Community development and neighbourhood renewal looked different in every Big Local area. Each community had different assets to build on, and identified different problems and activities to focus on.
The achievements of Big Local areas demonstrates that communities are well placed to know what they need and, with the right resources and support in place, can address those needs.
While the other nine themes explore what was important to resident-led change throughout the programme in detail, this theme brings together outputs with key learning from across the programme, and stories that provide an overall picture of change in an area. Success in a programme like Big Local is complex and multi-faceted. While progress towards the programme’s four high-level outcomes was seen across all areas, some areas were able to make more of the opportunities available to them than others and make greater progress against more of the outcomes.
To ensure as many residents as possible could participate, and to uphold the resident-led ethos of the programme, reporting requirements for Big Local partnerships were light touch and flexible. Using knowledge gathered throughout the programme, the characteristics of success, and the enablers and barriers to this, are explored in Q&A articles, alongside a programme-level Theory of Change developed using 15 years worth of research and experience towards the end of the programme. This Theory of Change will be available in mid-2026.
This website does not provide quantitative impact data, as this was not a requirement for Big Local areas. However, you can access the following independent statistical reports on the impact of Big Local:
You can also visit the Our Bigger Story website, a longitudinal study with 15 Big Local areas delivered by Sheffield Hallam University.
