This report builds on the first annual learning review, Early Learning from Big Local, and examines further the steps that are being taken towards achieving the overall aim and these outcomes. We have looked at four main questions to help us understand how residents and others in Big Local areas are starting to get involved, getting support, working towards a plan and beginning to influence change in the areas where they live.
Published: January 2014 | Document ID: 279
Published: 2023
Empowering Places was designed by Power to Change as an experiment to explore what happens when local anchor organisations are supported to catalyse community businesses in deprived communities in England.
This evaluation report is the final in a series of six reports and several short
ethnographic films. The interim reports took a formative a…
Published: 2023
In 2017 Power to Change launched its Homes in Community Hands programme, to support community led housing (CLH). Focusing on five urban areas across England, the programme has helped plan and develop individual housing projects, develop enabler organisations, and capitalise other investment and funding mechanisms. These three reports summarise …
Published: 2022
This report summarises findings from a desk-based review of 17 publications commissioned by Power to Change, to share findings on the support and challenges that are faced by community businesses. Looking across Power to Change’s grant and support programmes such as the Bright Ideas, Trade Up and Community Business Fund programmes, the report…
Published: 2022
Empowering Places aims to build more resilient and prosperous communities by building the capacity of local organisations to catalyse and support the growth of new community businesses. It funds locally rooted ‘catalyst’ organisations in six areas of high deprivation. Each catalyst receives up to £1 million (July 2017–December 2022)…
Published: 2022
This report sets out eight lessons in funder practice from the work of Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales from 2018 to 2022. During the five years of their strategy Reaching Further, the collision of unprecedented social, health and economic crises brought both the strength and fragility of civil society into sharp focus – funders and…
Published: 2022
In 2017 Power to Change launched its Homes in Community Hands programme, which sought to boost the development of community led housing (CLH). This would focus primarily on five urban areas across the country. The programme has provided funding to help plan and develop affordable housing projects to meet community needs. It has also provided gr…
Published: 2022
The Big Local programme aims to put more power, resource and decision-making in the hands of local communities. Most Big Local partnerships have chosen to hire paid staff, who support the delivery of Big Local in a huge variety of different ways.
This briefing is part of Local Trust’s research paper series, originally shared internally with st…
Published: 2022
This is the third report from Local Trust’s research study exploring how 26 communities across England responded to the COVID-19 crisis.
It follows Strong than anyone thought, published in September 2020, which looked at the initial lockdown period and Now they see us, published in August 2021, which saw the communities adapting to a…
Published: 2022
This research paper emerged from the need to better understand the financial impact generated by Power to Change’s investment in community businesses. In other words, several years after Power to Change’s investment, what has the financial impact of each programme been on its grantees? The paper draws on previous work that identified the va…
The Institute for Community Studies is powered by The Young Foundation, a not-for-profit tackling societal issues with a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach
Involving people from diverse sectors, The Young Foundation shapes game-changing initiatives.
© The Young Foundation 2025
