or tokenistic ones either. Just finding a way to act that feels genuinely yours, alongside others who are doing the same.
Feeling like I was washing out my yoghurt pots while the world was on fire
02 — The reality
You're not unmotivated. You're unmatched.
You care, often more than you say out loud. So the question isn't whether you should act, it's what kind of action fits who you are, what you value, and how you want to show up.
- You don't want to copy someone else's path.
- You want to live by your values, not perform them.
- You want action that feels good, not draining.
- You suspect there's a better fit, but you just haven't found it yet.
03 — The insight
The problem isn't conviction. It's coherence.
Inherited shoulds
Your values
What matters to you, in your own words.
Borrowed identity
Your self
Action that doesn't require becoming someone else.
Performance
Your practice
Real and recognisably yours.
04 — How it works
Six weeks. Small cohort. Real practice. Real life.
Groundwork takes you through six guided weeks — helping you get clear on what drives you, what suits you, and how to turn that into action that actually sticks. Each week brings one live group session, plus self-paced reflections and discovery tasks to complete in between.
- 01
Harness your motivation
Get clear on what you care about and what kind of contribution feels meaningful.
- 02
Map your terrain
Look honestly at your context, your barriers, and the spheres of action already around you.
- 03
Find your best-fit
Explore the forms of action that suit your skills, energy, and way of working.
- 04
Choose your focus
Narrow in on the issues where you can have the most impact.
- 05
Design your contribution
Shape something specific, realistic, and genuinely yours.
- 06
Write your civic manifesto
Leave with a clear, personal commitment to what you care about and how you'll act on it.
05 — What you leave with
A clearer sense of who you are in this — and how you want to act.
By the end of six weeks, most participants describe a clearer sense of what kind of contribution actually fits who they are and a healthier relationship with everything that doesn't.
Language for what matters to you
Named in your own words, not borrowed from other people.
A form of action that feels like yours
Something that looks and feels like you.
Permission to stop forcing fit
An honest map of the options that are not for you — and why that's okay.
Your own Civic Manifesto to build on
Specific, honest, and recognisably yours.
06 — Who it's for
It's a deliberately small programme. It isn't for everyone.
This is for you if…
- You care about the world but feel dissatisfied with how you're acting on it.
- You've tried things before and they haven't stuck.
- You want action that's genuinely yours, not borrowed from someone else.
- You can give ~3-4 hours a week for six weeks.
- You want to do this alongside others, not alone.
This isn't for you if…
- You're looking for a certificate or career credential.
- You're an experienced organiser looking for advanced tactics.
- You want passive content to watch on your own time.
- You want quick answers without reflection.
- You want to feel better about the world without doing anything differently.
07 — Questions
Very reasonable questions.
08 — Begin
Start with who you are.
Join the CommonGrnd waitlist to be first in line for the pilot cohort — designed for people who want to act in a way that feels true to who they actually are.