Through Big Local, 150 areas across England were enabled to create lasting change in their neighbourhoods over 10 to 15 years, through grants of just over £1m each.
Designed from the outset to be radically different from other funding programmes, at the heart of Big Local is a vision of community development that champions resilient, dynamic, asset-rich neighbourhoods, making their own decisions on what is best for their area.
What makes the design of Big Local different?
In contrast to conventional top down, time-limited, project-led funding, Big Local was established with a number of core features that make it different to other programmes. It is:
- Long term: Providing certainty and continuity over 10-15 years.
- Resident-led: Working directly with individuals living, working, studying and playing in areas rather than through organisations, and building confidence and capacity amongst those wanting to make a difference to their community and local area.
- Non-prescriptive: Enabling residents to spend on their own terms and in their own time, on the projects they judge to be most important to them.
- Patient and non-judgemental: Giving communities the time and opportunity to learn, make mistakes, resolve disagreements and overcome challenges for themselves, on their way to achieving their ambitions.
- Accompanied by flexible and responsive support: To help communities build the confidence and capability to make the most of the opportunities available to them, whilst not constraining their ambition and initiative.
Local Trust is a national charity set up in 2012 to deliver Big Local. Our approach is designed to ensure residents’ time and energy is spent on the things that make a lasting difference to people and their communities.
The programme structure maintains this core ethos while ensuring appropriate systems and checks are in place to account for funding. Read more about our approach to monitoring Big Local.
Where are Big Local areas?
Our interactive map allows you to find Big Local areas across England, as well as areas involved in our other project, Creative Civic Change.
What are the intended outcomes of Big Local?
From the outset, the outcomes set for the Big Local programme were deliberately broad. They are:
- Communities will be better able to identify local needs and take action in response to them.
- People will have increased skills and confidence, so that they continue to identify and respond to needs in the future.
- The community will make a difference to the needs it prioritises.
- People will feel that their area is an even better place to live.
These outcomes provide maximum scope for communities to set their own priorities.
Watch ‘We’re Big Local’ a crowd-sourced poem from a prompt by poet Tony Walsh aka Longfella.
How does a Big Local area work?
Our diagram shows how a typical Big Local partnership functions.
What support have Big Local areas received?
To help them make the most of their opportunity, residents involved in Big Local have been supported in developing and delivering their plans through:
- Support activities: Locally-based staff (directly or indirectly provided by Local Trust) delivering coaching or mentoring, or providing light-touch support.
- Training and networking: An extensive programme of events, networking opportunities and training courses, provided by Local Trust or other partners.
- Consultancy and advice: Specialist support commissioned by Local Trust, to help Big Local areas deliver particular projects.
Each Big Local area is different in terms of the initiatives and projects they set up in their community, using their funding.
Examples include youth clubs, exercise classes, knit and natter groups, community allotments and physical spaces that give something back to the community, such as a community hub or a café – but there are many more to explore.
