A cost-of-living crisis occurs when disposable incomes in a significant number of households are no longer sufficient to cover essential needs for food, heating, transportation and a minimum level of leisure activity. Scotland, and indeed the rest of the UK, is currently experiencing an enduring cost-of-living crisis which started in 2021 when a rapid rise in inflation caused prices on food, energy and other essentials to rise dramatically.

The main aim of this project was to explore consumer resilience during the cost-of-living crisis and the scope for various stakeholders to co-create solutions to help consumers cope with the crisis.

The project achieved this aim through the following activities and outputs:

• A series of interviews with consumers and stakeholders to understand the lived experience of the cost-of-living crisis
• A stakeholder symposium which explored the potential to co-create rapid-response solutions to the cost-of-living crisis
• Graphic minutes from the stakeholder symposium captured by two artists
• A video casebook sharing consumer stories of the cost-of-living crisis and stakeholder perspectives
• A report which gives voice to consumers’ lived experience of the cost-of-living crisis.