PLAIN TEXT - Spheres of community influence

Authorship and acknowledgements:

This report is based on fieldwork carried out by Just Ideas in partnership with the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR). It was written by Just Ideas. The authors of this report are Leila Baker, Carol Jacklin-Jarvis and Richard Usher.

Thank you to Local Trust, Just Ideas, the Institute of Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) and, in particular the Community Leadership Academy (CLA) participants for giving up their time to take part in this evaluation and for sharing their ideas so freely and openly.

How to reference this report:

Baker, L., Jacklin-Jarvis, C., Usher, R. (2024) Spheres of community influence. London. Local Trust, Just Ideas and Institute for Voluntary Action Research.

About this report:

Spheres of community influence draws on in-depth case studies of eight community leaders in seven Big Local areas, and it analyses the difference that community leadership training has made to how they worked in their areas and what they were able to achieve both as part of a Big Local partnership and in their wider communities. This report is for those who wish to better support community leadership in their localities and initiatives: funders, programme providers, local and national agencies. Created by Local Trust, the Community Leadership Academy (CLA) was developed by Koreo, the Young Foundation and Northern Soul and supported three cohorts of participants.

About the CLA evaluation and learning partners:

Just Ideas and the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) were evaluation and learning partners for the Community Leadership Academy (CLA) from its inception in 2019. In 2023 the report ​‘Building Community Leadership’ summarised the learning from the programme.

Published July 2024. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

This report is for those who wish to better support community leadership in their localities and initiatives: funders, programme providers, local and national agencies. Drawing on in-depth case studies of eight community leaders in seven Big Local areas, it analyses the difference that community leadership training has made to how they worked in their areas and what they were able to achieve both as part of a Big Local partnership and in their wider communities. 

Local Trust’s Community Leadership Academy (CLA) provided support for residents leading change in their local area, helping them to develop and share skills and knowledge that will benefit the whole community. The CLA complemented other elements of Big Local, a long-term programme to deliver significant change in 150 communities in England. This report focuses on the impact of the CLA and assesses the difference that participants have been able to make as they take and use what they learned. Understanding the difference that this form of community leadership support can make in local communities by growing the skills, confidence and interactions of individuals is important for the development of future community leadership initiatives and has implications for funding, programme design and policy development. For more information about the CLA see the appendix. 

The people this research focused on were participants of the CLA programme in its first and second waves from 2019 through to the end of 2022. After completing the programme, most participants continued in various roles within their Big Local partnerships, while others became more involved in wider community action, and worked with other voluntary and community groups. Opportunities in local democracy arose for some participants. 

The research also shed further light on the challenges and barriers that some participants faced in applying their newfound confidence and knowledge, having completed the CLA programme. The report builds on our learning gathered over three years of work alongside the CLA working as evaluation and learning partners. 

As Big Local draws to an end, the report assesses the contribution the CLA makes to sustaining leadership activity beyond the programme with the intent of sharing how this learning might be embedded into other existing and future community leadership programmes.

The evaluation and learning partner to the CLA used a set of learning questions to guide our research and worked alongside seven case study Big Local areas between March and November 2023. To understand the longer-term impact of the CLA, we asked each area three questions: 

1. What examples of positive change are there within the Big Local partnership and wider community?
2. What difference has the CLA made, with a particular focus on the wider impact of the programme beyond the individual?
3. What has helped to achieve that impact? What have been the enablers at an individual, programme and local level?

Case study areas included: 

• a geographic spread of areas across England
• a mixture of urban and more rural areas
• areas where more than one Big Local partnership member had taken part in the programme
• one area where the CLA participant was no longer involved in their Big Local partnership. 

Work with the case study areas included workshop sessions, observations of community events, and nineteen individual interviews. At the centre of each case study were participants from the CLA – eight in total. In one area we interviewed two participants who had been part of the programme at the same time. We also spoke to other people that participants had worked with in their community – Big Local partnership members and representatives from other local organisations or groups that CLA participants were involved with.

‘Building Community Leadership’, (2023) the report from our evaluation and learning research work, explored in depth the impact of the CLA programme on participants at an individual level, and from that the initial changes happening within partnerships, other groups and at the community level. This report goes deeper into those wider spheres of influence and impact, asking ​‘what changed within partnerships and in the community?’ 

While it is not possible to draw neat cause and effect links between participation in the CLA and an individual’s wider community impact, we were able to explore how the learning and the experience of being part of the CLA programme – the mechanisms of change – made a difference to participants’ work within their Big Local partnerships and communities. To better understand this, we interviewed the peers of participants, observed community events and facilitated wider discussion with Big Local partnerships.

• Big Local is a funding programme established by the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) in 2010. 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.
• Big Local areas are the 150 neighbourhoods selected by the National Lottery Community Fund to receive just over £1m through the Big Local programme.
• A Big Local partnership is a group made up of at least eight people who oversee the Big Local programme in their area, to achieve their community’s aspirations. Big Local partnerships must be made up of at least 50 per cent local residents.

The CLA made a distinct contribution in supporting resident-led community change by focusing on the development of individuals within Big Local partnerships. Its intention was clear in enabling individuals within Big Local to realise their potential as community leaders, overcome ​‘imposter syndrome’ and encourage shared leadership in a community context. This section summarises how participants from the case study areas used what they had gained, including, for example, increased self-confidence, better listening and communication skills, and deeper understanding of people’s motivation and leadership styles. 

Modelling behaviour and moving on: Case study CLA participants reported that what they had learned and seen modelled in the CLA influenced the way they then interacted with others. This impacted ways of working within the partnership as they applied their learning into partnership activities and meetings – for example using skills in consensus building and challenging in a constructive way. Learning new skills in communicating and listening influenced the dynamics of a partnership and the relationships between partnership members. However, this was dependent on the willingness of others to change the way they interact – some did not, so some participants moved on to make use of their skills in other community contexts. If the partnership did respond then this shift in social interactions expanded beyond the partnership into interactions with other stakeholders, partners and the wider community. 

Relational working: From the case study research, we heard that the learning applied from the CLA was more relational (improving interpersonal skills) rather than specific (technical) knowledge. Wider change in the community can come via the participant’s engagement in the partnership and influencing partnership dynamics, but it may also by-pass the partnership or community group. In the case studies we draw on for this report, it is the individual that makes the change in the community, but the partnership can enable and resource that – or not. The process is not necessarily a linear one – it is not so much from individual learning to partnership to community as from individual to both partnership AND community. 

What has changed as a result of the CLA? We can see three main changes, each of which will help achieve a lasting legacy of Big Local activity. These are relationships and relational ways of working; democratic structures and getting involved with them; and the confidence to carry on working in their communities. These changes start with individuals but the relational ways of working draw in others (whether within the partnership or beyond), increasing capacity to deliver change. As networks grow, new structures of decision-making and participation develop. As Big Local comes to an end, this process leaves newly empowered groups of citizens inside communities.

In the case study research, CLA participants saw themselves as community leaders through their spheres of influence and ability as illustrated in the diagram below:

Figure 1: a diagram showing three overlapping circles.

The three circles contain the following text:

• Community leaders learn through personal experience, peer interactions and reflection. They see change in themselves.
• Community leaders apply their learning to the wider community. They see change in what they and the partnership do in the wider community.
• Community leaders apply their learning to the Big Local partnership and change their behaviour and interactions within the partnership. They see change in the way the partnership works.

This section looks at the wider sphere of influence and impact that CLA participants have the potential to act on in their communities – either as individuals, by working with community or voluntary groups, or through taking on elected roles such as becoming a parish councillor.

The Big Local area and context:

A CLA participant from a small market town in the north of England. They joined the Big Local partnership bringing volunteer experience of running a small homelessness project.

What they learned, what changed:

They now see themselves as a leader and value what they bring to their community, where previously they did not. Newly acquired skills include knowing how to network; being able to step back and analyse what is happening in a meeting or relationships and come up with workarounds; and having the confidence to not take on too much. They also identify changes in their behaviour, especially around taking up or putting themselves forward for training and other opportunities.

What they took into the Big Local partnership:

They have learned how to be and feel better prepared and well-informed in meetings and discussions about new issues and ideas. This has benefited the Big Local partnership in terms of extending their reach and understanding of new areas. It’s been harder to introduce new ways of thinking about community leadership – sharing, working as a team, less about the individual leader, flexible and reflective – into the partnership, because it has become quite hierarchical and formal about the way it works. The CLA helped them feel more confident about raising issues but in the end this community leader felt ignored by other decision-makers on the Big Local partnership and chose to take their confidence into other community contexts.

What they took into the wider community:

This CLA participant has now become a parish councillor. Prior to putting themself forward for this role, they got involved first with the Jubilee Committee and then helped out at a ​‘warm hub’ for older people. Since joining the parish council they have taken the lead on its newsletter and formed a communications subgroup focusing on issues around wildlife and biodiversity.

Our research looked at what changed in the community, based on the role and impact of CLA participants, and identified three headlines of impact: 

• Carrying out voice and advocacy work with, in and for the community.
• Taking on new roles and responsibilities in the wider community.
• Introducing new or more inclusive ways of working in public spaces. 

Carrying out voice and advocacy work with, in and for the community:

As result of participants’ CLA experience they are doing more to bring community voices into decision making and advocate about what the community and local area needs. 

• CLA participants had reached up through media – film, radio and podcasts – to promote community activity and advocate about the needs of the community and local area. The skills and confidence they had developed through the CLA were felt to have made these broadcasts more focused and impactful both in terms of the guests they were able to attract to take part and the content, whether sharing community events, publicising community achievements to attract more residents to get involved or interviewing local people about their issues or involvement.
• They had promoted new and innovative ideas that they thought would benefit their community. These ranged from finding new ways to tackle old problems such as building an enthusiastic volunteer team to keep the local environment clean by building in social time and publicising their success on local media; to putting their community forward to trial radical new approaches to national policy problems. What these efforts had in common was their ripple effect. The confidence to pursue an idea led to other volunteers or communities getting involved or being picked up in national media and policy discussions.

“I have been talking to a local councillor recently who wants to carry on with the work by having what they call a celebration event… to try and encourage other teams to set up this model that we have shown works … and follow the example that we’ve started.” (CLA participant).

• They had found ways to bring decision-makers into the community by inviting them to regular activities or events to see the community in action. The hope was that this would influence council strategy and decision-making. 

Taking on new roles and responsibilities in the wider community:

CLA participants are taking on new roles and responsibilities in their wider community and local areas. This has the potential to help shift power to the community and build capacity if it is accompanied by a willingness on the part of power-holders and decision-makers to work collaboratively, potentially giving up some of their power and working alongside them. CLA participants were able to bring expertise around resident engagement and facilitation including handling conflict into these community spaces beyond Big Local. 

Specific examples of roles and responsibilities that CLA participants have taken on include:

• Setting up a Tenants and Residents Association: ​“All of my leadership training and the advice I have been able to access because of this, has enabled me to be empowered, brave enough, and to know I have the capabilities to bring this group together in a positive, progressive way and to be able to handle negative or dicey situations in a kindly, timely way.” (CLA participant).
• Facilitating a community network which had led to improved mutual awareness of what each community group in a local area offers; and getting better deals for things like energy by buying them collectively.
• Gaining new skills and confidence in evolving a new forum for residents affected by a regeneration scheme (beyond the time of the Big Local) including becoming a ​‘go to’ space for residents and councillors: ​“The CLA has informed me in a way that if I’m chairing our forum – it’s a subtle way of being able to deal with people sat round a table and keeping the meeting going.” (CLA participant).
• Putting oneself forward and becoming elected as a parish councillor.
• Joining the board of a community organisation and bringing Big Local experience to that: ​“She is looking at who is coming in and how can they be involved- particularly how young people are involved.”

“When we [a community organisation] put in a National Lottery application [what] was very clear [was]… the need to evidence community involvement. She felt that it was important to do some visioning and planning and led a couple of exciting meetings which made us feel energised. The proposal has now gone in to the second phase.” (Community centre trustee).

CLA participants were also active in the formation of other smaller groups and projects focused on single issues and activities such as a running club, a community garden, and a café. 

Introducing new or more inclusive ways of working in public spaces:

Big Local and CLA values, practices and insights – such as, valuing lived experience, building relationships, and active listening – have been brought into other community boards and democratic spaces. This has the potential to boost resident participation; and open up some professionals and public bodies to new ways of working. 

Bringing lived experience into democratic spaces and into contact with public sector professionals was felt to have influenced the way a council approached its work in a local area and enabled them to see for themselves the benefits of working with the community. CLA participants talked about being willing to show vulnerability and this having a positive effect on the way councils understand the human face of issues being discussed. 

“CLA was a game changer. I hadn’t felt it was something for me – the leadership aspect – but I have warmed to that. Having a different perspective. Now I can bring ideas to the table, and they do get listened to. The element of involvement. That’s respected in the community.” (CLA participant).

Bringing professionals into community spaces and into contact with residents had led to a CLA participant being asked by councillors to prepare guidelines for officers to help them understand their role when engaging with community forums. More generally, it had led to the community group or forum becoming a valued space and ​‘go to’ for decision- makers to understand local need and hear ideas to address them. Professionals also commented on what they had learned from working with the community leaders about valuing lived experience alongside professional expertise. 

“When we first worked with the council … they weren’t so much about community engagement. Now they come to us to ask about help supporting projects and putting the word out there.” (CLA participant).

Community members setting firmer expectations about their representation and participation in democratic and public spaces. Bringing ways of working into wider community and public spaces, and having confidence in the value of lived experience in those spaces has enabled residents to set expectations around participation. This affects, for example:

• how decisions are discussed with them
• the confidence to set boundaries and say ​‘no’
• the confidence to take your time before responding or commenting on proposals
• remuneration and recognition for time. 

“[The CLA participant] learned to say, I’d like to take that away, I want to think about that, and I’ll come back to you. And that was quite an important shift in feeling more confident … didn’t just have to react.” (Partnership member – chair).

More generally this confidence to set expectations means it has become more common to expect space for community members in local decision-making. By insisting on working in a particular way with public bodies, CLA participants felt they are beginning to shift attitudes.

Our research identified a need for systemic change in order for community leaders and community leadership to be able to make a positive and lasting difference. There is only so much that can be achieved by community leaders without the cooperation of local government for example. The following enablers of community impact were identified: 

• Developing an understanding about the local political context including political structures; awareness of the idea of ​‘insider and outsider’ approaches to advocacy; and ability to assess and analyse networks and relationships and be able to spot likely allies and sidestep others. ​“As a leader you can look at all elements and network with lots of different people. I still feel frustrated but will take a step back and look at solving that.” (CLA participant).
• Building networks of relationships with officers, councillors and politicians; and having the confidence to get in touch with them. This is covered in more detail as part of the impact on Big Local partnerships.
• Being supported, encouraged and recognised for bringing the learning from leadership training back into the community. This took many forms; it could be about receiving a formal community award but more often it was about the Big Local partnership and other community groups being receptive to the learning.
• Building into leadership development work some thinking about shifting power. It was felt to be important that community leaders themselves shape and take ownership of systems change rather than the programme movers and shakers. For that to happen a programme needs to build in some thinking about how the system might shift and look at how resource allocation could help to realise this.

This section summarises evidence of change within Big Local partnerships as a result of the learning and new approaches – greater focus on relational working; listening skills and communication – resulting from participation in the CLA. The impact on partnerships was, firstly, outward-facing and influencing, extending the partnership’s capacity and reach through engagement with external stakeholders, including deeper engagement with the community. It was also inward-facing, influencing partnership processes and practices.

The Big Local area and context:

The area was in a major city, with high levels of deprivation alongside relatively wealthy pockets. The Big Local had built relationships with the local council, and had worked on innovative approaches both in engaging the community (through a music festival) and in piloting a universal basic income project. Two partnership members participated in the CLA in wave 1 and 2 (another partnership member was part of wave 3). Both had transferable skills from other sectors, and one was acting as partnership chair.

What they learned, what changed:

The participants described how the CLA programme had increased their confidence as they applied and adapted their skills to work in a community context, enabling them to overcome imposter syndrome and increasing enthusiasm and capacity to continue with the work, despite feeling stretched. The chair developed new skills in chairing, including pacing the work, learning when to take time to listen to multiple voices, and when to move on. Both participants adopted a more strategic perspective to the partnership’s work as a result of their learning with the CLA and began to hold boundaries more firmly. 

What they took into the Big Local partnership:

As a result of the participants’ learning, increased confidence and new behaviours, the partnership grew its networks, linking with new partners and involving more people. For example, bringing councillors together to look at working with Big Local. One participant led the re-negotiation of a key partnership contract with a focus on future sustainability and continued partnership working. 

The partnership adopted a more strategic approach, looking at the big picture and the longer term. Partnership capacity has grown. However, the participants aimed to delegate more work to other partnership members but had limited success in this ambition.

What they took into the wider community:

The participants engaged the partnership with new projects that will continue beyond Big Local. They built the profile of Big Local, engaged new partners, and explored the potential for further connecting organisations and implementing mergers.

Growing networks:

Drawing on the newly developed networking and relational skills of CLA participants, some partnerships have grown their networks, engaging with new people, groups and organisations, and developing new community networks. 

• Forging new links for the partnership and for linked groups with key stakeholders, including councillors, Integrated Care boards (Integrated Care Boards are partnership mechanisms for the governance and planning of local health services), local infrastructure organisations and the media.
• Encouraging and enabling others to take on responsibilities within the community.
• Extending the reach of Big Local’s work, identifying new opportunities for knowledge exchange and increasing capacity to grow community work. 

In one example, the CLA participant supported two young men who participated in the Big Local fun day to get work experience through her engagement with the local community centre: ​“Both had learnt a lot and got work experience through involvement in the centre.” (Community centre trustee).

Nurturing new developments:

In the case study areas, some partnerships developed new projects (including community facilities) and re-focused the development of existing projects.

• Creating space for new developments to be explored, providing opportunities for discussion, planning and community consultation.
• Resourcing new developments, through the sharing of tangible and intangible resources, including knowledge and insights from lived experience.
• Investing in participative approaches and increasing community involvement with new and existing community projects.

In one example, the CLA participant drew on learning from the CLA to increase community participation in a centre which previously had limited community engagement and reach.

“As a community facility it has moved on from its previous incarnation of ​‘a private club’. [The CLA participant] realised the importance of word of mouth – to build participation in community centre activities.” (Big Local worker).

Involving communities:

Where CLA participants continued their involvement with partnerships, and in the case of a participant who tried but felt blocked by their partnership, there was increasing focus on how to involve and evidence accountability to their local communities, and to communities of interest within the locality.

• Identifying ways to increase community participation in partnership decision-making.
• Increasing access to Big Local activities for communities of interest who previously found it difficult to engage.
• Designing community involvement into new projects from the beginning.

Examples include new ways of engaging with local disabled people and ensuring they can fully participate in Big Local and the development of new processes that enable the local community to engage in partnership decision-making. A disabled man who participated in the CLA reported feeling more confident, more connected and listened to by other Big Local partnership members as a result of the training. This in turn led the partnership to support him in building the relationship between the Council’s public health department and other local disabled people.

Conversations, challenge and conflict:

The dynamics of case study partnerships have changed and interactions between partnership members have become more productive. Partnerships have increased their ability to manage conflict, with greater awareness of the different motivations and multiple perspectives of partner members. 

• Increased listening ensures that different voices are heard.
• ‘Courageous’ conversations include challenge and greater attention to different perspectives.
• New ideas are brought to the table with increased ability to analyse ideas robustly.

“[In the partnership] We are learning to listen to each other, and they are valuing my perspective.” (CLA participant).

“The CLA [together with other elements of Big Local] has reenergised the partnership and given new strategic impetus, with [the CLA participant] as the main driving force in that.” (Big Local worker).

Strategic capabilities:

The CLA encouraged participants to think more strategically – particularly regarding who and how to influence in the community. It invited participants to take a step back from ​‘delivery’ in their day-today commitments in Big Local. As a result, partnerships have grown their strategic capabilities, focusing increasingly on the wider context for their work and planning ahead, particularly in light of being in the final phase of the Big Local programme.

• Partnerships adopted a strategic perspective, energised by CLA participants to develop their vision and to plan their activity to implement their strategic objectives.
• They prioritise, with an increased awareness that they cannot tackle everything.
• They balance realism with this strategic perspective, assessing what is achievable and balancing this with Idealism and activist objectives.

“It’s given more of a bird’s eye perspective – don’t sweat the small stuff. You’re never going to fix everyone’s problems.” (CLA participant).

Decision-making and responsibility-taking:

Decision-making processes have adapted both formally and informally to become more transparent and inclusive. This is particularly evident in the case study areas where CLA participants have taken on or continue to act in formal positions, including chair.

• Chairing skills have developed, with greater reflection on pacing decision-making, how and when to incorporate different voices and increased delegation.
• Decision-making has become more inclusive, accounting for different perspectives and shifting power dynamics towards increased community influence.
• Partnerships are holding boundaries, putting aside distractions to focus on objectives, with CLA participants being prepared to challenge or ask people to leave who are disrupting partnership meetings.
• Changing decision-making processes leads to increased sharing of responsibilities for partnership activity.

“I’m conscious that though I know I’m creative – and have some really good ideas – it’s not just for me to say! I put it ideas out there and see what happens.” (CLA participant).

The earlier evaluation of the CLA identified a number of enablers and blockers in relation to partnership impact. Two stand out as particularly relevant to the findings presented in this report about longer-term impact: 

• Partnership processes and history may be open or closed to change. An enabling partnership creates ​‘safe spaces’ for CLA participants to practise what they have learned, to share new ideas and ways of working and to innovate.
• Gatekeepers and facilitators – Key stakeholders (including ​‘powerful’ members of the partnership e.g. councillors, local decision-makers or community representatives) may act as gatekeepers, supporting or resisting change. Key stakeholders can facilitate change by drawing on the authority associated with their role and combining this with the adoption of a relational approach that encourages and empowers.

“I noticed a change in style of chairing – paying more attention to bringing others in. And saying, ​‘I am a resident’ and continuing to be passionate but being transparent about this.” (Former rep).

New community initiatives have come into being because of the skills and confidence that the Community Leadership Academy has nurtured in people. 

They felt more empowered to speak out, take action and develop new activities that have delivered change in their communities. Where partnership processes and members were receptive, the Big Local partnerships they are involved with have adapted their ways of working in response to the learning and ideas that CLA participants brought back. 

CLA participants have made a difference then across two interrelated spheres of influence – the community and the local enabling structure provided by Big Local partnerships. 

Relational ways of leading that were taught and modelled through the CLA programme have been absorbed, put into practice and re-modelled in local communities and through the relationships with individuals and beyond partnerships with other groups and organisations. Community voices have been brought to the fore and new community activities with more inclusive structures and practices have promoted community engagement and local democracy. 

This impact is not automatic. It is dependent on, enabled by, but also, at times, limited by systems and processes, pre-existing relationships and the receptiveness of key stakeholders. For CLA participants, an enabling context was often linked to the Big Local programme, though some participants found that context in other elements of community life and structures. An enabling context supports individuals to make a difference by putting their learning into practice, but individuals also contribute to that context by introducing new ways of working, practising relational leadership, and contributing to the building of networks. 

Future community leadership initiatives need to invest both in empowering community leaders and influencing the systems within which they are seeking to make a difference.

Local Trust’s Community Leadership Academy (CLA) provides support for local residents leading change in their local area, helping them to develop and share skills and knowledge that will benefit the whole community. 

Aims of the CLA:

1. To identify and support established and emerging leaders in the Big Local programme and enhance the delivery of the Big Local programme in their areas.
2. To leave a legacy of more confident and better networked community leaders.
3. To develop our and others’ understanding of community leadership, its importance in thriving communities and how it can be better supported in future. 

Created by Local Trust, the CLA was developed by Koreo, the Young Foundation and Northern Soul. The programme uses various structured and informal activities to connect participants with their peers while building their skills and knowledge in leading positive change as volunteers in their communities. Activities included:

• coaching: a form of one-to-one support between a participant and leadership coach over a series of confidential conversations
• group learning workshops: workshops run with cohorts to learn about community leadership, exploring questions and common issues
• masterclasses: sessions focused on hearing from people and experts with important perspectives
• residentials: structured sessions over a longer period of time which bring participants together to network and talk about community leadership
• informal peer support and networking: building in open and casual opportunities for participants to build connections with their peers.