Local Trust has launched a new campaign sharing lessons from 15 years of the Big Local programme, highlighting how long-term, flexible funding can support stronger, more connected communities.
Through the campaign, “Take what we’ve learned and build what comes next”, Local Trust is encouraging policymakers, funders and practitioners to apply learning from 150 communities across England to future approaches to neighbourhood renewal and community development.
Over more than a decade, Big Local invested more than £1m in each of the 150 neighbourhoods across England, giving residents the power to decide how funding should be used in their communities.
The programme enabled communities to take control of decision-making, build confidence, strengthen local relationships, and create lasting organisations,
At a time when government, funders and communities are rethinking neighbourhood renewal, local growth and social infrastructure, the lessons from Big Local are increasingly relevant.
Research and learning from the programme has already informed national conversations around community-led change, including wider discussions on neighbourhood renewal, social infrastructure and major Government investment in neighbourhoods.
Central to the campaign is Learning from Big Local, a digital resource launched earlier this year that brings together research, resident stories and practical learning from across the programme. The website is designed to support policymakers, funders, researchers and community practitioners who are exploring approaches to community-led change.
Rachel Rowney, chief executive of Local Trust, said:
“For fifteen years, residents in neighbourhoods across England have shown what’s possible when communities are trusted with time, resources and power. Residents have developed new skills and confidence, strengthened local relationships and created lasting organisations, assets and networks that will endure long after the Big Local programme itself.
“The programme has generated practical evidence of what communities can achieve when they are trusted with genuine control over money and resources. The question now for government, funders and the wider sector is how we take those lessons forward and make them the foundation of how we fund and support communities in the future.”
Read about Local Trust’s latest campaign here.
Access Learning from Big Local here.
