Leading change: Why now is the time to invest in community leadership

Since the surge of community action in response to the pandemic, we have seen that even more people feel they are part of a community. They feel more compelled to participate in local life, to support each other, to get involved.

It’s critical then that community leaders are recognised, celebrated and properly supported. At Local Trust we do this through the Community Leadership Academy, in partnership with Koreo, the Young Foundation and Northern Soul.

This report by Helen Goulden, chief executive of the Young Foundation, makes a strong case for the importance of this type of ‘distributed leadership’ within communities, a sense of collective agency and efficacy. As such, it is a valuable contribution to the essential conversation about the future of our communities and their role in society.