Repository
A curated and searchable collection of community-related research reports, case studies and publications
Peer Research in the UK
Published: 2020
This report takes an in-depth look at the use of peer research in the UK today, providing a comprehensive introduction to the methodology and advocating for its value as a legitimate and insightful research approach. The report covers:
The definition of peer research as a methodology and a discussion of its many advantages.
A…
Rapid research COVID-19 Briefing #6: Stepping up and helping out: grassroots volunteering in response to COVID-19
Published: 2020
In Briefing 5, Volunteering through crisis and beyond: starting, stopping and shifting, we provided an overview of literature on volunteering. It ended with a question: would all those who have stepped up in their communities call themselves volunteers?
Our current research into community responses to COVID-19 across 26 areas of England offers…
Researching community responses to COVID-19: a methodological note
Published: 2020
Local Trust commissioned a team of researchers, led by the Third Sector Research Centre, to undertake a study exploring how communities react to, cope with and recover from COVID-19. The aim of the study is to learn, in real time, how different communities have and are responding to the impact of COVID-19, how they make this happen and how they…
Think Big, Act Small: Elinor Ostrom’s Radical Vision for Community Power
Published: 2020
Elinor Ostrom is the intellectual hero of the community power movement. She humanised the study of economics and politics and discovered what is possible, and the problems that can be solved, when we trust each other. In this new piece of work, New Local’s Dr Simon Kaye explores her ideas, and presents their lessons for the UK today.
Trading Up: Match Trading® for Community Businesses as a powerful incentive for regeneration post-COVID
Published: 2020
This report demonstrates the impact of the Community Business Trade Up programme, a five year, £6.5million support programme aimed at strengthening community businesses. The aim of the programme is to help participants increase their trading income, build an entrepreneurial mindset, reduce grant dependency and be financially sustainable. Run b…
Understanding a maturing community shares market
Published: 2020
This paper is the first of two reports by Co-operatives UK reviewing the community shares market. The community shares investment model has become a popular approach to raising finance and since 2012, £155 million has been raised by over 103,000 people to save and create more than 440 vital spaces and services. This report comprises of communi…
Big Local and Community Economic Development
Published: 2020
Residents of many Big Local communities have been seeking to influence and improve their local economies. Community Economic Development (CED) is the process of economic development within a specific geographic area to benefit the community. At its core, it is about local collective action to resolve economic and social challenges identified by…
Housing by the community for the community: An assessment of the value for money of community led housing in England
Published: 2020
This report assesses the value for money of community led housing in England, exploring how community led housing is meeting housing needs that would otherwise not be met, improving the wellbeing of communities and providing high returns. With findings showing that, over thirty years, each £1 of public support delivers £3.10 of benefit (when …
Rapid Research COVID-19 Briefing #5: Volunteering through crisis and beyond: Starting, stopping and shifting
Published: 2020
The contribution of volunteers in the response to COVID-19 has rightly received considerable attention. Media reports have suggested levels of participation are soaring, but behind the headlines lie a series of questions about what volunteering is taking place, who is getting involved and how it is organised. This briefing draws on literature a…
Saving the high street: the community takeover
Published: 2020
Saving the High Street: the community takeover by the London School of Economics and Political Science, reveals how fragmented property ownership; a lack of transparency on who owns high street buildings; and absentee landlords with no vested interest in local places, are a barrier to creating unified high street regeneration strategies that ca…
Stronger than anyone thought: Communities responding to COVID-19
Published: 2020
In the context of COVID-19 and public health-related lockdown measures, Local Trust commissioned a study examining how communities react to, cope with and recover from major crises. The study started in April 2020 and the first two phases are due to conclude in June 2021. It presents a unique opportunity to gain grounded insight into commu…
The Community Asset Transfer of Leisure Facilities in the UK: A Review and Research Agenda
Published: 2020
This paper reviews recent work on community asset transfers (CAT): a transfer of management of facilities from the public sector to the third sector, largely led by volunteers. The review focusses on leisure facilities due to their non-statutory nature, making them more vulnerable to public spending cuts. The experience of CATs is reviewed, inc…