The Big Local survey: What it tells us about connection, identifying local needs, and building a legacy

Every two years since 2016, we’ve surveyed members of Big Local partnerships – the groups that oversee the delivery of Big Local in each of the programme’s 150 areas. The results of our final survey are in and, as our senior quantitative researcher, Jack Loughnane reflects, they tell a story of impact, challenge and lasting change.

Partnership members are at the core of the Big Local programme, so understanding their experiences and learnings has always been a key aspect of Local Trust’s research programme.

Every two years since 2016, we’ve distributed a survey to Big Local partnership members, to gather their reflections on topics including local priorities and decision making, support throughout the programme, and progress of Big Local delivery.

The partnership members survey has been used to understand the successes and challenges experienced by partnership members and to improve the support provided to Big Local areas. It also provides evidence which supports Local Trust in our policy and influencing work.

People have come together and care about each other, help each other out. That is community.”

Partnership survey participant

Last year, we sent out the fifth and final survey before the Big Local programme ends in March 2026. The responses include partnership members’ thoughts on connections in their Big Local area, identifying and prioritising local needs, and reflections on their legacy.  As Big Local areas began to close out, there was a drop in participants in the final survey, though we still received responses from 516 partnership members from 137 Big Local areas.

Creating greater social cohesion

The partnership members survey reflects how Big Local areas have created greater social cohesion in their communities.

• Across the five iterations of the survey, between 83 and 85 per cent of partnership members agreed that they ‘were building a stronger sense of community’ in their Big Local area.
• Meanwhile, the number of respondents who indicated that they agreed that ‘people in this area are willing to help each other’ increased from 74 per cent in 2016 to 89 per cent in 2024.

This increased sense of community was also evidenced in response to open questions, with one participant sharing that, “People have come together and care about each other, help each other out. That is community.”

These reflections are in line with one of the intended outcomes of the Big Local programme: that people will feel that their area is an even better place to live.

Identifying local needs

Over the years, the partnership members survey has explored reflections on the ability of Big Local areas to identify local needs and deliver on their priorities.  

• From 2016 to 2024, the number of partnership members who agreed that their partnership has ‘a shared understanding of how we are going to achieve our priorities’ has been consistently high, ranging from 82 to 92 per cent, with the highest agreement levels being reported in the 2024 survey.   

• The proportion of respondents who believed that their partnership was able to prioritise between different local needs was also highest in 2024, with 89 per cent of partnership members who took part in the survey agreeing with this statement.  

• 87 per cent of respondents to the 2024 survey also agreed that their partnership was confident in making decisions about how they used their Big Local funding.  

Building a legacy

As we approach the end of the programme, many partnerships are paying increasing attention to life beyond Big Local.  

In 2022 and 2024, partnership members were asked to reflect on their legacies. Survey responses indicate a growing confidence among partnership members in their ability to sustain the legacy of the Big Local programme.  

• The percentage of respondents who agreed that they had the necessary support and resources to achieve their legacy rose significantly, from 75 per cent in 2022 to 92 per cent in 2024.  

• Confidence in their ability to deliver on their legacy also increased, from 77 per cent to 82 per cent over the same period.  

These findings provide evidence that many Big Local partnerships have achieved another intended outcome of the programme: that people have increased skills and confidence, so that they can continue to identify and respond to community needs in the future.  

Across a number of themes, partnership members reflected some of the challenges associated with community-led development. These included difficulty in engaging with residents, frustration with the pace of progress when working with other organisations in their area, and at points, the timing of support delivery. 

Overall, however, they reflected positively on the impact that Big Local funding has had on their communities to date, and how it can continue beyond the lifetime of the programme.  The partnership members’ survey has provided the opportunity to learn from the people at the heart of the programme over more than 10 years. As well as helping Local Trust improve support to those involved in the Big Local programme, the survey findings offer learnings for future policymakers and funders on the supportive conditions needed to successfully deliver community-led initiatives. 

Access more insights and learning from the Big Local programme.