Abstract
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. The evaluation aims to take a realistic approach to understanding impact and what has contributed to it, focusing on understanding the experiences of those involved. We draw on quantitative data on community businesses provided by the catalyst organisations, qualitative data including interviews with staff at Power to Change, delivery partners, catalyst staff and community businesses, and observations from meetings and learning events.