Repository
A curated and searchable collection of community-related research reports, case studies and publications
Big Local: The early years
Published: 2014
Since the Big Local programme started, 150 communities that had little or no tradition of resident- organising at a community-wide level have seen core groups of active residents and local organisations come together and develop shared visions of more positive futures for their community. Those involved report a growing sense of confidence and …
Big Local Annual Learning Review 2013-14: Final report
Published: 2014
This review sets out the findings of the third Annual Review of Big Local. It draws on data collected in the year April 2013 to March 2014 by Local Trust and partners in order to report on progress towards the Big Local aim and outcomes, as well as to reflect on what has been learnt during the year and the implications for the coming years.
Co-operative Pubs 2014: A Better Form of Business
Published: 2014
This publication is the first ever report on the state of the co‐operative pubs sector in the UK. It is based on a survey conducted by Plunkett Foundation staff in December 2013 and draws on information provided by 21 of the 22 co‐operative pubs open and trading at the end of 2013. The majority of the information was collected through …
Community Shops 2014: A Better Form of Business
Published: 2014
This report aims to give an overview of the development of the community shop sector in the UK and of the health and wealth of the sector today. Specifically, the report provides numerical data about the range of legal and management structures of these shops; a summary of the scope of products and services they offer; an analysis of their prof…
Big Local Annual Learning Review 2012-13: Final report
Published: 2014
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 suppor…
Influences on the development of Big Local areas
Published: 2014
To learn about what makes Big Local work, the Community Development Foundation was asked by Local Trust to explore how Big Local is developing in areas and what influences progress.
They visited 14 Big Local areas between June and October 2013. In each area they held a focus group with residents who were actively involved, and interviewed repr…
Big Local: What’s new and different?
Published: 2013
This paper sets out some of the deliberate choices that the Community Development Foundation-led consortium and then Local Trust and its partners made during the set-up phase that builds on the learning and experiences of area-based, community development models that preceded Big Local. It also outlines other approaches that Big Local draws on …
Getting People Involved (Round 2): Planned activities and early learning – Summary Report
Published: 2013
This summary has been prepared following a full report written by Community Development Foundation. The full report is based on an analysis of proposals which were submitted by 47 of the first 50 Big Local areas and locally trusted
organisations. As such it reflects what Big Local areas planned to do with their funding. The propo…
A Better Form of Business 2013: Community-owned village shops
Published: 2013
Community-owned village shops continue to be one of the leading success stories of the UK co-operative and community enterprise movement.
In 1993 there were just 23 community-owned shops trading in the UK;
20 years on there are 303, with a further 30 anticipated to open in 2013.
This report aims to give an overview of the development of the co…
Getting Started in Wave 2 Big Local areas
Published: 2013
Big Local was launched in 150 areas, in three waves of 50. The second wave was announced in February 2012. To support people in these areas in the early stages of Big Local, Getting Started funding of up to £20,000 was made available to these areas in 2012. To access the funding, each Big Local area with support from their Big Local rep, submi…
Early learning from Big Local: An overview of evidence from the first 50 areas, July 2011 to March 2012
Published: 2012
Produced by the Community Development Foundation the Big Local early learning report is based on information collected by Local Trust and delivery partners between July 2011 and March 2012, and as such is based on information from the first 50 Big Local areas.
In it, the Community Development Foundation and the Institute for Voluntary Action R…
What are community studies?
Published: 2012
A short presentation on the definition and evolution of community studies by Graham Crow, Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Methodology at the University of Edinburgh.